Behind the Brands: Mellow

By BR Kellie

When Mellow’s Baked Eyeshadows arrived at the warehouse in preparation for being put into the NZ Brands Best Beauty Box Ever, it’s fair to say the Beauty Pixies were beyond excited. And when more recently the Mellow Liquid Lip Paints arrived at BRHQ for our last Vault, there were actual squeals of joy as we took in the beauty of the Puerto Rice shade. Yes, we adore Mellow here at Beauty Review. The formula, the colours, the packaging – it’s all perfect. We especially love that it’s a New Zealand company, and we couldn’t help but want to find out more about the brand and its amazing creator, Ima Asali.

Ima was kind enough to answer all of our burning questions about Mellow, working in the beauty industry, and herself.

What inspired you to create your own range of cosmetics?

My son and my passion to help the people in need inspired my to start Mellow!

I have always wanted to help the people in need but never had the means to do so, I thought if I started my business it would eventually make me financially well enough to be able to fund the building of schools and health clinics for places in need. 

Plus, It’s always been my passion to work in the Fashion industry, working with gorgeous designer clothing and makeup. I also knew I wanted to run my own business in this industry. I worked in retail while doing my Business Degree for a number of years and absolutely enjoyed it. Every day was always different but once I had my son I was determined to work for myself and do what I love to do! Towards the end of my maternity leave, it really hit me that I did not want to go back to work and leave my son at Day Care full time. One day I was watching one of Shaaanxo’s Youtube Makeup tutorials and also thinking about my goals in life and Voala!  Mellow came into my mind! There it was, it just felt so right! I believe I am a positive person and nothing can stop me, when I want to accomplish a task.  I had the vision to design my own makeup line and make it as one of the most popular makeup brands out there; I’m still working on this vision every day! I love to create. I have a strong imagination. I always have these ideas that pop into my mind, I have so many great things that I want to create and launch in the future and can’t wait for the time to come. I am so glad I had my son, he encouraged and inspired me to start doing what I love and every day is a happy exciting day now!'

How did you come up with the name ‘Mellow’?

It wasn’t easy to be honest! It’s hard to find a name that you think suits your brand and you have to be sure that the Company name would be available to register and no one else has a trademark with this name.

I had a few names in mind but after researching either the website domains or the Trademark was already taken, so it came down to Mellow. I love the name, if you search on the dictionary the word Mellow means colourful and Free from Harshness and I think it is the perfect name for my brand as we love creating vibrant coloured products that are Cruelty Free, Paraben Free and Vegan.

What does Mellow stand for? And what sets it apart from other cosmetic companies?

We stand for distributing amazing quality makeup at affordable prices so it’s easy for everyone to purchase. I believe I don’t settle for any less. Before a product is launched I make sure that we have produced the highest quality of product.  Here at Mellow we are also absolutely against testing our products on animals on hurting them in any way while our products are being developed and made.

What was the first product you developed, and why?

It was our Gel Eyeliner. I love doing my winged liner almost every day, and what better than using my own Gel Liner from my own brand to use every day to create that wing! Our Gel Liner is so creamy, long lasting and so easy to use and I love using it on a day to day basis. It is currently out of stock and will be back in a couple of months.

How long does it take for a product to go from the conceptual stage to being ready for market?

It takes at least a year from the time that I have the idea and I start working on it to the time of launch, it’s a lengthy process, especially for a fussy person like me! A lot of samples go back and forth until I choose the best formula and the right colour and not to mention the time that is needed for production.

How long does it take to perfect a formula? And what’s involved?

A good 4 months is needed to correct a formula, for example, right now I am working on creating a tinted brow gel. It has been 3 months already since formulas were created for me and I still haven’t found the perfect formula, so we continue to work on this with the lab until we get the absolute perfect formula with the right colour and the right amount of hold.  First I let the lab know what I want and they start working on a few formulas for me, samples are sent back and forth until we reach the desired outcome and that’s when the formula goes through production at the factory.

What’s your most popular product?

Definitely the Liquid Lip Paints which we launched in March.

What do you think it is about the Liquid Lip Paints that makes them so beloved?

They are just flying through the door, I love them more than any of my other products, the formula is just absolutely amazing, the packaging is gorgeous and all my customers are falling in love with this product. People are really into Liquid Lip Paints these days and they seem to choose them over lipsticks, they are just so trendy and so easy to apply.

What was the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?

It was the first round of lipsticks which I launched a couple of years back with the black tubes, dealing with that certain factory was such a mission, the quality of the lipstick itself turned out to be great but the packaging just wasn’t what I had chosen. They sent through a container of lipsticks with a cheaper packaging than I had ordered and expected to receive and it was such a daunting and frustrating task for me to deal with that factory. I ended up changing the people I work with in order to actually get what I wanted to produce.

Now tell us a bit about you. What’s your background?

I am a 29 year old wifey and mummy, currently pregnant with our second child. I was born in Iran and came to New Zealand as a child.  I finished my degree in Business Management and Human Resource Management at AUT in 2012 and worked in retail then HR and Insurance for a number of years until I had my son and then Mellow started.

I believe in being positive, and the power of my mind, I believe in being useful for my self, my society and my planet, that is my major goal in life and can’t wait to be able to do more and more every day. We are given a time to live our physical life on this planet and I am going to take absolute advantage of the time I have been given to me. My family and our health come before anything else for me.

What do you get up to when not working on Mellow?

My family is my number one priority, maybe it’s to do with my eastern background and culture. If I’m not working, I am spending every minute loving and nurturing my son and having fun with the rest of my family. My Mum and Dad are my idols so I try to spend a lot of quality time with them as well as hanging out with my loving supportive husband and brother and sister.

How do you relax?

Good Question! I haven’t had the time to relax very often in the past 6 months as we are getting busier and busier every day, but when I do, I love to grab a coffee, take a walk at Kohimarama beach or even sit on the couch at home and listen to Zen/ elaxation music and think about all the blessings I currently have and all the amazing things I want to achieve in the future.

The beauty industry appears to be so very glamorous - have you had any ‘oh wow’ moments?

Absolutely, it’s hard to keep up sometimes. I love makeup and love being glamorous but at the same time I love my makeup free casual days but in this industry you feel like you always have to be dressed up and look your best every day. I feel like the pressure would be much more if I was living and working in the U.S.

What’s been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

The Launch of my liquid Lip Paints and collaborating with Shannon Harris “Shaaanxo” on Youtube. She is such a gorgeous girl and I loved the fact that she was so happy with the quality of my products and she was willing to collaborate with us.

If you had to give advice to someone wanting to enter the beauty industry, what would it be?

Take your time, be creative and live your dream every day and never give up. There are some tough times but the trick is to never give up!

What’s the one beauty tip you think every woman needs to know?

Skin care always should come first for every woman when it comes to beauty but if we are talking about makeup, drawing perfect eyebrows on! It really helps if those eyebrows are on point when you are doing your makeup.

Finally… we’ve heard whispers of a new product being set to launch later this year… can you give us a hint as to what it might be?

Sure thing! We are working on a few brow products at the moment, some of them are currently in production and we are hoping for them to be ready for the launch in September, but there are also a couple of more products which I am so so excited about, I have been working on them in the past few months and they will make your face Glow! That’s all I can say for now.

Ima, thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with us. You are truly a wonderful and inspirational person, and we wish you every success with Mellow. (And that last hint on the new product may have caused yet another excited squeal from this glow loving crew member.)

If you have yet to discover Mellow’s beautiful range of cosmetics, you can check them out at Mellow Cosmetics.