A Vegan Lipstick Line With ONLY 10 Ingredients Just Launched In Sephora Today
We chatted with the founder of Axiology, Ericka Rodriguez, and we're elated to celebrate their launch in over 30 Sephora stores all over the country!
Check out their story:
Ericka Rodriguez started her research into animal testing and ingredients in cosmetics, at just 25 years old while living in NYC. Like many women, she was really in love with wearing lipstick around the city and enjoyed the way lipstick was expressive. However, after discovering the horrors of animal testing, she went on a quest to find an organic vegan lipstick line that doesn’t test on animals, yet she couldn’t find one that she loved. Thus, in 2012 Axiology was created!
“I didn’t like the performance, the color choices, nor the packaging of the vegan and natural brands at the time. Hence, I started formulating Axiology in my kitchen with the goal of making a lipstick line with rich color payoff, moisturizing and comfortable wear, and which included all the ethical components I was searching for. The name Axiology is the philosophical study of ethics and aesthetics. ”
Axiology is a truly beautiful company built from compassion and the mantra to love other people, animals and the planet. From the packaging, to the core ingredients of the products. The brand is committed to sustainable and ethical processes.
“Axiology uses packaging that is hand recycled in Bali, Indonesia. The boxes are made by women who collect used paper from around the island in order to reduce trash on the small island. ”
There are only ten ingredients … YES 10... in their lipsticks, which are all pronounceable and recognizable. Some of the ingredients are organic avocado butter, organic grape seed oil and sweet orange oil, which are used as natural fragrance. The colors come from earth pigments. They mix and match their colors before finalizing a shade. The goal is to make them vibrant but also wearable.
Erica is very optimistic about the future of green beauty. She sees that more and more people are realizing the effect cosmetics can have on their health. Cain stores like Sephora are realizing the demand and creating room for natural beauty brands.
Check out Axiology at Sephora
“It’s an industry that’s just going to keep getting bigger.”
As a woman of color, Ericka is definitely very aware of the challenges women of color face and this sensitivity allows her to be more open with people she interacts with in business as well as within the Axiology team. Understanding various points of view, ethnicities, and differences in general allows for a more understanding, supportive and cohesive environment.
Since it’s launch in 2012, the Axiology team is exponentially growing and their greatest challenge is growing their operations. “We've already moved three times and we continue to hire more people”, says Erica. We are elated to support the future of this amazing brand as they plan to expand the line with new products!