Kindred Black Is Bringing Old-World Sensibility Back Into Your Beauty Routine
“[Why do we] need rocket scientists and NASA space experts to take care of our skin?” — Alice Kindred Wells and Jennifer Black Francis
Kindred Black‘s journey began with a frustration shared by many in the beauty industry — burnout. The founders of the brand, both veterans of the fashion world, were disillusioned by the endless churn of products, constant discounting and the unsustainable practices they were witnessing firsthand. The turning point came during a trip to a few manufacturing towns, where the heavy pollution and hazy air led them to re-evaluate their place in the industry. This experience ignited a mission to create a brand that would prioritize sustainability without sacrificing beauty or desirability.
“We wanted to do something with environmental responsibility as [the] central focus but at that time, [the term] ‘eco’ had a very specific aesthetic [such as] big prints and canvas bags,” the founders shared. “We wanted something beautiful, desirable and relevant to fashion that just happened to also care about the environment.”
So, in 2014, Kindred Black was born as a curated collection of designers and makers who shared this vision. In 2018, the brand expanded with its skincare and beauty line and since then, it’s been working towards creating a more sustainable, intentional line.
We spoke to the brand’s founders, Alice Kindred Wells and Jennifer Black Francis, about their eco-friendly mission and what’s on the horizon for Kindred Black.
View this post on Instagram
On the creation of the brand
We were both working in fashion and getting burnt out on the constant churn of seasonal products and discounting. It was also really eye-opening to travel to Chinese manufacturing towns where the air quality has a constant and dismal haze from all of the pollution.
In the early days, Kindred Black was pure retail — a curation of designers and makers that we loved and knew aligned with our values. Over time, we ended up wanting more control over how things were made, packaged and produced and after launching a very small collection of “Slow Beauty” in 2018 we never looked back.
On the brand’s mission
Kindred Black is a handmade collection of environmentally focused skincare, perfume and cosmetics. We use small and micro-batch ingredients from herbalists, wildcrafters and small family farms. We package everything in hand-blown glass bottles that are made by artisan glass blowers in North America. The bottles are sealed using the ancient method of cork and wax closure. Our mission is to bring a sort of old-world sensibility back to your beauty routine and to reduce the use of waste and plastic in the beauty industry.
On their favorite products
We are constantly guinea-pigging new things and rotating what we love. We do have some special favorites though. The French Plum Face Oil is just a single ingredient but it’s incredible — it’s from a family farm in the Southwest of France and they have a hybrid variety of plum that was developed during the Crusades. It’s the most deliciously potent French plum we’ve ever found and it’s also just so perfect and simple for the skin.
We’re about to release a new beauty balm on November 14 called “La Prune Rouge” with a French plum base, too. It smells delightful, is good for the skin and gives lips and cheeks a pretty flush. Earthly Perfume Oil, one of our core perfumes, is also a favorite for both of us and we never agree on scent! It weirdly makes us think of that old ’90s Gap “Grass” perfume because it smells of grass after the rain and fresh violets and mown hay all at once. It’s not for everyone but it makes us happy.
View this post on Instagram
On why they love skincare
Skincare has gotten so out of control and complex. People have been using fully natural ingredients to soften their skin and enhance their beauty for thousands of years and suddenly we need rocket scientists and NASA space experts to take care of our skin. It comes from the fear of aging and we get it, but we also know that what we put on our skin matters for our long-term health. We’re huge history buffs and so much of what we feel connected to has hundreds of years of history – Cleopatra’s love of roses, the world’s oldest perfume, “frankincense” (which was once more valuable than gold) and the use of scent to confer status in ancient societies.
This month on November 14, we’re launching Glow Erubescent, a powdered blush and highlighter in a really pretty shade of coral. The egg-shaped bottle is like something you’d see in the Byzantine halls of the Met Museum and it’s handmade with sandalwood powder, an ingredient that’s been used to flush the face for hundreds of years. That’s the kind of skincare we’re fascinated by and want to work with.
On who’s inspired them
We’re inspired by brands that stick to their missions year after year. Patagonia springs to mind because [sustainability] is not a trend for them. They’ve been pushing environmentally friendly, mindful shopping for 50 years, way before it was cool.
On dream collaborations or partnerships
Years ago, long before we started Kindred Black, we were in Paris and visited the JAR store in Place Vendôme. It was a very formative experience, each piece was just so special and the setting so intimate. With the painted sky and twinkling stars, you would take your time with each perfume and that slow and conscious experience of shopping is so a part of what we’re trying to do with Kindred Black. So, if we’re talking truly a dream, we would do some sort of incredible jeweled flacon for a precious perfume. In real life, we have some fun collaborations coming up for our tenth anniversary next year so stay tuned.
On the brand’s future
We hope that in five years there might be more opportunities for our customers to come and experience the line in person because it’s really special when you can see it laid out like a candy shop. Aside from that, we hope we haven’t changed that much at all. When we launched Kindred Black nearly 10 years ago, we sat for a couple of weeks and wrote an intense business plan.
At the time, it felt like such a slog and we just wanted to get to the fun stuff. Now, we’re so glad we did! A business plan gives you something to check yourself with. Do we still put the environment over profit? Have we compromised ourselves or our values when things got hard or expensive? We [ask ourselves this] once a year just to make sure we’re not veering off course.
While you’re here, check out our interview with Future Society’s Jasmina Aganovic.
