Though influencer-founded brands receive a lot of buzz, many remain direct-to-consumer. And, as seen with Addison Rae’s Item Beauty exiting Sephora at the start of 2023, when they do make it to retail, they don’t always succeed. Among those finding success at retail are Summer Fridays founded by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland, Huda Beauty founded by Huda Kattan, and Refy co-founded by Jess Hunt. With her brand, Lux Unfiltered, creator Sivan Ayla (511,000 followers on Instagram and over 49,000 on TikTok) hopes to join this list.
Best known for its tanning products, Ayla’s 5-year-old beauty brand will launch at Sephora in July.
“[Sephora] reached out to us a few years back, [but] we didn’t feel quite ready [to sell through Sephora] as a new brand,” Ayla said. “We felt like we had a lot of work to do, in terms of growing our community, gaining customers’ trust with our products and getting the word out there.”
Lux Unfiltered launched in 2019 with one product: the $36 N°32 Original Hydrating Self-Tanning Cream available in two scents, Rosewood and Santal. It remains the brand’s hero product. Since then, however, the brand’s tanning collection has expanded to include the $48 N°36 Original Supernatural Tanning Mousse and the $42 N°12 Bronzing Face Drops. Though the brand now also sells color cosmetics, skin care and body care, its Sephora launch exclusively includes its tanning SKUs. Lux Unfiltered will launch on Sephora.com on July 2 and in 69 Sephora stores on the 5.
Ayla said that, in a landscape where influencer-founded brands are often met with skepticism, launching at Sephora is a mark of validation.
“Sephora has been a top goal of ours for a very long time,” she said. “We’re at the point now where we feel ready, we’re excited, and we love the fact that they came to us and sang praises [of] our self-tanners. It was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received.”
Despite the stigma around influencer brands, Lux Unfiltered has seen consistent growth. According to Paul Richards, Ayla’s co-founder and husband, Lux Unfiltered saw 360% growth from 2020-2021 and has grown an additional 30% over the past two years. The couple has self-funded the brand since day one, he said.
“We’ve been profitable, but because we haven’t had a huge influx of money just to burn, we’ve grown at a really organic, slow and steady rate,” he said. “Now we’re ready to take it to the next level, and we think Sephora is the best way to do so.”
The self-tanning selection at Sephora is surprisingly small, especially as a bronzed complexion is decidedly in style — just look at the rise of bronzing drops. On Sephora’s site, the Self Tanners page has just 51 results, a nominal amount in a category as oversaturated as beauty. Bestselling brands include Isle of Paradise and Tan-Luxe, both created by Future Beauty Labs, as well as St. Tropez.
According to Richards, Lux Unfiltered was developed to fill holes Ayla saw in the tanning market.
“We pride ourselves on creating luxury formulas that [become a] part of your self-care routine,” Ayla said. “[With our brand, self-tanning] is no longer this messy, uncomfortable, unpleasant experience. And our formulas are clean, whereas self-tanners used to be [made with] all sorts of funky, toxic ingredients.” She also noted Lux Unfiltered’s unique hydrating formulas and “luxury” scents.
“Before, [using self-tanner] was almost a taboo, and you didn’t want to use it,” she said. “Now, people actually enjoy applying it.”
Ayla and Richards also own the swim and ready-to-wear brand Tan Lines, which they also launched in 2019.
