SHOWING THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY WHY ‘ PERFECT ’ IS BORING BUT ‘ HUMAN ’ IS BEAUTIFUL
Millie Clare
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The whole ritual of putting on make-up , I describe as therapy ,’ says Millie Clare BA ( Hons ) ’ 21 . ‘ When I was in hospital , I would put mascara on because it would make me feel a bit more human . I could sit doing make-up for hours and then just take it all off . It ’ s like an art form .’
Millie is no stranger to hospital . She has a rare condition called Cystinosis which causes debilitating kidney problems . But Millie doesn ’ t let that get in the way of fulfilling her ambitions . Her strength - of character , and of will - have taken this fresh graduate to impressive places .
She persuaded cosmetics company Beauty Pie to transform a graduate job they were advertising into Millie ’ s year-in-industry , which fuelled her aspirations : ‘ I was learning the entire process of product development , building connections with suppliers , everything .’
She reached out to entrepreneur Danny Gray , founder of War Paint , a make-up company for men , and told him his pitch for investment on TV ’ s Dragon ’ s Den was the best she ’ d seen . So good , it crystallised her own desire to launch a brand . When she later described her concept to Danny at a networking event , he asked the whole room to listen .
Millie ’ s brand is Human Beauty . Marketing tagline : Perfect is Boring … Human is Beautiful ! It is borne out
READ PAGE OUT LOUD of Millie ’ s relationship with make-up – as art and therapy – and her recognition that the beauty industry pushes ‘ an idea of perfection , which isn ’ t good for anyone .’
She explains : ‘ Our mission statement is to make cosmetics accessible for all . 15 per cent of the world ’ s population has a disability , yet you don ’ t see people with disabilities in the beauty industry , where it ’ s all about looks . I wanted to think about the disabled consumer from concept to launch .’
That means everything from packaging that ’ s easier for people with joint problems to open , and shaped so it won ’ t roll off a table if it falls , through to a braille-style coding system to help partially-sighted and blind people get to know the products .
The first product , Liquid Confidence Mascara , features a wand designed to carry more formula , which can be applied horizontally or vertically . Millie says adaptations like this make the product more accessible for any user , not just those with disabilities .
Her big ideas have already seen Millie chosen as a Superdrug Face of the Future and Great British Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist . The next step is to secure funding to bring her products to market at scale , while continuing to grow the burgeoning Human
Beauty community on Instagram .
As someone who refuses to let a disability get in the way of her ambitions , Millie has great advice for others who need to overcome challenges in pursuit of their dreams :
‘ Practice a positive mindset by trying to find even the smallest positives in bad situations . When I had my first kidney transplant I got extremely ill but made it my goal to get back to university . This gave me something to work towards while in hospital for three months .
‘ I would also advise people with a disability to never listen to people around you telling you “ you can ' t do something " as I believe you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it . It might have to be done slightly differently to suit your needs – but there will always be a way .’