Feel the Luv with Melodie from Luv + Co
We had the pleasure of meeting Melodie Davis-Bundrage at her clean beauty boutique, Luv + Co., in Atlanta. Melodie is a true trailblazer in the industry, as a champion for clean beauty and championing racial and economic inclusion for women of color in the industry. Learn more about her story.
What is your relationship with the beauty industry?
I've worked in beauty a long time -- in fact, I got my certification in makeup artistry almost 25 years ago in 2001. I've worked for Nordstrom, I've been a MUA for one of the first Sephora locations in Pentagon City, and I was inspired by my time at Aveda to explore clean beauty. I went back to school to get my PHD and did a dissertation on conscious beauty. I was awarded UGA's next top entrepreneur and so I was on my path to become a beauty founder.
What problem were you trying to solve with Luv + Co. when you launched your own brand?
I felt that black women didn't feel loved by the beauty industry. I wanted to create a brand that was inclusive yet stylist but safe, clean and healthy. I did a lot of qual and quant to understand the consumer and felt there was a gap in the market. It was 2013 at the time, before clean beauty was as crowded a space as it is now.
Why did you decide you wanted to open a store? And not just focus on e-commerce?
At the time, I believed that my target customer didn't have anywhere to shop where she felt they truly understood her mindset and whole being. Range beauty didn't exist -- there were almost no include shade ranges from the bigger beauty brands. In melanated suburbia, the store provides access to healthy beauty products. Typically, neighborhoods are overrun with beauty supply stores that sell toxic, cheap products or the ethnic aisle at Walmart. The area is void of Wholefoods, Trader Joes, Sprouts etc that would have a small selection of clean products in the grocery store and we also typically don't have Sephora or Ulta either. If we do have an Ulta, the conscious beauty section at Ulta literally only includes one brand in the complexion/foundation category with very limited shades for women of color.
How has the beauty industry changed since you've been in it?
Well, it's way more competitive. At the time I was launching, Merle Norman had 1100 locations, Fashion Fair had just gone away (it's since come back). Beautycounter had just opened. People were starting to talk about the importance of clean beauty -- the lobbying for safe cosmetics had just started. Now, there are so many brands and most of the small brands are clean. The challenge now is not just getting awareness, but keeping fickle customers engaged and loyal. And giving people something exciting and different, too. The Power Beauty Collab is a great way for me to offer some new products to my customers that I know they'll love, as we share the same ethos.
What's next for Luv + Co.?
I'm always looking to do more. We are growing distribution through our independent consultant program so women are educated by trusted women in their community and we have a new international distribution deal with the DNO Group. I'm toying with expansion but want to do it in a way that is thoughtful and planned. I continue to believe that what we're doing is meaningful for our customers and our community, so I am not going to stop anytime soon.