Oklahoma-Born Professional Makeup Artist Brings Luxury and Sustainability To His Clean Beauty Brand

Dillon Peña had simply left his put up at Bobbi Brown cosmetics when he began growing his personal merchandise, starting with a face oil. Seven years later, he has a clear skincare vary that displays his learnings of almost 20 years within the magnificence enterprise—and he’s aiming to make it plastic-free and appropriate for women and men of all pores and skin tones.

Born and raised on a farm in Oklahoma, Peña pays tribute to his roots, naming the corporate after his nice grandfather, Leland Francis. “To me, that’s an extension of who I’m. It’s my Mexican roots and being raised in an atmosphere that’s centered round nature,” he says.

In 2015, as a star make-up artist, Peña made just a few bottles of a face oil that he would reward purchasers. He had no ambitions then of constructing an in depth skincare line. Whereas working in New York although, he dropped off a bottle of his product at Brooklyn-based Shen Magnificence, a well-liked spot for clear magnificence manufacturers, to get some suggestions.

“Thirty minutes after I’d dropped off the bottle, I obtained a name whereas I used to be at lunch, they usually instructed me they’d like to purchase some bottles to hold within the retailer. I didn’t even have containers but, or an organization correctly arrange,” he remembers.

With that first order secured, Peña not solely registered his enterprise, Leland Francis, however began fascinated about branding, packaging, and dealing with extra unbiased retailers. He chilly emailed dozens; many rejected him.

But, he saved at it, doing make-up for artists, fashions, and musicians as his day job and dealing on Leland Francis in his private time. It was a ardour turning right into a enterprise as a result of Peña realized that to get the clear, recent, dewy look that so lots of his purchasers have been after required having a wholesome base — and that started with skincare. Plus, lots of the fashions he labored have been acutely aware of what they have been placing on their pores and skin. “They’d typically flip across the bottle and skim the elements. So I knew that clear magnificence was necessary to them.”

The pandemic performed a pivotal function in his enterprise. As shoots have been canceled, and filming and reveals got here to a cease, Peña needed to hit pause as a contract make-up artist. As a substitute, he used that point to develop Leland Francis.

Utilizing his financial savings and earnings, he invested in additional stock, and a small crew of consultants primarily to assist him scale up the corporate. With sustainability and clear magnificence changing into increasingly more common over time, Peña felt that his enterprise was extra related than ever.

“As a make-up artist, you see the quantity of plastic that’s generated by the wonder trade. And I’m the form of one who doesn’t wish to convey any plastic into my residence. I keep away from it if I can. So I did the identical with Leland Francis despite the fact that it’s meant larger prices on packaging and extra work on our half, looking for the perfect suppliers.”

The corporate’s merchandise are all packaged in glass with aluminum lids, if wanted, and thus, the containers are reusable, and delightful. Packaging is saved to a minimal with simply the necessities, coupled with a observe about Peña’s Oklahoma’s roots. It’s a traditional, luxe method to wash magnificence, which is what Peña was striving for. “Once I first began out creating Leland Francis, I observed that almost all clear magnificence manufacturers might solely be discovered within the Complete Meals magnificence part, which is nice. However they didn’t have that luxurious expertise that I wished to supply my purchasers and prospects.”

He’s additionally not keen to compromise on the sustainability of his packaging. As an illustration, the corporate’s Physique Radiance product was delayed by two years as a result of they might not discover an eco-friendly answer to place it in.

As well as, Peña, being Mexican himself, was extra aware of how his formulations would sit on women and men of colour. Working with a chemist who’s a girl of colour herself, he says, has helped immensely. “I ask her to strive the merchandise on herself as nicely and if it’s not working for her pores and skin, we don’t proceed with it. I need this model to be for everybody, not only a choose group of people that’ve already obtained many choices to select from.”

Until now, Peña has declined funding, and but leaned on his mentors, which incorporates Bobbi Brown herself, to create a curated number of merchandise that’s premium, he says, however not fully “unaffordable.” But, with elevated prices throughout covid, he admits, he’s needed to increase his charges to mirror the problems in provide chains, like many companies.

Tamanu oil options closely in his line. “It’s a flexible ingredient that works for thus many various functions,” he explains. “It’s brightening, it helps with readability, clearing away blemishes. It’s simply an all-around great ingredient for the pores and skin.”

Peña refers to his assortment as plant-based. A lot of the clear magnificence trade, he says, is unregulated as a consequence of lax authorities restrictions, so prefers the time period “plant-derived” or “plant-based” and this is applicable to his latest addition: fragrances and candles. Most perfume manufacturers, he argues, don’t disclose elements in true transparency: “They’re unlikely to record all of the elements, and the names of every of the scents. We use simply pure oils and natural sugar cane alcohol.”

He has extra merchandise within the works that may enable him to share this make-up data additional. However he’s not eager about stepping foot within the main cosmetics retailers across the nation simply but. He likes his small enterprise method and prefers to assist mom-and-pop companies himself. “I similar to the concept of supporting one thing small made with thought and kindness. I attempt to be type myself. And I believe that’s an necessary worth in enterprise immediately,” he says.