This month’s Independent Spotlight is with none other than the creators of the unique cosmetic company, Fyrinnae. These fantastic men create some very amazing vegan products.
How long have you loved makeup?
I’m not really sure, to be honest. I think this is something I grew into, drifted away from, then hit on again years later.
What drew your interest in makeup?
Being a very visual person, styles of clothing, hair, and general appearance always interested me, but attention to detail would draw my focus. I began to view makeup as the art form that it is, and though the
New Romantic and punk styles were fading in the mid-80s, they left a lasting impression. Costume makeup was the very beginning, as most young boys couldn’t quite get away with fuchsia lips and mascara.
What led you to create your own brand?
To make a long and somewhat boring story short, friends of mine that were in local bands could not get their over-the-top makeup to stay well though the shows, especially summer events. Having dabbled in loose pigment paint media before as a non-makeup artist, I knew there were cosmetic versions. It was nothing serious at first, and once I had acquired some supplies, was able to produce decent black powder makeup that was usable as a shadow, liner, and lipcolor if desired. Magical! Ok, so it was straight black oxide with
modified cornstarch and talc blended in. However, it did work well, staying on under hot lights and through sweat better than a lot of makeup. So I kept playing with the raw materials when time allowed, learning a lot
through trial and error from then on. All of this was put away not too long after so I could focus on my real life, having of course no idea at the time how important makeup would become to me.
Quite a few years ago, when I met the man who is now my partner, he knew nothing of all this, though I was aware of his interest in makeup, since he was a freelance artist at the time. Little did I know that he would have rather played with cosmetic chemicals in a lab. It all worked out well.
People have asked if I plan to brand Fyrinnae out in the future or how far we’d like to expand it. Once I did get a very handsome genuine offer to buy all recipes to the products and rights to the names, but I’m just not comfortable turning years of hard work and creativity into a larger company’s instant cash-flow. They’d change everything, mass-produce, and the name and products our clientelle have relied on would dissapear. To be perfectly honest, I enjoy this, and I like the company to stay right where it’s at. Slow growth is fine, but the larger you get, the less attention to detail each product or line gets. Owning a small labor-intensive business is very hard work and it takes every hour of the day, but to me it’s worth it.
Why vegan?
I just never saw a reason to add animal-based products to cosmetics or skincare. I know plenty of great products contain silk, pearl, beeswax and so forth, but at the same time, it can be difficult to find a wide array of vegan products without paying a small fortune. Sometimes it stings a little to see a great vibrant pink raw colorant, knowing it is carmine based.
About how many hours a day do you work? How many days a week?
Both my partner and I work at least twelve hours each day of the week, often sixteen to eighteen. When he posts that he was up until 3am and will be back at work at 7am, he’s not joking. In the years that I’ve been doing this, there has never been a day completely “off”. Even if it’s just answering email and working in the office.
What is your favorite product to create?
My favorite would be the Arcane Magic eye shadows. The richness and depth of the shimmer makes it almost a fun process. Creating any shade for the first time is almost always enjoyable, either figuring out the right
balance of colorants, or just staring at it. Though of course subsequent batches lose a little of the “omg-shiny!” appeal. The Lustres are often nice to mix because of course the mica and other shimmers gleam differently in a liquid than in dry form.
What is your least favorite product to create?
Face products like bronzer and powders. They aren’t difficult, justboring. The necessary, non-fun part of a makeup routine. My partner wouldsay his is the Pixie Epoxy. It takes several hours to make each time because of the exact order some ingredients have to be mixed with each other, then allowed to sit, then blended, and again, etc.
(The Pixie Epoxy is a Holy Grail product for me!)
What are your favorite colors?
In general, just black, followed by earthtones like forest green and cocoa. As far as our own shades, Dragonskin, Immortality, and Dark Fantasy are among my all-time favorites.
What is your favorite lip color?
Depending on the skintone of the wearer, nude, slightly glossy. Leaning peach on fair skin, or a little ruddy or beige on deeper skintones.
Do you have a signature look?
It seems to be a simple combination of dark cotton shirts, jeans, black boots, and far more sparkle-dust than most men should be covered in.
Do you have a signature scent?
Cedar essential oil or the occasional woodsmoke fragrance. Nothing of the commercial variety.
Where do you look for inspiration when you’re in the mood to create something new?
Anywhere the mood strikes me. Sometimes the colors just ‘happen’ as you go along toying with blends, and it looks right. One thing I’m known to focus on is car paint. Lowriders specifically: those guys will have a car or truck done in the most brilliant lime green or candy apple metalflake. Auto paint can come in more finishes and effects than cosmetics of course, but a lot can be closely matched. But really, anything can be an inspiration to an artist. A song, the scenery on a movie, animals. The latter was partial inspiration for shades in our Endangered collection. Some like Javan Rhino don’t match the animal at all, but Polar Bears do turn a pale golden-beige in the summer, Orangutans are a ruddy orange, and of course Meerkats are sparkly gold and purple.
Can you tell us about any upcoming collections?
In early to mid-February, we’re releasing several new Arcane eye shadow shades that don’t quite fit with the others. A few “glow” on application, just by light-reflection. One of my employees and I applied a modification method to dry ingredients that we had been previously using for isododecane and borosilicate mixtures. Some mica-based colorants didn’t work at all with this, but the larger particle sizes performed well, and we worked out somewhat of a rainbow of gleaming hues. There was probably a much easier way of doing it, but I had never gotten certain colorants to reflect off each other like this in a variety of shades before.
(I cannot WAIT to see these!)
What colors are in your home?
Strangely, a lot of browns, black dark red, green, and animal prints. I’ve never really cared that much about home decor, so it’s pretty basic. Pale walls, boring carpet with Chinese accents all over.
What colors are in your workspace?
Is stainless steel a color?
What do you do to relax?
Sleeping when possible. A good day is one that includes over four hours of sleep. Second to that, reading when I have the time.
What are your favorite books or authors to read?
The authors are quite a few, but most of the time I prefer science fiction and some fantasy.
Thank you guys!
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Neat! I'm expecting my first order any day now. I am so excited!
This is a great interview
I remember when I found that Fyrinnae was run by dudes I was like WAT and then my respect for them grew infinitely.
For some reason I just assumed it was little goth women with a lab in the basement LOL. Like house elves or something.
Awesome, thank you for posting! I'm glad to see that they love what they do so much that they've refused offers… Their passion more than shines in their work!
I just placed an order last night, and now I can't wait to see the new Arcane shades come out! That'll be my cue to order again.
GREAT interview! I can't wait to see the new Arcane Magic shadows! I need to get me some of those….hmmmm…..off to add them to my most recent order….
I love your Indi Spotlights! It's really interesting to read things that I would never know about great companies!
Love this Indie Spotlight, too. LOL@ SilhouetteScreams… house elves… I had a similar picture in my head. Knowing that they are guys and reading this interview kinda does destroys that image for me.
They do awesome work!
Very interesting! I LOVE Fyrinnae's products
This was a great review Phyrra! Thanks for giving us more insight on the lovely lads of Fyrinnae. <3
Wow, great interview. I loved it.
Interesting to hear about the process of making these products / the things they do in the lab to make their products unique!
Ah, excellent interview, as always! I love the interviews you're doing with independent cosmetic company owners, as I feel as though it gives us all a bit of insight into their lives that we wouldn't otherwise have. <3
ooo i was sent 7 samples of the new collection and a tube of PE as the prize for thier twitter giveaway. They're AMAZING!!!! I'm going to be wearing them today to my lil sisters pool party. hope they hold up, lol.
Hi Jeweled Thumb,
I hope you love your order! What did you choose?
Hi Silhouette,
Aww thanks! I love the idea of house elves, hehe.
Hi AnatuMonat,
You're quite welcome!
I'm waiting until their new shades come out to order, as well.
Hi Thia,
Yay, I'm glad you like it.
Hi Janet,
Thank you! I really like doing them.
Hi Melissa,
I'm so glad you love it, and I totally agree about their awesome work.
Hi Nea,
Me too!
Hi Pixie,
You're quite welcome!
Hi Ariana,
Thank you!
Hi Lindsey,
Yay, that's why I like doing them!
Hi Catherine,
I hope you love them!
That's awesome! I can't wait to get my hands on those
JEALOUS. Sulk. See, now *I* can't interview them or I'm lame and stuff.
But I'm delighted to hear more about them =D Wonderful interview!
I seriously ♥ Fyrinnae! Maybe I'm a little selfish, but I hope they never go main stream. And now I'm all extra excited about the new Arcane Magic colors too.
Fyrinnae, you make me happy!
Another Indie Spotlight interview! I recently placed an order from Fyrinnae and am loving their products – the Pixie Epoxy is amazing, the eye colors are gorgeous, and I am really loving the primer gel and finishing powder samples that I got. It was fun to read about the creators of these wonderful products and to learn a little about the new and upcoming shadows. Thank you for providing us with so much interesting and helpful information through your blog.
I really enjoyed reading this interview, Phyrra. I love knowing the backstory behind some of my fave cosmetic retailers. The Fyrinnae guys are definitely color geniuses.
I just have one minor complaint about this article: Why no photos of the owners? I heard that they are quite gorgeous =]
Ana,
You can too!
I'm so glad that you liked the article
Hi Dominique,
I love them too! They're such great guys.
Hi Nkaneko,
I'm trying to do them once a month. And I'm so happy to hear that you love their products! I find them to be amazing, too!
Hi Junerose,
I definitely think they're gorgeous men! But I will only print images that they sent me, and those are the ones they were comfortable with
Great interview
It really does give a lovely insight into their world .. I just can't believe how awesomely dedicated they are. If there was some form of sainthood/knighthood for dedication and contribution to the cosmetics industry, I think I'd put them forward.
Also thank you for following my little blog
Very kind of you! xx
Aww, not surprised at the awesome comments you're getting about this! I think everyone who has tried Fryinnae falls in love with them. They do such great work! It's a wonderful feature done by the perfect interviewer. Rocks! It's so obvious how dedicated they are to their company, and I'd have to echo that I'm glad they don't want to go mainstream!
I was also lucky enough to win a sample set from the new Arcane Magics, I'm going to post my tub pictures up this morning and if I can get decent shots in this ugly weather, I'm going to try to do some sample swatching. They're GORGEOUS.
that's really cool!! wow… they work a lot, don't they?
Can't wait to get my samples…
Thanks for the interview, Phyrra! I love Fyrinnae's eyeshadows and the one blush I tried, and I can't wait to see those "glow" shadows. I hope they stay as detail-oriented as they are. And I really appreciate all of their hard work!
ooh, I loved this interview! And meerkats are gold and purple. I've been to Africa. At least their personas seem very sparkly to me.
It's always interesting to hear what the people behind the companies think and have to say. There are some similarities but so far all of your three interviews have been very different and very enlightening!
Hi Mrs B,
I'm glad you like it
And you're quite welcome!
Hi Nicole,
I would totally agree!
I can't wait to see!
Hi Cacau,
Yes they do!
Hi Ciambella,
You're quite welcome!
Hi Saila,
Yay I'm glad you loved it!
I had a boyfriend once who used to say I reminded him of a meerkat, which cracked me up, especially after seeing The Lion King.
I love these spotlights! Fyrinnae is an amazing brand! These guys are the best around, and I loved reading about them. Thank you!!
Heather recently shared..Look- Black Base Yields Green
I’m glad you like them Heather!