Imagine being a full-time undergraduate student running your own all-natural cosmetics line with products selling out left and right. That’s the reality of Environmental Studies major Nakeysa Hooglund ‘22 and her brand, Nakeysa Naturals.
Makeup has been a passion of Hooglund’s since she was in middle school. She jokes that her first trial, as many of us can relate, “was horrible. I wore blue eyeshadow to school everyday. I don’t know why my mother ever let me do that.”
All the while, Hooglund was growing up in an incredibly environmentally-conscious family. She was going to protests, joining organizations, and helping plan festivals alongside her grandfather, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Bates College.
As of the past few years, she’s become quite aware of how behind the cosmetics industry is in terms of being environmentally consciousness and using all natural ingredients. “A lot of the stuff you put on your skin can go into your bloodstream,” she says. “Which makes you question what you’re actually putting on your face.”
It wasn’t until this past summer when she was living with her now ex-boyfriend for a couple months that anything began to take form. Left at the house with no job, growing bored and frustrated, she decided to research various recipes for natural makeup.
“I got really into it, and spent two months researching and testing. Then I just launched it late June, early July. It’s been a journey; I had no idea what I was doing, and I still don’t really.”
Her first product was a lip gloss (which are now her bestsellers) called Demeter. But according to her, this first batch was nothing to get too excited about. In fact, she never put it up for sale. No matter those initial bumps in the road, Hooligund has seemingly perfected her gloss recipe, with every color and make available on her website completely sold out.
Though she now feels comfortable with the ingredients and recipes, Hooligund has definitely had “batches of cosmetics blow up in my face — glass everywhere. I’ve caught things on fire.” Not to mention, it takes about a week to make glosses — especially since she’s without a stove, which is needed to melt her concoctions together.
Photo of Nakeysa at a Tang Pop-Up, where you can often find her selling products.
But when a friend lets Hooligund venture up to their apartment, she starts the process by adding beeswax, Shea butter, coconut oil, and Vitamin E oil to a double boiler. This mix then sits and cools until the next day, where she melts it again and adds crushed mica powder at an exact temperature so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom — she often does the same with biodegradable glitter.
From there she sanitizes each tube, sits in front of Netflix, and uses a syringe to fill one at a time.
As of today, Hooligund offers 30 products, including an eyebrow growth serum and three highlighters. When it comes to prices, Hooligund tries to appeal to everyone and make sure living eco-friendly isn’t just accessible to the wealthy, as it often is. “I don’t make a ton of profit, she says. “But that’s not my main goal.”
Her first palette was pineapple themed, complete with neon yellows, greens, and gold. In preparation for its release, she did a photoshoot with Skidmore photographer, Semiramis Sophroniou ‘22. Hooligund spent a long time reaching out to peers she thought would be interested, trying to get as diverse a group as possible.
“I’m a woman of color, so I’m very focused on my products working on other women of color and the pigments being dark enough. That being said, at the photoshoot we had an array of people: men, women, people who are non-binary, as well as different skin tones and body types.”
Hooligund says that advertising her products on only one type of person wouldn’t show how far they can truly go.
Right now, Nakeysa Naturals — which began with the one hundred dollars in Hooligund’s pocket and no investors — has multiple sold out products, international order requests, and nearly 1,000 followers on Instagram.
“I wake up proud of myself every day because a lot of people would not have expected me to be doing any of this or succeeding in anyway,” she says. “I started [Nakeysa’s Naturals] all by myself because no one would invest. I don’t think anyone actually thought it would take off. I don’t even know if I thought it would.”
Because of social media, Hooligund has been able to connect with other women of color with businesses who have been mentors to her along the way. They give her advice and often remind Hooligund that she’s in the right place, she’s doing a good job.
And it’s this unending support that plays a big part in making sure she remains confident enough to keep going.
“Even if after college I can’t keep up with it, just this time and knowing I have inspired people or informed people that there’s other paths they can take when it comes to cosmetics, skincare, and hair care — that’s such a success in itself.”
Check out Nakeysa’s Instagram here and browse around her website.