AYANNA BEAUTY

THE CHALLENGE

Building a beauty business from the ground up required connecting several decisions at once. What would the brand stand for? Which products would represent it? How could an original collection coexist with other brands in a curated retail environment? What would make a shopper trust a new name and feel confident enough to buy? The original Mademoiselle Ayanna line also required a bridge between product development and customer communication — laboratory expertise had to become understandable product information, while the brand needed an identity that could carry across product presentation, the website, campaigns, and press. For the retail experience, the challenge was to make a varied assortment feel intentional, communicating the founder's point of view while giving customers a practical way to discover, compare, and shop.

OUR APPROACH

Henderson's interest in beauty products became the foundation for the business. Her published founder interview describes both the creation of an exclusive collection with skincare chemists and a retail assortment selected from products she had personally tried — establishing a clear relationship between the two parts of the business: Mademoiselle Ayanna as the original product line, and Ayanna Beauty as the broader shopping destination. The work began with brand concept development, logo and visual identity, color palette, messaging, and the relationship between Ayanna Beauty and Mademoiselle Ayanna. Creative direction connected that identity to commerce — website visuals, product photography, promotional graphics, and video needed to express the same brand while serving different purposes. The December 2019 launch introduced five original products: Le Noir Detoxifying Charcoal Mask, Le Rouge CC Serum with Vitamin C, Le Blanc Eye Corrector Serum, Le Rose Wrinkle Recovery Serum, and J'Adore L'Amor Biotin Boost Hair Serum. AyannaBeauty.com was developed as the e-commerce destination — connecting brand storytelling with product discovery and online purchasing. A documented campaign, "Building Confidence Through Beauty," featured Global Brand Ambassador Nacilia McCarthy (Jamaican Brown Girl), reflecting the brand's commitment to highlighting women of color and building confidence through representation. Social strategy, content calendars, community engagement, and targeted advertising on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest extended the brand's reach and connected creative to commerce.