What a difference a year makes. The Perfect V, a beauty skin care collection for the bikini area, has turned a year old. And with that comes the celebration of new distribution, namely Revolve, the online clothing retailer, as well as six Neiman Marcus stores. Here, an interview with The Perfect V founder, Avonda Urben, where she discusses plans on growing the business over the next three years.

CEW Beauty Insider: Where are you based and what is your lifestyle like?


Avonda Urben:

I’m based in Copenhagen Denmark, where we launched the brand. I’ve been a marketing and rebranding consultant for companies for years. I love the beauty scene here. It’s intriguing how comfortable Danish women are with their bodies and in talking about beauty. My friends here even say the year they are born when speaking with them. As you know you don’t do that in the U.S.! Scandinavian women are just so open, they have good body confidence — they approach beauty in a very natural way.

CEW BI: How did you come up with the name and concept for The Perfect V?
AU: I was working on a consultancy project and going through the BB cream scenario when every brand was coming out with one. I loved the concept and wanted one for the bikini area. I started asking people what they call the bikini area. It was funny. No matter which country I asked that question I got the same reaction: at first a little giggling then a lot of hand gestures and motions pointing towards down there. It hit me that women did not even know what to call that area! So I just named it the “V”.  It sounded modern and very matter of fact, like an arm, a leg and a V. Now I’m strictly talking about the area that we wax, shave, sugar, laser or the area we remove hair (either just grooming a bit or taking more off). I began researching global hair removal trends, from what was happening in high-end spas to the local nail place where they offer bikini waxing. So many of the products out there look like they are from the 1950s, from razors to depilatories. And the way retailers talk about it, they call it feminine hygiene, intimate care or fem care. Girls today don’t relate to the word feminine; it’s not very modern. The whole category has been neglected, placed in the back of the store, under a huge sign shouting Feminine Care, near sanitary pads. It’s kind of weird to me that the most beautiful part of a woman’s body is treated this way. I felt it was about time that we had some beauty for the V, not just treating the area as a problem. So, I created a luxury beauty skin care line for the V, The Perfect V. The Perfect word references how a woman “feels” when using this line: it’s self-care, pampering and provides skin care for an area that is groomed but the skin care needs are not being cared for. I also realized we needed to create a new category because the existing categories just did not fit the bill. Vanicure is the beauty regimen for the V and it is resonating with women all over the world. They love the name. It sounds familiar and communicates a regimen — like manicure or pedicure. Now we have Vanicure, the latest beauty regimen. And of course, going back to the original idea of a BB Cream, we named our products VV Cream.  I felt this would resonate with women, they would feel familiarity with the name and understand it had multi-tasking skin care benefits.

CEW BI: How has the brand grown since then?


AU:

The line launched in Scandinavia in summer 2017, quickly followed by a launch in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, then in the U.S. online and in spas and salons, and now in UK, CZ, Hong Kong and in Australia later this summer. Spring 2018 we launched in the UK exclusively in all Harvey Nichols stores and online. In the U.S. we are concentrating on luxury spas and salons but have now expanded to beauty retailers. We are in Beauty Collection in CA, just launched on revolve.com and in their store. We also launched in six Neiman Marcus stores in their Trending Beauty area. All of these retailers are exciting for us as they fit our strategy perfectly.

BI: Talk about how the Revolve deal came about.


AU: What’s great is that the Director of Beauty spotted us — they are always ahead of the curve — searching out new products and ideas and when they approached us, we immediately said yes! Their customers always want the newest in beauty but also want products that fit in their lifestyle. Women love our products because they look good; they’re not typical Feminine Care products. They also like the convenience of them. The VV Beauty Mist and VV Beauty Sheets fit perfectly in their bag and are great beauty items for their lifestyle.

CEW BI: What’s your best-selling product and what is in the pipeline?


AU: It’s close to call. Our kits are really doing well and I think it is because they sell the proposition and explain to women the best way to use the line. The Essentials Kit includes Gentle Wash, Exfoliator and VV Cream, so that’s hygiene, solution and beauty in one package. They’re all great for trial and travel. I think women really understand how this works. The other kit is the Specialties Kit, and it seems as if lots of women love the VV Beauty Mist (we won an award Pure Beauty Global Best New Body product), the Shades of V Luminizer, which is a super light hydrating cream with some pretty highlighting effects that can be used all over the body, and the VV Beauty Sheets (we can’t keep them in stock!). These sheets (not wipes! I hate that word) are just so great as they’re bigger than others on the market and oh so gentle and the packaging is so pretty. You don’t mind if someone sees it in your bag. As for pipeline, we have some fantastic ideas however we want to focus on this line-up; the concept is so new and innovative that we want to support this line and encourage trial and repeat purchase of these items. We are educating women on the need for skin care for the V. Women need a beauty regimen for the V and we feel that this line provides the essential products plus a few extra specialty products. We have products for three distinct needs: Hygiene (wash, beauty sheets, mist); Solution (Exfoliator, VV Creams); and Beauty (Serum and Luminizer). More to come later.


CEW BI: What are you planning as far as growth over the next three years?


AU: We are expanding our distribution in Hong Kong this month and it appears as if the Asian market is ready for this new category. Joyce Beauty is a great partner for us and they readily understood the potential for this category, Vanicure. They love our premium positioning and tell us they love our gentle yet effective formulas and upscale packaging. We are also opening up Australia later this summer – what a great market for this line. In the U.S. and EU, we have so many opportunities for luxury hotel spas and day spas plus luxury hair removal clinics. We believe that VV Cream is going to be as popular a product category as BB Cream.

CEW BI: Have you taken on investors? How often are you approached by the financial community?


AU: At the moment, we are privately funded, however since we are in a tremendous growth period in the company, we probably need to be searching for that next investment. To tell you the truth, we are just so busy filling orders and expanding our distribution that I need to begin to focus on that.

CEW BI: What piece of advice do you have for other indie beauty companies out there?


AU: When you have a new idea or are forging a new category, you might meet some disbelief that this can be done. Just plow ahead. There are so many visionaries in our business who can appreciate what you are doing and can see the future, too. I’ve been fortunate to present to partners that can truly see this new category as a powerhouse in the near future, thanks to the buyers at Magasin du Nord (Scandinavia); Alsterhaus & KaDeWe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland); Harvey Nichols (U.K.); Revolve and Neiman Marcus (U.S.); Joyce Beauty (Hong Kong); Australia (to be announced); and all the luxury spas and salons who see the true value of our new category and line of luxury skin care beauty products for the V.