LEADER PACK
HOW A SOUTH END ECO-BEAUTY STORE
BECAME A LEADER OF THE REVOULTION
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Two more women came in after Mary O’Doherty on that lazy Sunday afternoon in August.
Neither of them had ever been inside the store before, but both were familiar with the clean beauty movement.
One of them, Katie Crimmins, 30, decided to check out the store after experimenting with natural products at a spa. “I got a facial from a woman who uses all clean products, and it was the best facial I’ve ever had," said Crimmins. She was looking at the moisturizers, all lined up along the back wall, in neat little rows against the white tile, Follain’s signature aesthetic style. "If I can use a product that works and is effective, and it’s also good for my health and for the environment...why not?"
Follain was founded by Tara Foley in 2013. The idea came to her in 2009, while she was working in a law office in New York City, hoping to make a home for herself there as an advocacy lawyer. Upon learning about the state of cosmetic regulation, or lack thereof, Foley knew things needed to change.
“It got me really riled up and passionate,” said Foley, but she didn’t know where to start.
Foley considered looking for a position at a known cosmetic company, in the hopes of influencing change from within. She also considered creating her own line of products. But her background was in law, not chemistry or business. She started meeting with other natural cosmetic manufacturers, to get a better handle on what would await her in the cosmetic industry.
“It came down to - should I start a single brand or should I start a retailer?” said Foley. “And when I met with all these brands...Their biggest pain point was that there was no “home” for them...There wasn’t like a Sephora, essentially, of clean beauty.”
Tara Foley, CEO & Founder of Follain. Photo Credit: Cristina Hasenohrl
And that’s what Foley set out to create. In 2011, Foley says she pulled the brake on her life and took a chance, flying across the Atlantic to France. There, she worked on a lavender farm where she studied terroir as it applied to herbs and botanicals used in cosmetics.
Foley then decided it was necessary to go to grad school before launching her store. "I needed to learn about business,” she said. “I had never even taken an accounting class at that point, because I was totally focused on going to law school.”
Two years later, Foley graduated from Babson College in Wellesley. Her entire degree had been dedicated to making Follain a reality. Upon graduation, Foley’s business plan for Follain won a prestigious business contest.
In truth, Foley and her husband had always planned to go back to New York City. They had family there. But it was more than that. "When I was little, I always thought I wanted to live in New York City," said Tara. "My plan in life has always been to live in New York."
She decided to open a pilot store in Boston, with hopes of eventually moving the operation to New York. After selling her car and investing the $10,000 she had won from her previous award, Foley and her husband built out a small store in the South End, completely on their own.
“I only started with about ten or so brands,” said Foley. “It was a small assortment...But, as we made money, we got more stuff! And it just kept on growing and growing.”
Eventually, the business expanded to a second location on Charles Street in Beacon Hill, as well as pop up shops in New York and D.C.
When it first opened, Follain was one of the first eco-beauty stores in the country. Today, Follain, CAP Beauty, Detox Market, and Credo Beauty are all competing to be the go-to destination for clean beauty. Follain’s claim to fame is it's very strict approval process for products, as well as a published list of banned chemical ingredients.
Foley also has a very specific vision for the products Follain offers. The store does not offer every single product in a cosmetic line, but rather those that fill the needs of her customers most effectively. She refers to her curation as a matrix of skin types and concerns.
“The columns are… the different skin types and concerns...and then the rows are the different types of products,” said Foley. “And we just make sure we’re filling all of those holes and with enough options, like per price point and everything.”
Earlier this spring, Follain relaunched, hoping to position itself as an e-retailer. The site now allows you to create a skin profile, and then recommends products based on your skin type. It will even send you a reminder to switch products if you select the option of seasonal dryness, a common concern among New England shoppers.
“We have a lot to learn. Like, nobody has really done this yet,” said Foley. “We are trying to pioneer taking over clean beauty in the digital world, and nobody has really cracked that nut yet.”
After perusing the store, Crimmins decided on trying new hair products.
"My number one concern is effectiveness. Will this work as well as my traditional products?" asked Crimmins. She was helped by Cameron Bruns, who listened to her concerns and explained how the key ingredients in each product worked. After about ten minutes, Katie Crimmins left with a new shampoo, conditioner, and a travel-size styling product.
Bruns, who works at the Nature Conservancy, also works part-time at Follain as a store associate, or what Follain calls “store educators.”
According to Foley, the training manual for educators is 400 pages long. “It has everything about the industry,” she said. It’s designed to help women learn about natural makeup and skin care products that work with the same efficacy that their traditional products do.
“It can be difficult, because if it [the product] doesn't work [just as well], women may write off all green beauty,” said Foley.
Follain also educates customers by regularly hosting evening events at its various locations, with topics ranging from female self-esteem to environmental impact. In July, their Beacon Hill location hosted a panel of experts who discussed how chemical sunscreens affect the body and more importantly, the oceans. According to the panelists, the chemicals in sunscreen leech into the water, and both plastic and aerosol containers are bad for the environment.
Brian Guadagno, founder and CEO of Raw Elements Sunscreen, was a panelist. His tinted mineral sunscreen is sold at Follain. Looking around the store, he said, “I'm thankful for places like Follain. It's so refreshing to come into a space like this and see so much glass.”
Follain offered guests white wine and charcuterie, as the panel discussed how each person could take little steps to make their lives healthier and more eco-friendly.
Eventually the conversation turned to what would come next. First food, now cosmetics. What’s the next step to greening our lives?
“Clothing,” said Foley. “I think the next big push will be for natural clothing.”
In truth, the day to move to New York never came. In 2015, Tara got pregnant, so she and her husband decided to stay in Boston.
Foley says the real reason she stayed wasn’t her son.
Inside Follain’s headquarters on the top floor of the Landmark Building in Fenway, she said, “[I stayed in Boston] because of Follain...We’re building the business here because there’s a really deep science community and environmental health community here that’s very unique to Boston.”
Foley has developed relationships with prominent researchers at Harvard and Tufts. It’s their input that helps keep Follain's ingredient standards up-to-date.
The last of the three women that Sunday afternoon was Megan Garfinkle. It may have been her first time in the store, but she knew what she wanted - a new foundation and concealer.
Garfinkle says that she tries to stay minimalistic with her makeup, and is gradually switching over to clean beauty products. "As I run out of current products, I’m replacing them with clean versions," said Garfinkle, 32, who works in marketing in the South End.
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Cameron Burns tested out a few products on her, and suggested Garfinkle take home samples and return when she decided which product she preferred.
"It’s funny, [wellness] is all my friends and I talk about now… Should we make our own soaps? What essential oils should we use?" Garfinkle said about her reasons for switching to clean beauty.
"If I’m spending money on a product, there’s no reason not to invest in products that are good for my body too," she continued. "And it's such a beautiful store."
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Garfinkle took the foundation samples, and bought the concealer. The clock struck six quickly after. Closing time.
At the panel in June, Tara Foley told the attendees that the goal of Follain was to convert women to healthier and safer products, and that the best way of doing that was through education.
It seems to be working.
