Last Thursday was one of those days when I had tickets to one evening event and then spotted another that I’d love to have attended as well. The one that I sadly only found out about once I already had plans was a panel discussion at London College of Fashion (LCF) on formulating a flawless base – in career, confidence and cosmetics – hosted by Florence Adepoju, the founder of beauty brand MDMflow.
Although I couldn’t attend her talk, I was intrigued by the brand and so did a bit of research. I discovered that Florence is an LCF Cosmetic Science graduate and started MDMflow in 2013 with a range of gold cased lipsticks that she made by hand in her parents’ garden shed. The brand got a lot of love – including features in Grazia, Metro, and Refinery 29 – so it wasn’t long before Florence realised she’d need some cash for expansion. After a successful fundraising campaign in 2014, she was able to invest in better ingredients, a marketing strategy (including running an MDMflow pop-up shop for a week at Boxpark, Shoreditch), and look at hiring a larger space for manufacturing.
Now, in addition to expanding the MDMflow range to include mascara and matte liquid lipstick, Florence has been developing her first foundation. As you might imagine from someone who’s built up her brand so much in five years that it’s now stocked by Nasty Gal, Pretty Little Thing, Boots and Harvey Nichols, the Flawless Base foundation has had a lot of thought go into its development. Florence says:
I am constantly speaking to my beauty community about the products they need me to create and since the very beginning foundations have been a recurring request. […] The MDMflow Flawless Base foundation works on all skin types, for all skin tones. A serum based formula that gives light yet build-able coverage, so you can go for a “no make-up” look all the way to full face. […] An area of diversity that people don’t really talk about is price point. So, as well as creating a high quality product, it is important to me to that my foundations are affordable.
I’m very excited by the idea of a cruelty free foundation that’s made in the UK by a young woman who really knows her stuff, and it sounds like it’ll be kind to your skin too. You can pre-order MDMflow Flawless Base Foundation now via Indiegogo, and I’ve already put my order in so I’ll be able to review it for Rarely Wears Lipstick later this year.
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