MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Beauty boss Lynne Sanders
Lynne Sanders, 67, is co-founder and CeO of make-up company Cosmetics a la Carte, loved by emilia Fox, Kylie and rosamund Pike. She lives in London with her husband roger and has a daughter, Isabella. I GREW up in a time when people felt women shouldn’t be ‘overeducated’, and there was no money to support me at university. At 18 I went to work for Unilever as a technical assistant, in research for its haircare brands.
While there, I met my future business partner, Christina. We loved talking about setting up a make-up business — in the Seventies, cosmetics all made you look orange.
When Christina was head-hunted by Yardley, she took me with her. Then she got the sack for trying to get us equal pay. Now we were effectively blacklisted, so there was nothing to lose! Christina sold her flat and on July 4, 1973, we opened our first London shop, selling make-up upstairs and manufacturing products downstairs.
We were the first luxury British make-up company to make all our own products. We invented bespoke blending for foundation — we match your skin tone exactly. Celebrities, including Jerry Hall and Marie Helvin, tracked us down.
We made Toast, our first nude lipstick, for Princess Diana. Once Diana walked in as U2 were choosing make-up for their tour. They bowed in awe and kissed her hand as they left — and she bought everything they had taken.
Another time Grace Jones arrived on a Sunday morning. She marched into the local police station demanding they find the owner to open up the shop. Fortunately they knew where to find us.
Eight years ago Christina decided to retire. I realised I was at a crossroads, coming up to 60. I thought, I’ve got two choices: either leave the business to travel the world, or recharge it with new energy.
I’d always thought of myself as a scientist rather than a business mind, but I surprised myself. We never stop experimenting. We have just launched a new Superglow Serum and summer collection.
Because we have our own lab, we can keep prices accessible — a specially blended foundation costs £58. If you send us a swatch or a sample of your favourite shade of lipstick or eyeshadow, we’ll re-create your must-have product.
Make-up has the power to change lives. Nothing gives me more joy than a customer who goes back to her life with a spring in her step.
cosmeticsalacarte.com