Depotting, a common practice among beauty professionals, just got a whole lot easier. Makeup enthusiasts “depot” to organize their makeup – meaning they remove the blushes, eye shadows and powder foundations from their original packaging and consolidate it into one makeup case so they’re not carrying a dozen little containers. Depotting also allows women to organize their makeup by color. But the process can be time consuming and requires heating the bottom of makeup packaging to warm the glue so they can remove the metal pans from the plastic casings. To streamline the process, Van Nuys-based Z Palette is launching a flat-surface heating plate called the Z Potter this fall. “We feel that we’ve developed a product here that’s going to make more people successful at depotting,” Zena Shteysel, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Z Palette, said. “Right now, people are using candles, a lighter or putting their stuff in an oven to heat up their makeup. None of those are great methods. The Z Potter is a much safer, easier way to do it.” Z Potters will be sold exclusively on Z Palette’s e-commerce site once launched in the fall. The pots consist of two models – one that is similar to a hot plate and is hot to the touch, and another that uses heat induction to warm only metal and is cool to the touch. Prices will range between $50 to $75, the company projects. The launch comes during a strong market for cosmetics, with the selfie generation’s infatuation for posting photos on social media and YouTube with “how to” tutorials about makeup. The beauty industry reached $16 billion in sales in the United States last year, up 7 percent from the year before, according to market research company NDP Group Inc. in Port Washington, N.Y. Makeup in particular was up 13 percent last year, while skincare saw a 3 percent gain. “Skincare sales grew slower compared to years past, however makeup saw significant sales increases. … That shows the impact of millennials who are not yet concerned about skin imperfections and wrinkles, but who live on social media – particularly Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat,” Daniela Ciocan, marketing director of Cosmoprof North America – a beauty trade show in Henderson, Nev., said in an email to the Business Journal. Makeup companies have noted the depot trend and are supplying empty palettes of their own for artists to use. MAC Cosmetics has an assortment of empty makeup palettes on its line which retail starting at $8, for example. Clutter control Shteysel, makeup director on “Dancing with the Stars,” who is also known for her work on NBC’s “Grease Live!,” founded Z Palette in 2009. As an artist often carrying bags filled with makeup from gig to gig, she was trying to eliminate clutter and baggage when inspiration hit. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” she said. “We’re targeting both professionals and consumers.” The company’s main commercial product is its namesake Z Palettes, which are empty containers where consumers can arrange and store their depotted cosmetics. Z Palettes come in four sizes and are sold online at Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances Inc. and under a private label at Sephora. They retail between $5 and $45. Renee Loiz, Los Angeles celebrity makeup artist and beauty blogger, said depotting has been a trend among beauty professionals for years, and notes that the new Z Potter could eliminate many of the challenges that come with using the oven or a lighter to depot. “It’ll be good because it’ll take away from damaging a lot of your makeup,” she said. “When you put it in the oven, if you turn the heat up too high you can burn the product (and) it can change colors and texture. So you have to make sure you time it correctly.” Shteysel said she gathered $10,000 in seed capital to get the company off the ground – most of which was borrowed from family, her father in particular. Shteysel used the loan to pin down a Chinese manufacturer and to develop a website, in addition to other startup costs. From there she visited numerous trade shows to get Z Palettes on the shelves of independent retailers. Z Palettes originally launched at several local boutiques, including Frends Beauty in North Hollywood, Naimie’s Beauty Center in Valley Village and Nigel’s Beauty Emporium in North Hollywood. “As the product started getting more popular on YouTube and social media, the (large) companies started to notice us,” she said. “The buyers from Sephora and Ulta were keeping up on current trends and found out about us and contacted us. It was really exciting.” Z Palette broke even its first year, and by its second year Shteysel was able to repay her father. It wasn’t until 2014 that Shteysel invested in a warehouse in Van Nuys. Now Z Palettes are sold at boutiques nationwide and in the U.K., Middle East and Europe. “We’re continuing to expand in different regions, that’s one of our main goals,” Shteysel said. “What’s funny is I didn’t realize until I got into this business how many makeup lovers there are in the world. I mean they’re everywhere – in every country they’re doing makeup.”
Cosmetic Clean-Up
