With color-shifting shimmer shadows, we’re like moths to a flame. Which is exactly why The Beauty Brief traveled to Sydney, Australia (virtually) to learn more about this captivating cosmetics brand. Founded by makeup artist Amy Xu, Cloudicos takes a surprisingly minimalistic approach to beauty – think Glossier with a major injection of color and sparkle.
“Many colorful brands are too maximalist for me, so it was a balance between those two vibes,” Xu explains.
The current lineup consists of the following product assortment, all in the color category:
Liquid blush in (4) shades
Liquid bronzer in (2) shades
Cushiony lip gloss in (6) shades with a bonus limited edition in sheer, sparkly blue
Ultra-fine loose sparkle pigments in (8) shades
(2) shadow palettes
For Xu, Cloudicos is an extension of who she is.
“I am a Chinese girl, growing up in a Western society. I have a girly side and a minimalist lifestyle, with a background in makeup, so Cloudicos reflects all of these aspects in a different way,” she says.
“I am heavily influenced by Asian beauty trends. The only issue is that they're all generally too pastel and one-noted. For example, with many of their eyeshadow palettes you can only create 1-2 looks because they're all one color scheme,” Xu adds.
With Asian beauty standards being so prevalent, it’s natural that product development would increasingly cater specifically to that certain aesthetic for the majority of brands.
Being that Cloudicos comes from a very multicultural society in Australia, its founder has opted for a more inclusive approach that works with a wider range of skin tones and multi-functional products that give consumers a variety of options in the looks department.
“Having a makeup artist background also plays into the color stories and choices I make in building Cloudicos in terms of practical components for storage, formulas that play well with others, and colors that will suit many customers,” Xu shares.
All Cloudicos products are vegan, cruelty-free and formulated to be high quality, while still remaining at an accessible price point for consumers.
The Cloudicos founder is incredibly intentional with her brand, only releasing products she is truly proud of, putting it simply that “I hate how fast-fashion has leaked into fast-beauty, so I don't do frequent drops."
In order to get her line just right, Xu goes through a lot of cycles of sampling and testing with her manufacturing partners. She utilizes Pinterest as an inspiration-driver to help her with aesthetics and practices consistent social listening on TikTok to better understand what consumers want and are not currently getting from other beauty brands.
“A lot of my core products have gone through a couple iterations. I'm a fairly critical person, so this tends to leak into my products, too. Sometimes I wake up and decide a product is not good enough and decide to discontinue it to make room in my curated catalog for something better,” the founder says.
Xu is self-aware that her affinity for discontinuation may be annoying to some customers, but believes that as a small business, now is the perfect time to explore, re-curate, and improve upon her brand. We personally love to see it.
“You have to be flexible, I think, to realize things can always be done better, can change, and listen to your customers,” she explains.
When she’s not running her brand, the Cloudicos founder continues her work as a makeup artist. She enjoys being creative, doing client makeovers, learning new tips and tricks -- and obviously playing with product and swatches like every single one of us.
“As a makeup artist, there is a sincerely amazing feeling when you finish someone's look and you slayed it, and they feel absolutely amazing. You can form some really amazing connections in an hour with someone when you do their look. It's a personal experience and every face is different,” Xu shares.
Like many indie brand founders, every day Xu is faced with new challenges, but attributes success to resilience despite it all.
She shares one of our personal favorite mantras that we swear by as founders of The Beauty Brief.
“It's crazy, but at the moment my current mindset is 'everything will work out, just keep going.’ Delulu is the solulu, right? I just keep working every day and don't think too much about my overarching predicaments because it's better to have tried than to ask yourself 'what if' down the line,” she says.
One of the greatest joys Xu has experienced since launching Cloudicos has been the ability to meet her customers in person and interact with them via DM. Seeing how her brand has impacted people’s lives is a major motivator.
“I am super blessed to have a wonderful community that I've built. I think because I don't see my customers as a number like many big companies, I in turn am blessed with support and a community, which honestly feels like thousands of friends.”
As far as advice for fellow and aspiring beauty industry founders, she shares the following:
“You need to be in it because you have a vision to share. You must truly love what you are doing and be willing to put in the work for a very long time. If you think it's easy or could make you money [instantly], think again because you're probably going to end up in debt. This is just the reality, not trying to be discouraging. Statistically, most small business startups fail. I can't even say I've succeeded yet; I could very much go under as well. Touch wood. But that's the truth.
A business is one thing, a brand is another thing. Building a brand comes as you build your business – these are separate concepts as well. You must be ready to do a lot of self-learning and investing in your mind, spirit, and education if you are to succeed in a startup.”
If you’re ready to do these things and take on the risk, Xu says that founding Cloudicos has genuinely been one of the best decisions she’s ever made for herself.
We had the opportunity to test out the Cloudicos range and are super impressed with the pigment-packed liquid blushes and eye-catching shadow selections.
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