A new site is making it easy for Americans to discover the best of Russian beauty.
is poised to do the same for Russian products. Cofounder Maria Karr was born and raised in Russia, but moved to the United States nearly 15 years ago. She began a career in the beauty industry, during which time she observed brands from around the world — from Australia, Iceland, and, of course, Korea — become available to U.S. consumers. But Russian products were almost never part of the global beauty conversation — perhaps because not long ago, they were few and far between.
But during a visit to Moscow in 2019, she visited local beauty stores and found a treasure trove of brands she knew people across the world would want. "I was looking at a very healthy variety of clean, natural beauty products that looked amazing, smelled great, and felt wonderful on the skin," she says.
Botanicals have long been at the heart of traditional Russian beauty. "A strong bond with nature is in our DNA," says Anna Dycheva, CEO of Reed Exhibitions Russia, the organizer of InterCharm — the largest beauty expo in Russia — and a board member of the Cosmetics and Perfumery Association of Russia.