With almost two decades of experience under her belt, Amy Zunzunegui has dedicated her career to developing iconic, industry-disrupting products, such as Urban Decay cult-favourites, the NAKED Palette and 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils. Now she launches her own beauty brand, WLDKAT Skin and today Amy shares a little bit about what it’s been like to not only begin this journey again, during a global pandemic but also what she’s learnt along the way.
After almost two decades working with Urban Decay, why did you switch to creating skincare?
After spending that long at Urban Decay, I wanted to do something new, something that got me out of my comfort zone. But I didn’t come out of Urban Decay with a plan on starting a brand, in fact I never had the desire to do so. However, the stars aligned and here we are.
What was it like to work in one of the fastest-growing make-up brands of the last century?
It was amazing. I feel so lucky to have been able to be apart of that ride.
What was your biggest takeaway from working at Urban Decay?
Work hard, be passionate (even if some people think it’s too much), ask a ton of
questions, don’t be afraid to say you don’t know or don’t understand something. Trust
your gut.
How challenging was the transition from having a full-time job to running your own beauty start-up?
It has been extremely challenging but more due to the fact that we are in a pandemic
and have shifted to working from home full time. Start-up life is hard enough by itself, but
add on being at home 24 hours a day, it makes it even tougher. It is a challenge to
turn work off and have personal time. The pressure of knowing you have to provide
for your team is pretty intense too but we are all in this together.
Where does the name WLDKAT come from?
I wanted a name that felt different and stood out in the space. Something that didn’t
feel like a skincare or beauty brand. But most importantly, I wanted a name that said
something about me, about our team and about the customer who uses the products.
A name that you could be proud to have on a product, t-shirt, sticker or bag.
What distinguishes WLDKAT from what’s already out in the skincare world right now?
The biggest difference is our point of view. We have packaging that doesn’t feel like
any other skincare brand. We don’t believe in prescriptive skincare or overdesigned
packaging or formulas. Our packaging is probably some of the most sustainable in
the industry and our formulas have unexpected ingredient combinations of old and
new.
What was the biggest challenge you faced from launching in a pandemic?
One month out from launching we had to completely shift our launch strategy. We had a huge launch event planned in NYC where we were taking over a bodega and turning it into an
immersive WLDKAT space. We pivoted and shifted everything to a digital strategy.
My expertise is not in digital so there has been a lot of learning going on. But that is
what makes it fun.
There are a lot of clean and sustainable brands out there right now, how does WLDKAT stay sustainable?
I really think we are one of the most sustainable brands around. Our boxes are 100%
PCR with no coatings. The majority of our components are made in the USA
(lowering our carbon footprint) and the majority PCR (post-consumer recycled
content.) Our shipping boxes are 100% PCR and we give suggestions to the
consumer on how to re-use them. We are moving to labels that are a mix of PCR and
hemp so that we use less chemicals and laminate in them.
Do you find it difficult to create a skincare formulation that hasn’t already been done?
Innovation is always the biggest challenge but if you create from your own point of
view that is already different from what others have created. We really try to look at what
others have done and NOT do the same thing. If you work with the right labs and
give them good direction but let them create, I think that is where the magic happens.
*Apart of WLDKAT‘s ethos is to elevate the beauty routine and take the guess work out of cannabis use. With a range of CBD infused products both core and unconventional, WLDKAT is the perfect fusion of prestige cannabis culture and CBD skincare.
What is it about CBD that makes it so great for your body?
CBD is known to be anti-inflammatory and calming. It helps with everything from
anxiety and stress reduction to redness reduction on the skin.
Do you have a favourite product from the range?
It is so hard to pick the favs. If I/we don’t love the products then they don’t make the
cut.
Lastly, do you have any hints about what we can expect from WLDKAT in the coming
months?
Our problem is that we have too many ideas…we probably have 20 product ideas in the works at the moment and they are all different!
Buy WLDKAT Skin here (for 20% off use code ‘science20’) and follow them on Instagram here.
