09.30.15
Balanda Atis is in fast company—literally. The innovative L'Oréal chemist was recently the subject of an article in Fast Company, a magazine and website that highlights new business practices, and to showcase the teams and individuals who are inventing the future and reinventing business. That objective dovetails with Atis' resume and the changing world of beauty. Fading from the scene are blue-eyed, blonde-haired supermodels. They're being replaced by women of color, a rich palette of color, that underscores the population makeup in the US and around the world.
In a nod to the changes, L'Oréal last year signed Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o as Lancôme's fist black spokesperson. But to make makeup work for Nyong'o and other multicultural women, the world's biggest cosmetic company turned to Balanda Atis who to create the foundations that look right on women of color. After researching the issue, Atis discovered that ultramarine blue is the pigment that can create rich colors with excellent texture. Atis' work was so well-received that L'Oréal executives took her work and leveraged it across multiple brands.
"What Balanda started is still changing the game today," Malena Higuera, SVP-marketing at L’Oréal Paris, told Fast Company. "We’re using these innovations to build first-to-market breakthroughs."
Now, Atis is charged with more responsibilities. As the head of L'Oréal's Women of Color Lab in Clark, NJ, she is responsible for making sure that women in each of the 140 countries where L’Oréal products are available can find makeup that matches the texture and color of their skin.
In a nod to the changes, L'Oréal last year signed Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o as Lancôme's fist black spokesperson. But to make makeup work for Nyong'o and other multicultural women, the world's biggest cosmetic company turned to Balanda Atis who to create the foundations that look right on women of color. After researching the issue, Atis discovered that ultramarine blue is the pigment that can create rich colors with excellent texture. Atis' work was so well-received that L'Oréal executives took her work and leveraged it across multiple brands.
"What Balanda started is still changing the game today," Malena Higuera, SVP-marketing at L’Oréal Paris, told Fast Company. "We’re using these innovations to build first-to-market breakthroughs."
Now, Atis is charged with more responsibilities. As the head of L'Oréal's Women of Color Lab in Clark, NJ, she is responsible for making sure that women in each of the 140 countries where L’Oréal products are available can find makeup that matches the texture and color of their skin.