Naked Poppy Curates…and Formulates…Products

NakedPoppy, which bills itself as the first clean beauty site powered by intelligent technology, is now active. The site is said to be designed for on-the-go women who seek the highest standards in hand-vetted, luxe, and long-lasting clean makeup. According to the comany, its intelligent proprietary technology enables a personalized, curated experience that simplifies the process of finding just the right products.

The company also announced that it has received $4 million in seed funding from leading Silicon Valley investors.

In addition, the San Francisco-based company has created its own eyeliner.

According to NakedPoppy research, 7 in 10 women characterize it as “difficult” or “very difficult” to assess which makeup is free of harmful chemicals.

NakedPoppy's standard for clean products is based on four criteria: cruelty-free, low in environmental impact, ethically made, and free of harmful chemicals.

According to the company, “NakedPoppy’s cosmetic chemists carefully screen each product it sells for these characteristics. Out of about 80,000 chemicals registered in the United States, about 12,500 are available for use in personal care products. NakedPoppy’s pool of scientifically screened, allowable clean ingredients is fewer than 700 across all the brands it carries. This pool is constantly changing as new studies emerge so that women can always be sure that their makeup is of the highest quality. Additionally, makeup artists and NakedPoppy staff review each product to make sure it performs as beautifully as conventional makeup.”

NakedPoppy offers customers an  assessment that takes about three minutes. NakedPoppy’s  algorithm takes into account considerations including skin type, skin color, skin undertone, age, eye color, hair color, allergies, sensitivities, beauty goals, and more. Its proprietary technology can reportedly interpret photographs of a customer’s wrist to accurately pinpoint her base skin color. 

“Our data science, green chemistry, and makeup artist teams worked around the clock to develop this personalized experience, which we believe is a breakthrough in how people will shop for beauty products going forward,” said Kimberly Shenk, NakedPoppy co-founder and chief product officer. “Customers shouldn’t have to waste time wading through products that won’t work for them or wondering which shade best suits them. Now they don’t have to.”

In addition to curating clean makeup, and the “co-founders’ inability to find a clean liquid eyeliner that performed to their standards,” Naked Poppy has formulated its own. 

“This is a hero product, no doubt about it,” said Susan Lyne, managing partner of BBG Ventures, former CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Gilt Groupe, and a NakedPoppy angel investor. “Most eyeliners start drying out after a few weeks and get harder to apply. This one is still as supple as the day I got it. It looks natural, lasts all day and washes off easily with soap. It’s pretty perfect.”

The firm has $4 million from investors that include Cowboy Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Maveron, Polaris Ventures, and Slow Ventures.