Lianna Albrizio, Assistant Editor08.24.23
Australia-based entrepreneur Donna Fahandezh’s indie brand story begins like most others in 2023: a spark of inspiration ignites while scrolling social media during the pandemic.
Sparkling White Smile Kellyville—to that of skincare.
While immersed in TikTok videos of a woman icing her face with frozen milk (a technique known as cryotherapy), the lightbulb went off in the then-19-year-old’s head. She decided to segue from the teeth whitening world—she was previously the director of teeth whitening service
“I know icing your face was a big thing, but in Australia, that trend of icing your face hadn’t really come yet,” she explained. “I feel like it was huge in America, but it hadn’t really come to Australia.”
According to Fahandezh, Australian consumers didn’t get the concept.
“I was spending so much time trying to educate people,” she said.
For example, Fahandezh said some were scared to put it on their skin because they thought they might get frostbite from holding the ice in their hands.
Fahandezh enjoyed the look and feel of a glowing complexion from cryotherapy, but thought that if the frozen milk was used in popsicle form, her hands wouldn’t be a frigid mess.
That was her eureka moment.
“That’s when I found a gap in the market and I went downstairs to my parents and I just said, ‘I’m starting a skincare line,’” she told Happi in a recent Zoom interview. “They’re the most supportive people ever. They told me: if anyone can do it, you can, just do it.”
‘Botox in a Bottle’
Her freezable 100-millileter serum, dubbed Ice Glow us manufactured in Australia. It contains niacinamide, aloe vera, vitamin C, betaine, sodium hyaluronate, licorice root, green tea and stem cell extracts. It has a unique silicone applicator that was three years in the making. The product is frozen like a popsicle, removed from the holder and glided over a cleansed face. It cools and tightens the skin to close pores, calms rosacea and acne, reduces dark circles and undereye puffiness and softens fine lines and wrinkles to yield a smooth, all-over glow on the face and decolletage.
Consumers can follow with their skin care routines using a moisturizer, SPF and makeup, which the founder says looks even nicer with the Ice Glow used as a primer.
“It is literally Botox in a bottle,” Fahandezh said of the wonders of her frozen facial serum.
The Ice Glow serum can be applied for as little as 10 seconds to see benefits before placing it back into the refillable mold to be frozen and applied again.
‘Insane’ Results
While Fahandezh will deploy a team of influencers to share the product with the Australian audience once their summer starts, she’s done little marketing for the product since its launch this past June. She has relied on word of mouth to get her product out to the masses.
“I’ve done no marketing on my business whatsoever, other than myself posting on TikTok,” Fahandezh told Happi. “I’m selling hundreds and hundreds. It is going insane because people are seeing their results. People message me every single day…..Word of mouth is doing everything right now.”
One of her most flattering comments came from a 60-year-old woman who was suffering from dark undereye circles and pronounced lines. After two weeks of using Ice Glow, that women sent a before and after video of her dark circles and lines “looking 70% better,” Fahandezh said.
While Ice Glow provides a wealth of anti-aging benefits, there’s no target age for the products In fact, Fahandezh’s youngest known user, a 19-year-old girl, presented with moderate acne. She reportedly saw relief after one week.
“Her acne was really flared up and red,” said Fahandezh. “After using it, some spots were gone and the spots that were there were not red anymore. She wouldn’t leave her house and now feels so much more confident.”