Since Lori can remember, beauty has been a cornerstone of her life. Lori was born into a large entrepreneurial family; this involved a lot of moving around at a young age. Her father David (and co-owner of Bodyography) had worked in the beauty industry for decades until he decided to go off on his own, settle in California from South Africa and create a family-owned and operated beauty empire All the while, Lori’s mother worked in beauty, her love of makeup and fashion ran deep in Lori’s veins and inspired her to begin her career at FIDM in Los Angeles in 2006.
Lori is celebrating her 10 year anniversary as Bodyography’s Creative Director and co-owner. She has dedicated a decade to evolving this brand into what it is today. She is proud of how far Bodyography has come and they look fiercely into the future with lofty goals! Lori wears many hats in her role, from product development to social media and everything in between. She is constantly inspired by all the unique places Bodyography takes her and the incredible people she gets to meet along the way!
It has been important to Lori to build relationships with her customers and beauty industry peers; these relationships inspire everything she does. Her heart is in every color you swipe on your lips and glitter you pat on your eyes. Lori’s dream and vision is seen within everything she creates with their products. She feels very lucky to live such a colorful life, and her goal is to continue to be loyal to her customers and support their journey through the colorful world of beauty.
I love Bodyography products and they are always in my makeup kit. I spoke with Lori Leib and I loved hearing all about this amazing beauty brand.
Holly: I love Bodyography, it’s a brand I use personally + professionally. I would love to know more about the history of the brand and your love of it.
Lori: Thank you Holly! We are so happy to have you in the Bodyography family. I am so beyond proud of this brand, my family business acquired Bodyography over 15 years ago, bringing me on as the creative director 12 years ago! We took this small unknown brand and with a lot of love, dedication, sleepless nights and ‘elbow grease’ have turned Bodygraphy into a global beaty brand found in over 40 countries worldwide. Bodyography was originally started for makeup artists in the salon space, I stay true to this origin by creating quality formulas that are professionally developed to be used on set, in kits and of course in your makeup bag.
Holly: With the ever changing landscape in the beauty world, how do you stay relevant in the industry?
Lori: I truly believe it is all about community, sharing and learning together with the people who use and work with Bodyography everyday helps to build a strong brand identity. I personally don’t like to or feel the need to keep up with all the big beauty brands out there, it’s almost ‘too much’ and not sustainable for an indie brand like us. Instead, I believe in digging deep and seeing what we are missing to fulfill the needs of our customers, inspire artists and hopefully find a place in the makeup bag of people everywhere. I also find it important to grow and change, adding shades, discounting slow sellers, refreshing inventory, and of course working with incredible artists and creators of all walks of life.
Holly: One thing I love about the Bodyography makeup line is not only the look but the feel of makeup on my skin. I literally feel like I have a fresh face even when wearing Bodyography makeup. That’s the biggest takeaway and that’s what my clients rave about all the time is “the feel” of the makeup. Are there certain ingredients in the line, that help create this?
Lori: That’s what I always say! You must feel it to believe it. I am all about the pigment when it comes to makeup formulas, I like LOTS OF PIGMENT! Why? Because the more pigment load the less makeup you need and the better your skin will feel! I also like to work with hydrating and moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, shea butter, grapeseed oil, etc. Keeping heavy filler ingredients to a minimum keeps the makeup pure, simple and effective, feeling lovely on the skin! The proof is in the pigment!
Holly: While we are on the topic of ingredients, I know there are so many definitions of “clean beauty” Can you speak to Bodyography’s stance on clean beauty and how your products fall under this category?
Lori: Clean beauty in Bodyography’s terms is defined as combining trends and innovation with exceptional quality and performance, leaving out the bad to experience the good (easier said than done, but we’re on a mission!).
Holly: Bodyography has some of the cutest product names, what inspires the names and shades of your products?
Lori: When I am dreaming up new product range or collection, my process goes a couple of different ways. Sometimes I am inspired by packaging, then comes the formula, followed by the name. Other times, I have an idea that begins with a name and the rest follows suit. Naming is the easy part, telling the story of a product is one of my favorite elements, I generally start every product with a blurb about the texture, sensation, and experience – almost like a little romantic poem! I am also really inspired by music and song lyrics, they often inspire my most innovative imagination.
Holly: During Covid so many of us have had to pivot our businesses. Did you find you had to pivot as well during this time?
Lori: Yes 100%, I must admit COVID hit us pretty hard, as a makeup brand in a mask wearing society it’s obvious that sales declined, however it was not just sales that suffered. So many of our partner countries experienced horrific economic decline, slow vaccine rollouts and drawn out lockdowns that businesses really suffered. The changes we made were simple, but effective, we moved all of our education to virtual and still continued to support distributors, beauty schools and salons who carry Bodyography with interactive education and support. I launched our Anti-Bacterial Sanitizing Spray to support artists once they were able to work again, this spray is amazing and completely sanitizes your makeup, kit and workstation and is face safe! I also turned to social media and worked hard on growing our online community, creating our MUSE Series and being more interactive online.
Holly: What would you say is the goal for your brand and what newness can we expect to see from Bodyography?
Lori: My goal for Bodyography is to keep growing our international network of distributors, by doing so we will continue to see Bodyography become a bigger brand, working with more artists, selling in more salons, and partnering with strategic retailers to bring Bodyography to all that want it! I am taking it slow with new launches as we are still experiencing the aftershock of a global pandemic, however I am working on some new and colorful complexion products, expanding the brow category and formulating a few multi-purpose items. I am also working on something special for Holiday 2022 (I know it seems far, but it sneaks up!!)
Holly: What is your favourite go to makeup look and what products would those include?
Lori: I am a California Girl, so I like to look fresh, tan, healthy and glowing (easier said than done), but seriously it is easy! I have my go-to products: I LOVE Skin Slip Concealer, it makes your skin look flawless and you barely need any product, I can’t live without Sunsculpt Bronzer and Highlighter, but Face and Body Bronzing Gloss is a close second for that summer tan glow all year long! For eyes I am a sucker for a Glitter Pigment, they are so easy and glam, my favorite colors are Off the Hook and Celestial, but I also LOVE Aura Glow for a purple moment. I am a big lips girl, I always wear Heatherberry, Pouty or Timber Lip Pencil with Chiffon Fabric Texture Lipstick on the lips and cheeks and I never leave the house without curling my lashes and Epic Lash – sounds like a lot but I can do all these steps in 3-5 minutes, mom life!
Holly: Who inspires you?
Lori: I am always inspired by my sisters and my girlfriends, a big group of women with different styles, unique looks and special beauty! I am also inspired by my team of educators and the content creators we partner with; I just find makeup artists SO INCREDIBLE! I love admiring and being inspired by each person’s process and the outcome of their skills, you included Holly! You are so talented! This is my favorite topic, but I am also very inspired by street style and Korean and Japanese fashion!
Holly: Who is your favourite beauty icon?
Lori: My friend and a huge inspiration to myself and Bodyography is Katie Jane Hughes, she is my beauty icon! Not only her personal beauty (and heart) but the looks she creates on her gorgeous girls, Rosie Huntingdon Whitely and Hailey Bieber for example! Katie is the definition of an artist, she is self-taught and shares her passion and art with everyone! She embodies beauty and is such an icon.
Holly: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three beauty products would you have to have with you?
Lori: #1 A tweezer, for obvious reasons. #2 Lip Balm, it can be used on your lips or as a glossy cheekbone highlighter and on the brow bone. #3 Sunscreen, we don’t want to look old now do we?!
Thank you Lori, I love being apart of the Bodyography family!
If you are looking for a female lead, clean beauty line, check out Bodyography in your area – or contact me for more information and how to get these products in your makeup bag!
xx
Shop Bodyography on Holly’s website for some of her favourite products!
