Welcome Yvonne!  You are the creator and owner of Ennvoy Mineral Cosmetics.  Please tell us what the name "Ennvoy" means, and how your company came to be.

     Ennvoy (pronounced “on voy”) is actually an anagram of my first name.

     A few years ago, I noticed that my skin just wasn’t looking as nice as it did when I was a few years younger.  I began to look for ways to improve not only the way my skin looked cosmetically, but I also felt that I needed to also examine other external factors contributing to my lack-luster complexion.  I began to question everything…the foods I ate, the water I drank, the cleaning products I used, my exposure to allergens and irritants – all of the "usual suspects".

     The last place I would have imagined to find serious offenders was in my makeup and personal care products.  I looked at my drugstore bought foundation and began researching the ingredients contained within my seemingly benign little bottle of liquid foundation.  Startled and appalled was my reaction to the ingredient information I uncovered…. so many intimidatingly multi-syllabic chemicals and potential carcinogens…some even cleverly disguised. Hmmmm…. perhaps if I visit the upscale department store cosmetics counter and pay top dollar, I’ll find much purer ingredients.  Of course, this was not the case.

     So began my quest for the "perfect" cosmetics. There just had to be a viable natural alternative.  What I stumbled upon was the unspoiled natural beauty and simplicity of loose minerals.  Being a very dry skinned gal who never reached for anything even remotely resembling a powder, I had my reservations.  I was absolutely amazed and delighted at how fresh and natural my skin looked after applying the minerals.  This is when all the "tweaking" began. Creating new colors and formulations was not only challenging, but a wonderfully creative outlet as well.  After all, there certainly must be millions of colors in the world.  It would have been so tempting to formulate hundreds of eye shadows, but I needed to revisit my original objectives.

     After a nineteen-year applications engineering career in the industrial abrasives industry, I longed for a career change and thus Ennvoy Mineral Cosmetics was born.  I began my small venture with the typical doubts and fears…..would women like my products?  Was this a viable full-time business?  Most fortunately, I have been blessed with wonderful customers and it is truly rewarding to receive their positive feedback about my products.  What a joy it now is to wake up each day and look forward to doing what I truly love.  My previous experience in the world of abrasives was also quite helpful and applicable, as many of the abrasives that I had worked with were composed of minerals.  Also with the many years of grinding experience that I had, I was also able to develop unique manufacturing techniques and efficient grinding processes not typically used in the cosmetics arena.

 

I'd like to hear a little more about your 19 year career applications engineering job. I'm not sure that I even know what that means. How did you get into that field and what did you do in that job?

     Actually, I got into that field quite by accident.  What I really wanted to be “when I grew up” was an opera singer.  While attending school, I took on a part-time job at a company that supplied industrial cutting tools such as drills and grinding wheels to manufacturing companies.  What was to be a short-term, part-time stint turned into 19 years in no time!  Before I knew it, I was learning just about every job within the company and then was put on the road as their Abrasive Specialist, which meant that I traveled to various manufacturing facilities including foundries and engine manufacturing plants, where I observed their operations and applications and recommended the appropriate abrasives needed to achieve their specific metal finishing requirements.  Although I loved my job, I was truly ready to try something new and different.  Needless to say, I never did become that famous opera singer!

 

What has been the mission of your company?

…..Back to my original vision. I did not want to create a myriad of products just for the sake of having quantity.  I felt that it was much more important to have well thought-out and consistent products rather than sheer volume.  I didn’t want to put myself (or more importantly, my customers) in the position where items were not available for immediate shipment.  I wanted to ship 6 days per week and commit to shipping orders out within 48 hours of receipt.  I also wanted to offer free shipping, as all of my mineral products are relatively lightweight.  So, in a nutshell, my mission was to create carefully considered quality products to be shipped in a timely fashion.  I spend considerable time developing and testing new products, but I feel this is very important.

 

How did you go about investigating mineral cosmetics?

     Fortunately, I really like to do research, so, I gleaned a lot of information from the internet, read books, spoke to others in similar businesses, and accepted that this is a constant learning process. Much of the learning process was through trial and error and experimentation and learning what things worked and didn’t work. I have “mineral mountains” of experiments that didn’t work out! I think you really learn a lot from making mistakes.  I also learn a lot from my customers about what works well for them.  Everyone’s skin and preferences are different, so, I always appreciate getting feedback.

 

Did you have any mentors or role models around you that introduced you to all-natural beauty, health and/or mineral cosmetics?

     Deb Medina, of Monave, has always been an inspiration to me, always helpful, informative, and encouraging.  I admire her commitment to and passion for natural products.

 

What types of products do you make?

The Ennvoy Mineral Cosmetics line currently includes:

• Mineral Foundation

• Mineral Blush

• Mineral Eye Shadow

• Mineral Eyeliner

• Silk Finishing Powder

• Rice Setting Powder

• Mineral Concealer

 

Has the field of all-natural beauty always appealed to you?

     I can’t say that I was always interested in all-natural beauty; quite frankly, I never gave much thought to the ingredients in the products that I was putting on my face.  It wasn’t until I developed allergies and started having strange reactions to my usual skincare products and cosmetics, that I began exploring the possible causes and educating myself on various ingredients.

 

What plans do you have for the future of your company?

     In addition to my 2 current website venues, I would also like to market my products in spas that specialize in natural, holistic treatments.



What do you see for the future of all-natural beauty?

     I believe that interest and awareness will only increase.  I see a real trend of “getting back to basics”, not only in skincare and cosmetics, but also in balancing the many external factors that can adversely affect our well-being.