NCLA Beauty - How Elin & Anh-Thu Started A Selfcare Revolution

 


The Story Of NCLA Beauty

Late at night in 2010, in a small studio apartment in Los Angeles, two sisters Elin and Anh-Thu Dannerstedt were pulling together what would become known as NCLA Beauty. Inventory boxes lived in closets. Prototypes cluttered desks. Elin, who recently finished up studying in product development, sketched color palettes and formula ideas. Anh-Thu, just finished with high school, was packaging orders, handling logistics, and pushing through long nights. Between them, they had a vision: clean, cruelty-free beauty that feels like dessert for your senses. We are talking fun scents, playful textures, vibrant design, and the kind of packaging that makes you smile when you open it.

They didn’t want to just make another brand. They wanted an “OMG moment” every time someone unwraps their product. When your body butter smells so good it takes you back. When your lip balm feels like a treat. When your body scrub revitalize and refreshes you.

Products That Speak To The Senses

Over time, NCLA evolved from nail products into a full lineup of body + lip care, candles, and more, all while staying true to those first sensory thrills. Some highlights:

  • Body care: Rich body butters, exfoliating body scrubs, soaking bath treats, revitalizing oils, and sets designed for indulgent self-care rituals. NCLA BEAUTY

  • Lip care: Lip balms, lip scrubs, overnight lip masks, lip care “duos” that nourish and protect.

  • Candles & Merch: They offer candles, scent-driven merch, adding dimension to how the brand engages senses beyond skin.

  • Signature smells and flavors: Think “Birthday Cake,” “Papaya Vanilla,” “Coconut Vanilla,” “Gummy Bear,” etc. Their scent-catalog is intentionally nostalgic and indulgent.

All of this is 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and formulated with care in the United States.

Growing From Closets To Airports: Retail Expansions!

What really makes the NCLA story compelling is how they scaled without losing the heart and authenticity of the brand.

  • Local retail beginnings: After starting out knocking on doors of local retailers, Elin and Anh-Thu gradually built relationships with small boutiques and beauty-forward stores, letting their products speak directly to customers.

  • Wholesale channels: Their products are available wholesale through platforms like Faire, giving independent boutiques and retailers access to their catalog.

  • Travel retail launch: A big leap came with their entrance into travel retail. NCLA recently partnered with 3Sixty Duty Free to roll out across seven U.S. airports (including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas, Newark, Ontario, Charlotte, and Philadelphia) and three seaport locations in Mexico (Mahahual, Cozumel, Progreso).

  • Custom offerings: They even created exclusive travel-retail product lines, like lip care sets designed for travelers.

  • Global presence & digital strength: Their direct-to-consumer web store offers the full line of prodcuts. They maintain a strong heritage of vibrant branding and storytelling. They’re also featured in beauty-focused retailers internationally.

Why The World Can't Get Enough

What draws people to NCLA isn’t just one thing, it’s the combination of:

  • Authentic roots: Two sisters doing this from the ground up. When Elin recalls nights packaging orders or Anh-Thu sleeping on a couch in a warehouse-apartment squeezed between boxes, it shows grit and authenticity.

  • Sensory joy: The brand doesn’t just deliver on ethics; it delivers on experience. Textures, scents, visuals. Clean formulas + indulgence.

  • Clean beauty as inclusive beauty: Vegan, cruelty-free, made in USA. For Millennials and Gen Z especially, that matters. NCLA leans into that.

  • Growth with purpose: Retail expansion (especially travel retail) is being done thoughtfully, maintaining quality, launching travel-exclusive offerings, keeping products accessible.

Where They’re Going Next

Elin and Anh-Thu often say they’re just getting started. Their future? More surprise launches; broader global distribution; more sensory experiments (new scents, textures, collaborations); deeper engagement in travel and experiential retail; staying true to the clean, joyful essence NCLA was founded on.

My Personal Favorite Products

I've personally used many products from NCLA Beauty for the last 5 years. A few of my top favorites are:

  • Hey, Sugar Body Scrub - Birthday Cake, Coconut Vanilla, Dragonfruit Acai, and Passionfruit

  • Balm Babe Lip Balm - Watermelon, Black Cherry, and Mint Gelato

  • Sugar Sugar Lip Scrub - Birthday Cake, Black Cherry, and Dragonfruit Acai

  • Hi, Butter Body Butter - Mango and Pink Champagne

Where you can shop NCLA Beauty - https://nclabeauty.com/


By Cody Jay

President & CEO,

The Social Nexus Agency


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