From
Gwyneth Paltrow joining forces with Tracy Anderson to build a workout studio in a former movie theater to
Hannah Bronfman curating natural beauty boxes with CAP Beauty, there's a definite future-is-female thing happening in the wellness world.
Hey, anything that involves women supporting women is a wonderful thing—and there's another power duo you need to know about: Onda, the Australian-inspired natural beauty marketplace, and Malia Mills' clothing boutique.
It's Onda's first brick-and-mortar location (up until now, it's only been a virtual store), and it's a shop-within-a-shop at Mills' Upper East Side store. Oh, and it's filled with the Onda aesthetic—think hanging macrames, succulents, and cream-and-white shades to highlight the products from Uma, Marie Veronique, African Botanics, Grown Alchemist, and many more.
"It's nice to introduce [our shoppers] to the work of other women we admire."
As a fashion industry veteran, Onda founder Larissa Thomson goes way back with Mills—they met back in the '90s and have been friends ever since. "[Malia] came to our first event that was at Sarah's apartment [Onda's co-founder], and she immediately understood what we were doing," Thomson explains. "She was already a natural beauty advocate and we introduced her to many more brands, and we both realized right away that our philosophies were aligned."
So when Mills asked Thomson and [Sarah] Byrden-Brown to do a pop-up within her store, the Onda team jumped at the opportunity—and Mills' cleared out one of the three rooms in her uptown location to make room for Thomson's display (which includes a full window looking out on the street to entice skin-care fanatics).
"It's nice to introduce [our shoppers] to the work of other women we admire," gushes Mills. "We're always trying to encourage other women that are doing new things to come in and hopefully learn from the stuff in our stores. It's such a privilege to be able to give back to such supportive women."
It's such a breath of fresh air, especially during the highly anxious political era we're living in, to see entrepreneurs getting collaborative and embracing a 'let's do this" mentality. Mills agrees: "It's a time where women are working together, shoulder to shoulder—it's our moment," she says. "Everyone's feeling that vibe so we've got to seize it and kick some ass."
Malia Mills, 1015 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10021, (212) 517-7485, maliamills.com
Before you shop for a natural moisturizer, make sure you know whether your skin is dry or dehydrated (there's a big difference). And, regardless of your skin type, this is what every woman should know about her beauty routine.
