Striving to become the skincare brand other labels measure themselves to, vegan beauty company Whind blends the power of modern science with its sun-kissed background to create an affordable, effective and evocative line of rich products.
Founded by Moroccan Hind Sebti, former beauty executive at L’Oréal, the cosmetic enterprise values kindness in all its forms and cares deeply about what it does, how it is done, and what it leaves behind’. And they mean it. Certified carbon neutral, green and cruelty-free, Whind does not compromise when it comes to being an ethical brand. Launched in April 2021, the young unblemished label is starting to make a name for itself in the industry as its purity is felt on the inside but translated into beauty for the outside.
Having just introduced their latest Bronzing Glow Duo earlier this month, we sat down with the brain behind the brand to shoot the breeze and talk roots, science and vision.
What pushed you to draw inspiration and shine a light on your home-country and its natural products?
For the first time in my career, I acknowledged my Moroccan roots. Through this process I realized that that was also a personal and emotional journey back to where I all started, that my upbringing in Morocco, the culture, the warm and joyful beauty point of view have been and still are such an inspiration for me, for whind. And then consciously, I dreamed of sensorial products that would transport to wonderful places of warmth, and this is why I decided to call every product after a location that also echoes its benefit. What a more unique yet appropriate name for a Purifying Clay Mask than Atlas Pure, or an Exfoliating Cream than Sahara Silk, no?
Who is ‘Whind’ for?
I dreamed of a brand for people like me, a global citizen who is from somewhere, but belongs everywhere. And when it comes to their beauty and skin care, they are uncompromising: they want products that work and with brand values that represent them.
The global oil and skincare industry is soaked in references to Morocco and its rich resources. How is Whind different?
Whind is not a Moroccan brand in the sense that it is not made in Morocco and is not bottling up Moroccan traditional products. Whind is a brand built by a Moroccan woman, with a different vision of beauty to what we currently see. When it comes to skin care, the market has seen a huge increase in high performance, clinical products with often a minimalistic experience as well as natural products that are mostly focused on sensoriality. But there is a consumer – like me – who doesn’t want to compromise on neither performance and sensoriality. This is where Whind brings its evocatively potent skin care, science led high tech formulation from the best labs in transportive texture and scents inspired by Morocco. For unique products that delivery extraordinary results and experience.
What are your star products?
Our star products are Medina Dew melting Rose Water Cream, Ourika Sun Tinting Water Drops and Kasbah Moonlight Overnight Recovery Mask. I believe that our products work well because they are built around sharp and relevant consumer insights and formulated to address that tension using the best blends to answer it.
Why decide to be a vegan, cruelty, and carbon-free brand?
When you build a personal brand like this one, it has to be in line with my own values and of course the values of our consumers. Everything we do is anchored in love – love for skin (that’s we obsess on amazing products that deliver without any compromise and ensure they are all dermatologically tested), love for others (Cruelty Free and Vegan), love for the planet
(we are passionate about sustainability, we are not perfect yet but we are trying to do our best to have as light of a footprint as possible and the rest we offset)
Having launched this past April, you have just reached the 6-month benchmark. How has the journey been so far?
Emotional. Exciting. Fulfilling.
I have launched many products in my 20 years career so I knew what to expect, what I didn’t was how much of myself I was about to put in. So, it was more emotional than I expected. 6 months in, I feel very thankful for the journey so far and so grateful for the amazing reception the brand has gotten.
What direction can we expect you to take in the future?
We want to keep building on the brand’s portfolio to ensure we cover all our consumers skin care needs – we launched 6 products in the first 6 months and have made more towards the end of year because as realized that when someone gets into the world of Whind through one product, they tend to immediately ask for which other products from the brand would complement their routine. And we get that. Because we are not about one product but we are a brand, a philosophy and truly a lifestyle.
