Pink Moon Co. Sets Up A Pop-up At Cuyana’s Manhattan Store To Bring Attention To Rising Indies

“There is not just Tata Harper in this industry,” explains Lin Chen, founder of beauty consultancy Pink Moon Co. of why she’s running a beauty pop-up today inside accessories brand Cuyana’s Manhattan location.

In her day job and at the temporary retail installation, Chen is out to bring recognition to smaller rising stars in the indie and clean beauty universe. The brands involved in the Cuyana in-store shop are Earthwise Beauty, Cupid & Psyche, Malaya Organics, 5yina, Lhamour, Bella Aura and MO MI by Modern Minerals, most of which haven’t had a presence in New York prior to their involvement.

“The brands I work with are very niche and may have more complicated stories. For example, 5yina is based on traditional Chinese medicine,” says Chen. “It takes a lot of education for people to understand them. It’s not just about natural ingredients. It’s about much more than being natural and clean.”

Pink Moon pop-up
Malaya Organics joins the brands Earthwise Beauty, Cupid & Psyche, 5yina, Lhamour, Bella Aura and MO MI by Modern Minerals at the Pink Moon pop-up inside Cuyana’s New York store at 29 Prince St.

The brand 5yina has put on events with Cuyana, and those events sparked Chen’s idea to hold a pop-up at its store. Because of Cuyana’s focus on craftsmanship and conscious consumerism, Chen believes the store is a magnet for shoppers who could intrigued by the propositions of indie clean beauty brands. She plans inform them of the brands’ backstories and asserts those backstories lead to consumer understanding of why the products at the pop-up may be priced higher than other products on the market.

“I’m helping the brands find new audiences in the city and build brand awareness with like-minded customers. I know people at Cuyana will be interested in learning about ethical beauty.”

“I’m helping the brands find new audiences in the city and build brand awareness with like-minded customers. I know people at Cuyana will be interested in learning about ethical beauty,” says Chen, continuing, “I’m an avid user of each product, so people can trust my opinions. I really hope to get to know what customers are looking for. I love to create skincare regimens for people.”

A few of the products Chen expects to recommend to customers are 5yina’s Guiying Décolletage Treatment Balm and Quiescent Hydrolat, Bella Aura’s Rapid Repair Clarifying Elixir, and Earthwise Beauty’s Thelma Lip Treatment. The Quiescent Hydrolat is a mist designed to protect skin in the winter, and Chen points to it as an effective gateway product for customers new to clean beauty.

Pink Moon
Pink Moon Co. founder Lin Chen

Pink Moon’s pop-up at Cuyana is a test for Chen. She hasn’t set a sales goal for it and has taken the participating products on board on consignment. If it goes well, she expects to roll out additional pop-ups within retail locations across New York that attract consumers with a penchant for considered merchandise.

“A couple of months ago, I was talking to my clients, and they were saying that the larger green beauty stores all keep launching the same brands. No one is carrying the more niche brands that I work with. They said to me, ‘You should really open a store.'”

Prior to starting Pink Moon last year, Chen was global marketing and sales director at Bottega Organica, and a customer guide and social media manager at leading San Francisco natural beauty store Ayla, where she picked up valuable retail know-how. Now 29-years-old, Chen has harbored a dream since her early 20s, when she was initially introduced to eco-friendly brands, of opening a store-wellness center combo.

“A couple of months ago, I was talking to my clients, and they were saying that the larger green beauty stores all keep launching the same brands. No one is carrying the more niche brands that I work with. They said to me, ‘You should really open a store,’” says Chen. “Working on the sales side for these brands and trying to get their products into stores, I feel like I have a lot of sales experience, but [pop-up] this experience will help me prepare and get feedback [for a possible permanent store.]”

Pink Moon
If the Pink Moon pop-up at Cuyana is successful, Chen expects to hold future pop-ups at retail locations throughout New York. She’s also considering opening a permanent store in the city.

Chen is confident Manhattan can sustain further clean beauty retail. With the likes of Follain, CAP Beauty, The Detox Market and Credo clustering downtown, she suggests Chelsea, Midtown, Upper East Side and Upper West Side, which Chen calls home, are ripe for clean beauty destinations.

“There are so many young families up here. Everywhere I walk, there are dogs and strollers,” says Chen of her neighborhood. “When Follain was doing pop-ups, one of my friends told them to open on the Upper West Side, but they opened their store downtown, so that means there’s an opportunity for me. I have to do this store.”