The two faces of ColourCoded

How does one woman use her love of graphics (Danielle Archer) and another uses her savvy at sales and planning events (La Shawn Clarke) to bring something fresh to the Barbadian beauty landscape?
Well, to hear them tell it, it all came together with a meeting of minds in 2010 when they teamed up to sell cosmetics from a booth at Girlfriend Expo.
“Danielle has a certificate in airbrush make-up and I am a certified make-up artist. I had brought in new some products and saw the expo as an outlet so I asked Danielle to work with me providing make-up services to demonstrate the products, said La Shawn.
“We figured that the best way to show people the quality of the products to get them to buy was to show the products in use. After we got such a good reaction from the artistry side of things at Girlfriend Expo 2010, we decided to add it to our portfolio,” said Danielle, who has a Bachelor’s in graphic design from the Barbados Community College, and La Shawn, who “always had some kind of sales project going and I used to sell clothing and accessories”.
The name of the booth was ColourCoded and it came about as Danielle was brainstorming for a name for her freelance graphics company and decided on “the safer option” of ColourCoded, “but it fit so well with the cosmetics side of the business idea we decided to run with it”, said La Shawn.
The girls had actually met before this venture: they grew up in the same neighbourhood and on the same street (Bryan’s Road, Welchman Hall, St Thomas) and ended up in the same class at Queen’s College.
The make-up company is three years old and both girls, aged 28 and 29, have their hands full making women beautiful along with a busy portfolio of other things. They offered some tips to EASY.
What is the most important beauty advice that you can give to women?
Danielle: Please moisturize! We know the climate is conducive to sweat and oil, but moisturizing your skin (especially your face) keeps skin supple and young. What works for one doesn’t work for all. Know your skin and treat it accordingly.
La Shawn: Own what you have! Some women spend so much time trying to cover their flaws they end up putting on too much make-up which unfortunately highlights the very things they are trying to cover. You first have to know what you have and embrace it so you know exactly how to make the best parts stand out!
What are some common beauty mistakes that women make?
Danielle: Spots of blush and halo faces and eyebrows!
La Shawn: Definitely the swatches of hot pink blush across the entire jaw and the gigantic eyebrows with an outline of light concealer . . . . We appreciate that the techniques to doing it properly have to be acquired and practised so we offer workshops so ladies can learn how to do it properly.
What products do you think should be a staple in every woman’s purse?
Danielle: Blotting sheets or nice, sturdy tissue (like the ones you use to dry your hands in public restrooms) to blot excess oil, lipgloss and or lipstick.
La Shawn: In our climate, it has to be something to blot excess shine with, which can be a strong tissue or blotting sheets. Also, mascara, eyeliner and a lipgloss can give you an entire look or change the one you have so don’t leave home without the triple threat.
What can you say to dark-skinned girls who are just getting started with buying and applying make-up?
Danielle: Nothing different from what I would advise anyone else, really. The only thing is that dark-skinned women have been told for a long time that they should only wear dark colours. Everyone is different and mak-eup is relative. Do what suits you!
La Shawn: The one thing I always tell dark women is try warm-toned blushes with high pigment. Orange rather than coral. Fuchsia rather than light pink. If you pick a blush too light a colour, it ends up looking ashy on darker skin. Just remember to use a little at a time to build up to a look you are comfortable with.
If you had to pick one easy thing women can do to improve their natural beauty, what would you suggest?
Danielle: Fill in your eyebrows. May not be that quick and easy at first but it will come with practice, as most things do.
La Shawn: I agree with Danny. Well manicured eyebrows frame the face and pull everything together. Sometimes it’s all we do to ourselves and people think we are wearing makeup, especially Danielle. So many times she gets compliments on her well made up face and I’m like . . . she’s wearing nothing but brows!
Do you see yourself someday creating your own line of make-up?
Danielle: We definitely want to develop our own line. We’ve been talking about it for a few years. That would be a dream come true! I would personally like to develop my own eyebrow products as eyebrows are my favourite things to do!
La Shawn: When we first started, I told Danielle that is exactly what I want to do. However, when you really get into the business of beauty, its not as easy as it looks and it’s definitely not simple. We discussed doing something very soon with some of our personal favourite items.
Do you believe that sometimes less is more?
Danielle: One of our mantras from school! It really depends on the situation or application though, to be honest. For the most part, I prefer less.
La Shawn: I really believe make-up should be a reflection of the person so if you are bright, outgoing and fun, you may wear more than a quiet, shy person. However, I definitely think everyone should start with less. It’s easy to add more make-up but if you start too heavy, the only thing that can help you is soap and water. (NS)