Portrait of a Woman
LEILAH MUNDT
Meet the always gorgeous Leilah Mundt, founder & CEO of Cremé Collective – a turn–key, national sales force and brand development agency based in Costa Mesa. Read about her view on beauty and beyond.
How did you begin working within the beauty industry?
Unofficially, I started working in the industry by putting makeup on anyone who would let me when I was young! In college, I was thrilled to work at a department store beauty counter. I was trained by incredible artists, like Jeanine Lobell at Stila and a very fun crew at Benefit Cosmetics at a time when indie beauty brands were getting really exciting. Although I moved into specialty positions in skincare companies soon after, I adore color cosmetics and truly think of beauty as art, from the color we put on to the important personal rituals we invite into our lives.
What’s your thoughts and ideas about upcoming and future beauty trends? What do you think we’ll see more vs less of?
Beauty is really booming and I see a lot of trends emerging. I am most excited about the macro trends of transparency and inclusivity here in the USA. For over 20 years I have been an advocate for looking at beauty product ingredient labels and really asking questions about what is in our products. I have also been very disenchanted with beauty marketing that makes women and men feel like they lack beauty and need to purchase it to fix themselves. I am so happy to see that there is a big shift in companies taking toxins out of their products, using higher quality ingredients and being more positive about diversity.
“I search the world for the crème de la crème of beauty and lifestyle. I’m obsessed with finding the industry pioneers, the cult–worthy products, and changing the beauty conversation”
What do you think of Scandinavian beauty? How do you think it’s different against other cultural beauty industries?
To me, Scandinavian Beauty is sensible and effective, while still being luxurious in every way from the products to the packaging. I tend to trust Scandinavian beauty, because I know it will be straightforward and honest with me, as well as amazing to use! Compared to other beauty cultures, I feel that Scandinavian brands, like Lernberger Stafsing, have a very upscale approach never jumping on every little trend and over-promising. The Scandinavian products feel timeless.
What’s beauty to you? A make–up palette, an inner feeling, a ritual..? Can be anything!
In my world, beauty is everything in business and life! My perfect beauty day is a long, detoxing hot yoga class, a calming bath (complete with a body and face scrub and mask), a green juice and ginger tea, and a very long nap. If I am going out, it is all about red lips!
“My vision for Crème Collective was born of my own personal desire for beauty products that were more authentic, more exciting, and better performing than the brands I found at most stores”
Tell us about your thoughts of Lernberger Stafsing as a beauty brand. What do you think is our most significant properties and values?
For years I searched for an incredible, clean haircare line that would perform. I have very thick, unruly hair, so the “natural” brands I tried wouldn’t do the trick. My hair (and life) changed with Lernberger Stafsing. The approach of using skincare ingredients for our scalp and hair is so timely, yet so hard to find! The brand stands out especially for us in America because the quality is so superb and beautiful, while the ethics and passion that anchor the company really come through. But more than anything, Patrik and Mattias make the brand so special because everyone who meets them knows that they will produce only the best and most beautiful with integrity. We all want to live in their universe.
Hair Mask
Night Cream
