Our Story . . .

I believe every one has a story. Some have many. This, all true, is one of ours.

Ada (ah-dah) in Nigerian Ibo means first born female. Ada Cosmetics is the sister company of Botanical Skin Works (BSW). BSW began on the fateful date of September 11, 2001. Sharon Kinnier, then owner of a computer engineering company, was on her way to a contract at the Pentagon. In one life changing moment, she said, “I’m going home to make soap.” When asked if she knew anything about making soap, she replied, “How hard can it be?” We’ll leave that story for another time.

When mineral makeup became popular, Sharon tried to find a makeup for herself. She was told by many a company that not only did they not have her gorgeous chocolate color, they had no plans to make any! One thing you do not want to do is insult a Black Woman, especially this one. In that instant, whatever day it was, Ada Cosmetics was born.

In development for two years, Ada Cosmetics launched on January 15, 2005 at the Baltimore Natural Hair Care Conference to a glowing reception. During that time, many combinations of natural ingredients were researched and tested to find the formulae resulting in the best makeup. If you were within touching distance, you got a makeover. It was important not to be ashy, shiny, or gray. It couldn’t be irritating or contain any unnatural ingredients, whatsoever. In fact, the makeup needed to be therapeutic for all skin types. The bar was set high and the challenge daunting, but met.

I’m Nana Anu. In my former life as a busy holistic physician and acupuncturist, I used to go to Sharon’s lab/warehouse on my days off to do and learn. She taught me how to make lip balms and eczema salves, how to apply labels, package and ship products (before the machines) and formulate, formulate, formulate. Impressed that my chemistry, physics and science background was needed to understand the processes, I found it both fascinating and demanding.

I left my practice in 2006 and jumped into manufacturing with Sharon full time. She turned Ada Cosmetics completely over to me and said, “Run it. I can’t run two companies by myself.” She thought if I was at least as smart as her, I would figure it out. I also thought, how hard can it be? Please, it has been one of the roughest rides of our lives. (Yet another story) We are truly sister manufacturers and loving our work everyday.

We are confident that Ada Cosmetics offers the premiere natural mineral cosmetics for women, particularly for women of color. We cover the spectrum from the darkest of darks to the palest of pales.

What Is Mineral Makeup?

Mineral cosmetics are what makeup should be: All of the coverage, color, and finesse, without the chemicals, synthetic fillers, talc free, corn free, preservative free and dyes. Mineral cosmetics are loose powders that have had no fillers added to them. The powders are actually crushed minerals that have been extracted from the Earth's surface. If this sounds strange, these minerals are already in all of the cosmetics that you own, but with many added chemicals.

At Ada Cosmetics , we know for a fact that the natural form of cosmetics that we create is the most beautifying form of makeup on the market. We have seen hundreds of women's faces literally transformed by a simple five-minute application of foundation, eye, and lip color. You will never again have that heavy, cakey feeling that you get with traditional makeup lines. The products are versatile, long-lasting, hypo-allergenic, and have a high SPF. We have colors that suit women of all ages, skin types and complexions.

Ada cosmetics does not use Micronized minerals. We support human friendly testing.

Sharon Kinnier & Nana Anu Contact Information:

Website:
www.adacosmetics.com

Telephone:
410.646.0884

Email:
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