New brands aren't hard to come by, but new brands that have a serious point of difference and something to get excited about are. I'm often presented with a new concept that in theory sounds fab, but in reality is a little short of the mark - it's surprisingly hard to discover newness that has longevity. If there was one country knocking out of the park right now, it would definitely have to be Sweden; the home of IKEA has already given us Acne and Kikki K, but in 2016 one of the most exciting brands I've seen in a long time is launching on British shores. MINA (or 3INA if you're looking for them on social, just to be confusing!) offers a 'bold new approach to beauty' via a huge portfolio of 'professional quality' makeup that is really rather lovely. Encompassing pretty much every product, shade and texture imaginable, they offer over 500 individual SKUs in their stores across Europe - and that's sure to expand over the coming months. What's incredibly interesting about MINA is that right now you can't actually buy anything online; you have to visit their stand-alone Covent Garden boutique to get up close and personal before you can buy. Part of a bigger strategy to encourage customers to touch and play with their makeup, it's somewhat refreshing amidst a portfolio of brands that just want to shift it as quickly as possible.
They've definitely chosen the right place to launch their brand to British consumers, setting up shop in the Covent Garden marketplace to enable the...