Niche Beauty: On location interview
Alûstre set to sparkle in travel retail
By Hannah Tan-Gillies
Nailcare brand Alûstre — which launched globally on 3 March — is gearing up for a big travel retail launch. The brand, which was built on a patented technology that infuses diamond particles with nail polish, promises to redefine the luxury beauty space with its premium nail polish, nail care and fragrance products.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location for the media preview in Copenhagen. There she met Alûstre CEO Hans Hornemann, Global Head of Product Therese Niko Busch, Head of Marketing & PR Mai Britt Østergaard Nielsen and International Sales Manager Marianne Jensen.
The event gave select international media in introduction to the brand, followed by an immersive fragrance sampling session and a luxury manicure.
Illuminate your beauty: Alûstre seeks to redefine the luxury beauty space by offering innovation-driven luxury nail and fragrance products
Alûstre offers 41 nail polishes, two base coats and 11 top coats with radiant, pearlescent, glossy and tinted finishes. Its formulas are vegan, plant-based and made with natural solvents. The polishes have a natural-origin index ranging from 67-78% depending on the shade, with each bottle containing a quarter of a carat of ethically-sourced diamond particles. A bottle of Alûstre nail polish retails for £30 (US$37), the base coat £25 (US$31) and the top coats £40 (US$50).
Alûstre also offers nail and hand care products ,including an acetone-free nail polish remover, nail serum, nail oil, cuticle cream and hand cream. The hand creams contain 1% diamond powder which visibly enhances the skin, while the oils are made with 99% natural-origin ingredients.
Translating the diamond’s reflective colour spectrum into fragrance for the perfume collection, Alûstre partnered with Perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour — who created scents for Acqua di Parma, Commes des Garçons and Penhaligon’s — to craft eight luxury fragrances. The genderless collection is centred around the concept of olfactory contrasts.
All fragrances are sustainably-sourced and contain added UV filters that enhance longevity. The scents are housed in diamond-shaped bottles that pay homage to the brand’s diamond-inspired story.
Alûstre combines diamonds with nail polish, a combination that promises to shake up the beauty industry
During the event, The Moodie Davitt Report Brand Director Hannah Tan-Gillies sat down with Alûstre CEO Hans Hornemann to talk about the brand’s key USPs and discover why travel retail is a key channel for its launch.
Introducing the brand, Hornemann said: “Alûstre is a brand that champions individual expression through artisanal design and innovation-backed performance.
“We are a new kind of luxury brand,” he adds. “We want to amplify our customer’s individual tastes and styles by offering them creative products across nail, fragrance and other consciously-made categories. We are genderless, we don’t have geographies – we are all about inclusivity and diversity.
“Our name Alûstre means ‘To give light’ which is a nice bridge to our tagline which is to ‘Illuminate your beauty’. That leads everything we do.”
Alûstre offers nail polish and hand care formulas infused with the company’s signature Alûstre DiamondInfused innovation. The brand house has also recently expanded into fragrances. The DiamondInfused technology enhances colour, improves shine, durability, longevity and adhesion, giving a similar effect to a gel manicure minus the harmful effects on the nails.
“Diamonds are in our DNA” — Hans Hornemann
Inclusive luxury: The Alûstre headquarters in Copenhagen is an open and inviting space where customers can discover the brand and interact with the Alûstre team
(Left to right) Alûsgtre Global Head of Product Therese Niko Busch; The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies; and Alûstre CEO Hans Hornemann talk about the brand’s big plans for travel retail
Inspired by how light travels through a diamond, Alûstre’s products are named along the colour spectrum. Each name is created by measuring the colour in nanometres, pinpointing it from within the vivid spectrum of light and colour.
“Diamonds are in our DNA,” Hornemann explains. “We translated the three keywords of the diamond industry – brilliance, uniqueness and strength – and infused this to our DNA. All of our products have passion, precision and intent which is core when we talk about the future. We constantly seek to advance and create products and experience with meaning in the world of luxury and beauty.
“We have an uncompromising dedication to purity of expression and huge respect for the environment. We are super passionate and proud of what we have achieved as a brand so far – and the journey is just beginning.
“We have trademarked ‘Alûstre DiamondInfused’ to communicate our USP in a subtle way. The diamonds are a subtle luxury detail that drives the performance from the base formulations to everything else.”
The head office, housed in a beautiful historical building from 1762, is open to customers. On Thursdays, nail technicians are on-site to help customers discover the brand, which is a testament to its welcoming, inclusive approach to luxury. If customers have questions about the product, the product team are on-site to answer any questions and even share a coffee.
Alûstre is available in Denmark and launching in Norway and Sweden next week. Its ecommerce store delivers to several European markets including: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France and
As a niche beauty brand on the beginning of its journey, travel retail offers an excellent platform for Alûstre to share its story to a global audience. Hornemann says, “I’ve been in global brand and retail sales for 35 years. I’ve opened stores in Kathmandu all the way to Northern Mongolia and that has taught me a couple of things. If you really want to showcase a brand, you need to have travel retail. Travel retail is a vital part of the formula, regardless if you’re niche or a well-established brand.
“This is because you are showing the customer the brand when they have time,” he explains. “I’d much rather spend money in opening stores in travel retail than using it on influencer marketing for example. So, from an ROI point of view – travel retail makes sense. Travel retail is an integrated part of doing business globally.”
One of the issues often faced by niche brands in the channel is the hesitation of retailers to give space to new players. However, Hornemann says this isn’t an issue for Alûstre. “The feedback that we’ve gotten with our customers has been very positive. When we sit down and talk to them, they fall in love. You shouldn’t need to shout about how great your brand is; the brand, quality and performance should speak for itself.”
The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 323 | 5 May 2023
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com