WAN Cosmetics - by Wantings

A DUAL-CULTURED MODERN LIFESTYLE BRAND

Born in San Francisco, WAN Cosmetics - by Wantings (WAN by Wantings) embodies all the traits of our home city: urban, diverse, and modern. No matter where you are from or where you want to go, WAN by Wantings welcomes you into our modern and minimalist approach to living a healthy lifestyle. WAN by Wantings is built on the following pillars:

• Reinventing the definition of simple and nontoxic skincare

• Redefining traditional formulations with a new angle

• Embodying the less is more approach while maintaining effectiveness and traceability

• Empowering consumers to be harmonious and balanced

• Blending east and west traditions - dual-cultured and multi-dimensional products

• Women-owned and proud AAPI/POC brand

Follow along our journey as we bring to life our three core beliefs:

• Essentials Only

• Constantly Innovative

• Elevated Effectiveness

Essentials Only

Living in a global city means having access to all types of choices. While this is a positive for many lifestyle aspects, having too many ingredients or choices for skincare isn’t always the best. WAN by Wantings helps filter through the endless ingredient options and chooses only the best for your skin. Taking away fillers and unnecessary ingredients allows our products to be simple yet effective.

Constantly Innovative

Along with our many tech-focused neighbors, WAN by Wantings only works with the most forward-thinking manufacturing and product development partners. We are constantly listening to your feedback - as an evolving brand, we have the ability to adjust our products as we go to suit your needs. With our partners in Europe and Asia, our products are developed with state-of-the-art technology to deliver for your skin needs.

Elevated Effectiveness

At WAN Cosmetics, we are always seeking ways to maximize effectiveness without compromising quality. Embracing diversity and global ingredients is a huge part of both our company culture and our approach to creating the most impactful products. Taiwan, where our founder is from, is home to some of the world’s most famous teas. Many of our products incorporate these high-mountain teas which pack our products with antioxidants that aid the skin in structure, firmness, and anti-aging.

What Minimalist Skincare Means to WAN Cosmetics

Founded in 2017, WAN Cosmetics is a clean & science-based skincare brand. We wanted to reintroduce our brand and goals - as a San Francisco brand, our mission is to bring high-performance and consciously-packaged skincare & bodycare products to those that are looking to embrace a modern and savvy lifestyle.

Better Ingredients

From the very beginning, WAN Cosmetics’ mission was to bring minimalist skincare that is both luxurious and effective. Our goal to highlight science-led, clean, high-performance, and consciously-packaged products stemmed from our desire to create a lifestyle brand that complemented the modern routines of our community. In a world that gets louder and busier each day, WAN Cosmetics transcends the status quo and promises to deliver results without closed doors. As a brand, we are constantly evolving our formulations and products, with the end goal of simplifying your choices by providing the most effective, efficient, and worry-free routine.

We believe the first step to achieving our mission is to return to the basics. Better ingredients are the core of our brand and we source only the cleanest and most potent ingredients from all over the world. Embracing diversity and global ingredients is a huge part of both our company culture and our approach to creating the most impactful products.

Taiwan, where our founder is from, is home to some of the world’s most famous teas. Many of our products incorporate these high-mountain teas which come packed with antioxidants that aid the skin in structure, firmness, and anti-aging. Our products are always vegan and cruelty-free and never feature artificial colors, essential oils, or fragrances.

Simple Formulations

Our minimalist approach focuses only on what your skin needs to stay healthy, youthful, and natural. We do not pack our products with fillers, fragrances, or irritants. Just like our hometown, San Francisco, we are constantly faced with endless choices throughout our life. While this is a positive for many lifestyle aspects, having too many ingredients or choices for skincare isn’t always the best. WAN Cosmetics helps filter through the endless ingredient options and chooses only the best for your skin. Taking away fillers and unnecessary ingredients allows our products to be simple yet effective.

When it comes to skincare, less is truly more. Shorter ingredient lists lead to products that are more potent, concentrated, and results-driven. At WAN Cosmetics, we strongly believe in only including the necessary ingredients in our formulations and to never pack in fillers. We stand behind our hero ingredients and want them to take front stage whenever possible. Simple formulations can lead to the following benefits:

• Reducing chances of allergic reactions: When the products that you use on our skin have more than 10 ingredients, it can be very hard to figure out which ones might be causing irritations.

• Elimination product conflicts: We have all dealt with products that pill or don’t sit well with others. Less ingredients also makes it easier to figure out which products are causing issues in your routine.

• More potent results: When a product is packed with too many ingredients, each ingredient becomes less effective. High quality ingredients without fillers are those that deliver visible and lasting results.

For those that have sensitive skin or want to get the most out of their products, less is definitely more.

Our Skin vs. The Environment

The Environment and Our Skin

Every single day, our skin is exposed to countless stressors - both visible and invisible. Whether it be air pollution, digital screens, or changing weather, these stressors can all link to premature aging or increased sensitivity. As our skin works extra hard to put up defense mechanisms to combat these environmental aggressors, our skin cells are focused into a state of oxidative stress. This state causes skin sensitivity, which can be the beginning of multiple challenges, including pigmentation, premature aging, or a dull complexion.

While it is impossible to shield the skin completely, understanding what the environment can do to the skin and how to combat the side effects is a step in the right direction. Polluted air generates free radicals on the skin, which are highly unstable molecules that react with other compounds. These free radicals are destructive to both the skin’s support barrier and structure.

In addition to pollution, particles such as dirt, dust, or certain gases can also impact our skin cells and lead to premature aging. Our skin is the first line of defense against these all external aggressors and while it does a fantastic job of blocking the majority of stressors, our pores are not completely impenetrable. Pollution can break down collagen and lipid - studies have shown that those who live in urban areas suffer from skin that is 10% older than those who live elsewhere. In addition to premature aging, pollution can also cause unwanted irritation, rashes or breakouts.

Since many of us are not ready to give up on city living and all that comes with it, it is important to understand how to assist your skin in fighting the stressors and to make it easier for your skin to resist the potential consequences.

What is Anti-Pollution Skincare?

Skincare can act as a weapon or tool in fighting environmental stressors. There are many types of ingredients that can help your skin proactively fight against the negative side-effects. Anti-pollution skincare, which has become a strong category within the industry, can be incorporated into every step of your routine.

Anti-pollution skincare, which are usually packed with antioxidants, can help protect the skin against environmental damage. Antioxidants, which are molecules that can neutralize free radicals, are a must in mitigating the effects of our skin’s exposure. Popular antioxidants that are found in anti-pollution skincare include Vitamin C, green tea, Vitamin E, niacinamide, ceramides, and more. These can easily be added to any routine through products such as primers, sunscreens, serums, masks, or cleansers. Many of your products may already include anti-pollution ingredients but it can never hurt to be purposeful in curating a routine that actively fights against environmental exposures.

Post-COVID Skincare

While we focused a lot on the negative effects of pollution above, there is another threat that has increased over the last year. With many of us working from home, the time we spend in front of the screen has risen rapidly to over 50% of our day. Our phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs all emit blue light, a high-energy and short-wavelength light, which can lead to changes in our skin cells. These changes include cell damage, aging, swelling, or pigmentation. As many people spend more time in front of digital screens compared to exposure to the sun, our skin is in need of defense almost all day long.

A contributor to hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and skin laxity, the effects of blue light take longer to manifest but can be irreversible once they do. Too much exposure can mess up our skin’s regenerative cycle and increase the production of free radicals in the skin. Scars or pigmentation caused by acne can also be emphasized when the skin is left unprotected.

While many skincare brands have been releasing blue-light specific products, these are mainly just products that include a mix of antioxidants. As long as the products included in your routine include antioxidants, the skin will benefit.

Elevating Your Routine

At the end of the day, our skin is a part of our body that protects and shields us from the world around us. With the many changes to the environment and our daily exposures, we can actively assist our skin through an effective skincare routine. Whether it be increasing self-care during this stressful time in the world, or adding in more antioxidants to your routine, our skin will benefit by the added care and attention.

Remembering to select products that include antioxidants is the first step in developing a routine that not only looks out for your skin, but can also serve as an additional way to wind-down and prioritize healthy choices. With the added time we have at home and the stress that many of us may be experiencing, proactively creating a routine that benefits and protects can not only help us feel more relaxed but can also be a positive change in the right direction.

References:

• https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/skin/g8088/anti-pollution-skincare-products-protect-your-skin-from-pollution/

• https://www.byrdie.com/pollution-proof-skincare-products-4684766

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-pollution-skin-care_l_5e385cd0c5b6bf30f18d1fa4

• https://www.healthline.com/health/brainy-beauty-what-is-anti-pollution-skincare-and-can-it-really-protect-your-skin#The-facts

• https://www.thetalko.com/anti-pollution-skincare-products-help-protect-skin-from-damage/

• https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/beauty/skincare/anti-pollution-products-for-skin-295167

• https://fashionista.com/2016/04/anti-pollution-skin-care