Having met with a cosmetic brush supplier when working for her family’s import-export business, Anisa Telwar Kaicker founded premium make-up tools company Anisa International in 1992. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and with a manufacturing facility in Tianjin, China, Anisa International now designs and manufactures cosmetic brushes for companies including Estée Lauder and Sephora.
How has the industry changed since you set up Anisa?There weren’t many women out there selling brushes to the cosmetic industry, so I think having that natural affinity to use the product gave me a bit of an edge. I also felt there wasn’t a cohesion between the product and the make-up tool. They weren’t formulating them together. They weren’t thinking of the product with the make-up brush in mind and when designing make-up brushes they weren’t thinking of the products that were trending, which is very important to gain the maximum value. And then I also realised that there was room for innovation, ingenuity, uniqueness… even a little bit of a gimmick is okay.
What makes for a good cosmetic brush?There is the function of course, but then the emotional connection is also important. Putting on make-up is such a ritual. I want the make-up brush to look good and to give you the confidence that it can make a positive difference in your routine. A hairbrush, a toothbrush, a make-up brush, all these things we have around us need to look not necessarily luxurious, but they need to add value to how we feel about ourselves.
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