UOMA Beauty is bubbling with company news, one on the executive side and one on the product side.

On the staffing side, UOMA Beauty has named Fred Collins as Chief Operating Officer. Fred joined the company in 2021 as Executive Vice President of Sales. His promotion is a result of his ability to “get the job done,” said UOMA Beauty Founder and CEO, Sharon Chuter. “I’ve been a solo founder in this journey, and it’s a grind when you’re having to do operations by yourself. Fred joined us last year and I was really amazed by working with him. He just proved himself to be an operator. His energy, his ability to execute, and getting things done. As the CEO I’m the visionary and the strategist. And I need that other arm who just makes things happen. That’s what I found in Fred,” Sharon said.

The appointment is to serve both current and future needs. Between 2020 and 2021 UOMA Beauty grew 10 times in size as a result of scaling the business. Growth has been despite—and parallel to—the world’s supply chain issues stemming from the global pandemic. Playing catchup has been challenging.

“The joke we always make is that I’m in a Formula One race, driving the car, but also building the car at the same time. That’s the best way of seeing this,” Sharon said.

With nearly 20 years of experience, Fred is an accomplished financial executive who has held several senior level roles within the beauty industry. Prior to joining UOMA Beauty Fred was Vice President, North America, Coty Inc., where he was recognized for driving the company’s largest cost reduction in 2017, dropping $12 million for the bottom line that year.  Prior to Coty Fred served as Henkel’s Vice President of Sales. He has also held roles at Kao Corp. and Procter & Gamble.

“Aligned with UOMA Beauty’s progressive philosophy, I’m excited to join an organization that ingenuously celebrates diversity and presents a unifying message,” said Fred in a company statement. “This is a rare opportunity to not just take UOMA Beauty to the next level but apply Sharon Chuter’s established vision for bringing beauty to everyone, of every color, into executable actions.”

The role of President within UOMA Beauty, which was filled last year, has since been eliminated. As an operating founder, Sharon said the role became duplicative.

“I’m not a creative founder where I just have good ideas. I’m both creative and operations. So I wanted to just get that scope really focused on operations, which is what Fred was perfect for. I mean, he just set up a warehouse in six weeks. And Fred always knows a guy to get something done.”

In addition to the executive news, UOMA Beauty has relaunched its Say What?! Foundation, complete with luxe packaging and improved formulas that are now fragrance-free.

“This new package is how the foundation was always meant to be. But when I was launching, I didn’t have the resources. I was rushing. I didn’t have the time. And I had to really compromise design. I knew at some point I was going to bring the package into the market the way I saw it in my mind’s eye,” said Sharon.

The UOMA Beauty Say What?! Foundation is positioned as skin care plus makeup, with a perfect match for every skin color. Foundations are available in six custom formulations to meet skin’s unique needs based on one’s skin color group, which the company calls Skin Kins, according to the Fitzpatrick Scale, a system that classifies skin types based on the amount of skin pigment and how it responds to sun exposure. Available in 51 shades, Say What?! Foundations are formulated to conceal imperfections, minimize the appearance of pores, and hydrate skin to deliver a matte finish.

“We wanted the foundation to be a real experience. We had put a really natural and alcohol-free fragrance into the product…but we realized that a lot of people with extremely sensitive skin, even though we tested it on sensitive skin, didn’t want to try it. So, we made the decision to strip out the fragrance.”

Another thing that changed was how darker shades were formulated.  “One of the things Black women don’t notice is that when they wear foundation, as the day progresses, they actually get ashy and gray. But most people don’t take the time to see how they’re looking at the end of the day, they only think about that initial application. The challenge was to offer a formula that had color correction capability but that didn’t look so ‘fiery’ on the initial application. We found a way to do that. And that’s the beauty of listening to consumer feedback. So what people are going to get now is stunning packaging, a fragrance-free formula, and for some of my [darker skin consumers] something that’s a bit less confronting for them.”

The six Skin Kin groups within the foundation range include Black Pearl, which is formulated for deep brown skin tones, and features tomato extract to brighten dull skin and deliver radiance while protecting from pollution and free radicals. There’s also Brown Sugar, which is formulated for brown skin tones, and features woolly thistle extract to reduce skin inflammation, minimize pores, and reduce sebum production. Bronze Venus is formulated for rich tan skin tones and features white tea extract to protect and detoxify while reducing inflammation. Honey Honey is formulated for olive skin tones and features rose hybrid extract to repair skin by contributing elastic induction while reducing sebum production and protecting from inflammation and free radicals. Then, there’s Fair Lady is formulated for fair skin tones and features Aglianico grape extract to induce hyaluronic acid synthesis while stimulating collagen production and improving cell detoxification. Finally, White Pearl is specifically formulated for very fair skin color and features microalgae extracts to relieve sensitive skin, reduce inflammation, minimize the skin’s response to stress, and promote natural regeneration.

The revamped items, which sell for $39, launched on UOMA Beauty’s website last week. Retailers are launching the revamped collection today—all 51 shades—May 20.