When L’Oréal bought Urban Decay from Castanea Partners for an estimated $300 million in December 2012, the rule-breaking chief creative officer and founding partner, Wende Zomnir, was part of the deal. After all, she started the cult grunge makeup brand with Sandy Lerner in 1996, and has been cranking out high-performance products with an offbeat vibe for 17 years. No small feat.
When Wende first launched the line, she was a 20-something advertising and marketing talent who was learning to surf and brought her dog to bars as a way to meet guys. Now in her mid-40s, Wende is married with two boys (Cash and Cruz) and has a raft of extracurricular activities including heli-boarding, surfing, hot yoga, mountain biking and CrossFit.
How does she balance it all? She color codes her calendar, tries not to reschedule appointments (“You just don’t get that time back”), puts her kids to bed early and, most important, has her very own ‘wife’. “My right hand, Lucia, is my nanny/assistant/caretaker. She’s an awesome person and makes it really easy.”
While the sale to L’Oréal has necessitated a few trips to New York, much of Wende’s day-to-day remains the same. “L’Oréal has kind of left us alone; they’ve been completely supportive about letting us continue to do what we do the way we do it,” said Wende, who reports to Carol Hamilton, president of L’Oréal Luxe USA.
The pace of introductions looks to remain steady. “L’Oréal was surprised by how much product we launch.” But now Urban Decay has access to the beauty giant’s laboratories and research.
“It’s exciting to be able to expand our ability to create new things,” said Wende.
A recent fave is Moondust Eyeshadow ($20), which Wende describes as “a combination of the most silky luscious shadow with this insane microsparkle.”
Urban Decay generated sales of $140 million in the 12 months leading up to the sale and will remain based in Newport Beach, CA. Its distribution in Ulta and Sephora, as well as select Macy’s and web sites, will likely grow under its new ownership. “With L’Oréal behind us, it will be easier for us to expand internationally,” she added.
Wende has a keen trend radar and an ear to the ground. “I always say, my job isn’t necessarily to have the best idea. My job is to be the best cherry picker. I also love to listen to my sales field. I always ask, ‘What’s your favorite new product that you’re seeing that’s not Urban Decay?’”
Urban Decay is on its fourth owner since it was cooked up in an Orange County bungalow: LVMH, the Falic Group and Castanea were the first three. “When you get to be a bigger company, you lose some of that ability to be grass rootsy, but you also have a great feeder system of what’s happening in the world,” noted Wende. “I love mixing the business analytics and overlaying that with what we hear from NPD and our own research. You let all that marinate and you come up with a good, fresh new approach to things.”
Wende has a “dogs allowed” policy at the office, an “anything goes” dress code, and a naughty streak. “Tim Warner [the CEO] and I played an April Fool’s joke on the office. We sent out an email and Carol [Hamilton] let us copy her on it. We said you have to dress in concept colors and only black denim—no more flip flops, cutoffs or tank tops.
“I wear a tank top every single day,” she added with a laugh. “I’m the biggest offender!”