Clean cosmetics that are anything but basic

Nikki, I am so happy to have you at SHEN! Tell me a bit about your start in the industry.

Beauty and creativity has been infused in me from the day I was born. My mother is a hairdresser and home designer. I always said I would have my own makeup line from my early teenage years...not really even knowing what that meant. I still to this day don’t know how it all really happened, but I do know that I am one that has truly followed my gut my entire career, and I don’t think I could help but create RÓEN. Nothing creatively and intuitively has felt more right than this company, so I will continue to follow the path and my intuition as it grows.

I have worked in the beauty industry for 15+ years: everywhere from working retail behind a counter, to consulting in the lab with other makeup lines, and freelancing as an artist for some of the top celebrities, models, and magazines. I pretty much live, eat, and breathe the industry.

Tell me a bit about your brand?

RÒEN is brand born from a lot of passion and hard work and it's important to me that it has an authenticity and originality. And with so many great beauty brands out there, that can be difficult. RÒEN has a bit of rawness to it, which is intentional. I love real women and their natural beauty and wanted to create a brand and products that celebrates and highlights that, not mask it.

What inspired you to create your brand?

RÒEN was an organic process for me, beauty and makeup is in my soul, I think about it everyday; it's my whole world. As I would do makeup on my clients I was constantly thinking about what I would like to have in my kit, and eventually I took the step to research labs and chemists that I would like to work with on a line. It was important to me that they were on board with cruelty free products and clean beauty. After a lot of searching, I found a manufacturer that was compatible with my vision and passionate about the project. I spent a year in and out of the lab and with my chemist perfecting my shadows and coming up with a hero product that was innovative and that I could be proud of.

What inspired the brand name?

This was actually one of my toughest challenges. I didn't want to name it after myself because I want the brand to live beyond me and have its own identity. I also wanted the name to be simple, strong and somehow connected to me. One night at home I was listening to music, having a glass of wine and jotting down different words and names. I picked the letters ROE from my last name DeRoest, which are also in my partner's last name Roemer, then I added the N from Nikki and the accent over the O, and it became RÓEN! I loved the way it looked on paper and loved the way it sounded.

Can you describe your brand in 3 words

Clean, Innovative, Luxe

How did your brand come to be?

As I mentioned above, beauty has always been a part of my life and RÒEN is essentially the culmination of that. It's one of the scariest yet most fulfilling things I have ever done and I'm incredibly grateful and proud of how well received it has been.

What are your best tips for using your products?

Less is more and don't be afraid to play. Find your routine and stick to it.

What is your philosophy on beauty?

My philosophy on beauty is more low maintenance. On the daily I can get ready in 20 mins or less (that’s including hair and dressing) but it’s because I do all the things along the way to be able to be easy all the time. I take really careful care of my skin, I have the best esthetician in LA named Lynne, (http://goddesslynnebodyandskin.com). I get facials every month it keeps my skin relatively clear so that I don’t have to fuss too long with makeup. That's why I created the RÒEN lid illumines to be easy to apply and effortless.

What is your best beauty advice?

I like to recommend that people come up with their daily makeup wardrobe. Have your go-to’s that you can rely on, so that you can get ready in the best/quickest way possible, and feel amazing. Experimenting is left for nights or the weekend. I love RÓEN for this reason, it allows you to have a little play on your day to day with the palette colors all being wearable to switch it up slightly but still live within the makeup wardrobe.

What was the best beauty advice given to you and by whom?

I think my best beauty advice is my Mom's advice to always to show up with a smile.

What is your morning/evening skincare routine?

I love rose hip oil and might be developing one of my own, it's definitely improved my skin.

What is your go-to, everyday makeup and hair routine?

Day to day I like to keep it simple. I use a good tinted moisturizer, making sure my brows are always looking good, which is why I created vowBROW and, of course, a RÒEN eyeshadow, and a great clean mascara, which I'm excited to say RÓEN will be coming out with very soon. I like to glam up more for evening, add fabulous lipstick or gloss with a lip liner which gives that good pout, and then layer more shadow. I generally like to wash my hair at night and let it get a little wave so that it's easy for me in the morning. Many times I have to be on set by 7am, which doesn't give me much time to get ready.

What are the top three beauty products you can’t live without?

Well of course RÓEN, I love Necessaire the Body Wash, and I love good nails, and Sundays, No. 19 aged wine is one of my favorite Fall colors.

I am a big believer in self care...how do you indulge in self care?

I'm a believer in self care as well, the basic things like working out regularly and drinking loads of water are on the top of my list. Getting to the gym and breaking a sweat is part of my daily routine. Living in West Hollywood there's always something new to try for self care, which is cool, but in general I keep it simple with my routine.

What is the biggest beauty mistake you’ve ever made?

I don't like to live in mistakes, and think of them as chances to improve one's life. But I will say there was a time when I darkened my eyebrows way too much and it was not a good look on me.

Living in LA what are your top places to eat, drink, shop?

There are so many great options in LA for dining, eating and shopping, I love going to chill, relaxing spots like Marvin for a glass of wine, Verve for a half-caff or Terroni's for great Italian. For shopping I love the fun vintage shops, like American Rag, Wasteland, Goodwill, and The Real Real, I love second hand designer. I also love jewelry and usually buy from XIV Karats or Jaipur Atelier.