Shades By Shan started out a side hustle in founder Shan Berries' mother’s basement in 2018. Five years later, the indie brand is having a “pinch-me” moment as Berries’ company is the first beauty brand to partner with global color authority Pantone. 

 

The color cosmetics brand was tasked to create a lip shine that corresponded with 2024’s color of the year: peach fuzz. The partnership is a memorable one for Pantone, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary of Color of the Year.

 

“We were completely floored!” said Berries when Pantone approached the brand with the proposition. “We knew how big the opportunity was and how prestigious this partnership was. Even just being considered was exhilarating, and once we locked it down, we knew we had to deliver the utmost product for Color of the Year.”

 

The lip oil offers what Berries describes a “luxurious, pillow-soft feel” that gives lips hydration and moisture with every application. Imparting a subtle, but elegant look on lips, The Lip Shine in Peach Fuzz, Berries says, is perfect for beauty minimalists who strive to put in effort to look effortless. Plus, the Lip Shine delivers long-lasting benefits as it doubles as a lip treatment. With ingredients like olive, jojoba and almond oils, its soft, doe-foot applicator delivers soft, hydrated lips with a pretty sheen. 

 

The Lip Shine is now available online for a limited time at Shades By Shan's exclusive retailer, JCPenney, and coming to more than 600 stores nationwide in the coming weeks.

As Happi previously reported, the brand announced its first roll-out at the retailer a year ago.

 

“As you can imagine, it completely transformed our business and our lives,” said Berries.

Per Berries, more than its cosmetics line (which includes gel eyeliner, shimmery eyeshadows and hydrating primers, among other offerings) Pantone was particularly moved by its philanthropic efforts. Berries’ mother was a single-parent and Ecuadorian immigrant who worked hard to make ends meet. In her honor, Shades By Shan donates a portion of proceeds to Mamaberries Foundation, its 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

 

To date, Mamaberries Foundation has assisted more than 80 single parents nationwide with financial aid with plans to triple that number this year.  The Pantone partnership, she said, provides the opportunity of a lifetime to meet that goal. 

In thinking deeply about the meaning of peach fuzz, Berries says the color is symbolic of kindness, compassion and caring— values that embody Shades By Shan. Berries began the venture in her mother’s basement in San Francisco with help from her sister. The brand started with two products and will have more than 100 by year’s end.

 

While many have likened their business to an “overnight success,” Berries insists her resourcefulness and business acumen, not mere luck, helped get their business off the ground.

 

With the Pantone partnership, Berries says she’s hoping to reach her target of tripling the number of single mothers that her nonprofit is able to help. And, she wants to continue to add some luster to the lives of this underrecognized demographic.  

 

“Like what Pantone's Color of the Year represents, I hope 2024 encompasses kindness and compassion because the world lacks that,” said Berries. “I wish people recognized how far kindness and compassion really go. It costs zero dollars to be kind, and I hope that anyone who buys the Lip Shine and puts it on every day remembers that they have the power to change someone's day and life.”

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