Living in New York City, Daria Mudrova is a well-known beauty expert and blogger from Russia. Daria founded and sold her start-up company My Beauty Box, she has collaborated with several international brands, such as Calvin Klein, L’Oreal and Sephora. On top of this, Daria consistently writes for Russian magazines and is a frequent columnist for Cosmopolitan magazine. She contributes to video blogs, radio programs and is a brand ambassador for Vassa & Co.
Daria was able to answer a few of our questions about her career and life as a beauty and lifestyle expert.
What inspired you to start Beauty Box?
I was inspired to start My Beauty Box, a subscription based personalized beauty box company, because I had a lot of friends who loved to experiment with beauty products and wanted to look good. They were open to trying various cosmetics but didn’t have enough time for shopping. Sometimes they were also overwhelmed by the huge choice of beauty products. So, I created My Beauty Box to function as a friend to help them navigate all these beauty products. The function provided them with the most up-to-date beauty advice and sent them 5 to 7 sample size beauty products every month that were compiled based on each individual’s hair and skin type. If they liked the sample products they received, then they could buy full-size products on our website.
I believe that the Beauty Box experience was very helpful for our customers to move beyond their regular beauty routines and develop an understanding of what products work best for them. We made monthly deliveries to every customer’s door, which also included a beauty surprise. Then, customers could save money buying discounted full-size version of the products they really liked. I was also inspired to create a beauty box online community with hundreds of thousands of people who enjoyed beauty experience.
How was the process of collaborating with major brands like L’Oreal, Calvin Klein and Yves Rocher?
As well as beauty friend for my subscribers – My Beauty Box was also a marketing tool for beauty brands. Basically, we would send new beauty products directly to the hands of beauty lovers and introduce them to the beauty brands we collaborated with. We educated our customers on how to use those beauty products and provided the brands with full analytics about their products. So, brands were happy to collaborate with us and to provide us with their sample size products for free. I totally loved collaborating with major beauty brands such as L’Oreal, Sephora, Calvin Klein, Yves Rocher, Shiseido and others. Currently, I am collaborating as a beauty influencer with beauty and fashion brands like Wella Professionals, L’Oreal, Caudalie, Erborian, Sabon etc… and post about my favorite products after trying them. I am also currently a brand ambassador for my favorite Russian fashion brand, Vassa & Co. I truly love their ethics and minimalistic style.
How did it feel to be nominated as Russia’s representative in the 2018 Diaspora Models International Beauty Contest?
I was honored to be nominated as Russia’s Representative at the 2018 Diaspora Models International Beauty Contest, alongside representatives from 20 other countries. My mission was to show girls that there is more beyond exterior beauty standards by encouraging girls to pursue their dreams by being strong, unafraid in stressful situations and to pursue their career goals, no matter what. I am not very tall according to model industry beauty standards, but I participated and tried to encourage girls to be themselves. By being part of competition, I was also happy to introduce people to Russian culture and customs, to meet with models from all the world and to present some fantastic dresses by Tadashi Shoji.
Did your experience at the contest influence your decision to move to New York City?
Being in NYC has been the best adventure of my life. Before moving to NYC I sold my company My Beauty Box, I visited 30 countries around the world. I chose to come to NYC because it was a place that would best help me establish a platform to develop the necessary skills to achieve my future career goals. As the same time, improving my English so I was fluent was obviously a big part of that. The beauty contest helped me to believe in myself, to find new friends and to assimilate more with the NYC community.
What insight have you gotten from your experience working at New York Fashion week?
In my view, NYFW is one of the biggest public relations events for brands and designers for the year. It’s a way to create a buzz, to grab attention and make people speak about what they’re doing. Designers are trying to be more innovative and creative by stepping away from traditional paths of simply showing their collections. They are focusing on bigger concepts and ideas rather than just fashion. Designers are choosing unexpected locations and are collaborating with cultural institutions like art galleries and museums. They are playing with larger themes and new ways of presentation. NYFW is also a great opportunity for networking and to meet talented people from the beauty and fashion industries.
What are some of the main themes and topics you cover in your articles?
I have been writing articles for Russian magazines focusing on beauty, fashion and lifestyle trends for women between 18 and 40 years old. For my column in Cosmo.ru, I have been focusing on themes like sustainable fashion, the transformation of fashion and beauty standards, and the role of social media in beauty and fashion. I am trying to analyze things from different perspectives and to see the connections between global social trends and beauty, as well as to see the similarities and differences between the Russian and American beauty markets. I have been writing about the influence of social media and the lifestyle in NYC, because I truly believe that here is a big connection between beauty, digital, popular social issues and cultural environment. It’s interesting to observe and analyze macrotrends and to give my personal expertise in articles.
What are some of the different trends you have observed in both Russian and American fashion?
Women’s empowerment. The feminist movement in the USA has had a fundamental impact on American beauty and fashion today. To maintain individuality and to be a conscious consumer are some of the most important 2020 trends. Generally, the American garment market is overloaded, and American women have become much less interested in fast fashion and famous labels when compared to Russian fashionistas. Speaking about fashion, we see that comfort, functionality and social consciousness are becoming key words for American women. They’re trying to step away from imposed stereotypes on how women should be seen in men’s eyes and to create a reality where women can be themselves, no matter the circumstance. Victoria Secret’s recent crash shows how big of a change this has been. In Russia, most women still don’t want to be associated with feminists and try to create and follow more sexual looks.
What advice would you give a young person thinking about getting into the fashion and beauty world?
I would say don’t be afraid of being yourself and being sincere. Network a lot. Don’t be afraid of starting something new. Use all digital technologies and social networks since we live in a time where we have direct access to famous brands and professionals worldwide. I would advise a young person to take the initiative by writing to brands, networking with people in industry and forge collaborations. Regularly reading top beauty magazines can also help to create your individual sense of style and to give you the tools to create your own vibrant self. Always remember that your ideas and work should make a positive impact on people.
Thank you Daria for sharing your thoughts with us!
You can follow up with Daria Mudrova at:
Website: https://www.dariamudrova.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darimudrova/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dasha.mudrova
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daria-mudrova-3a6ba873/
