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You don’t need much to be pretty – get to know organic make up Und Gretel

By Sarah Luisa Santos . August 5, 2015

und gretel

Here in Berlin I have the feeling that women are much more free to walk around how they want. No need to put yourself under 10 kilos of make up, foundation, eye-liner and so on. And it’s completely fine. Who cares?

In Brazil I would say vanity is a big part of our lives. I cannot speak for all Brazilian women, but my experience is that I was so concerned all the time if my hair was looking spongy, or if my belly had that extra kilogram or if that zit on my face was really normal. All the time there was something to worry about concerning appearance, plus we had to look perfect under a hot 35 degree sun. So you can imagine how the make up would look after a long day running errands.

But here, from what I’ve seen in the streets, it’s completely fine to have that messy hair, actually… the messier the better. That extra kilogram does not stop girls from wearing those short denim shorts. Imperfections in the skin are just treated as normal because, after all, we are all humans. Here, differences are celebrated and not discriminated against.

People here want to feel comfortable with themselves without caring so much about established patterns. And I guess this applies to all areas of life here in Berlin, this thing of not being content with what you have been told to do.

And, with the rise of this new generation, Und Gretel was created.

I met make up artist Christina Roth and marketing guru Stephanie Dettmann, the masterminds behind Und Gretel, in Premium. I soon came to learn that the brand is only six months old, launched last January. And this beauty brand has a lot to do with Berlin lifestyle.

Natural and organic, the range of products was carefully selected and the colors cleverly arranged to match with one another. You don’t need much of them to be pretty.

Und Gretel make up

The wish to create an organic beauty line came from Christina. As a make up artist, she was constantly asked to use healthy, organic products. After six years preparing, thinking and putting ideas into practice, Und Gretel was born.

The products are produced in Italy, but designed in Berlin, with certification by BDIH which means that whole production process, from what the make up is made of to the box it is put in, everything is carefully controlled and certified.

The problem is that usually organic make up always has this downside, either the consistency is not good or the colors are not fashionable… so now we found a way to do this. And especially in this time, where everyone is so concerned about health, make up also should be healthy and should not make you sick.” -Stephanie Dettmann.

Stephanie also said that Und Gretel is like the little black dress – simple and efficient.

You can mix all the colors, Christina is a make up artist, so she thought up the whole color arrangement. You don’t need so many shades, you only need key colors that you can match and mix with each other.”

Und Gretel Berlin

Another charming detail of the brand is that every product comes with a name inspired by Anglo Saxon, a mix between German and English something like a “middle German”. Besides that, the product design is very clean, inspired by Bauhaus, very appealing for this new normcore generation.

“In the last few years, as a make up artist, requests for a softer make up has been very high. And for the lazy girls in Berlin, that have only lipstick and a pair of sneakers on, they take the Luk (eye-shadow stick) and do their eye make up very quickly. And you can do pretty much anything with it, the ’80s look or the smoky eye, you choose.”

We don’t need so many products, only the right ones.” -Christina Roth.

And this translates perfectly this new Berlin lifestyle, where less is definitely more. Plus, the organic production with the cool design can definitely gain many fans not only in the German capital, but also around the world, as I can see many Brazilian friends are also concerned about leading a more sustainable, healthier life (a fact that makes me very happy, as changes are slow but are happening!).

Some of the ingredients of the mascara, for example, can go to your kidneys and be very harmful. As a woman, you have contact with over 500 different substances wearing make up. That’s a lot! If you take care of what you eat, why shouldn’t you take care of what you wear? We’ve been having such a great response, many people were asking for such a product and now we have it.” -Christina Roth.

I find a make up brand that kind of preaches to wear less make up but good make up very interesting. I like it!

You can find Und Gretel products here.

Photos: Und Gretel Facebook reproduction.

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