The new skincare brand, ERLY, initially caught my attention because of its interesting packaging, reminiscent of the ’60s and ’70s Space Age furniture movement, with its playful colors and basic, bold shapes that pop. But, what kept my attention was their “About Us” page and speaking with the brand’s co-founder, dermatologist Hallie McDonald.
The brand was founded by friends Jamie Chandlee and Dr. Hallie McDonald, to address their growing concerns about the influence of the skincare and beauty industry on their daughters. The “About Us” section on the ERLY website hammers out its core purpose as a brand: to quiet the noise of an overwhelmingly packed skin care market, one that Mcdonald emphasized on in the very first minutes of our conversation.
“In my medical practice, I’ve seen over the last 5-6 years and certainly more in the last several, patients of all ages coming in with really over complicated skin care regimens and ones that are actually even detrimental to their particular skin types,” she explains. “What ERLY was designed to do was to provide a skin care line where there are no bad choices.”
A Fresh Take on Customized Skincare
The brand’s five products are created with a full system, or routine in mind. It gives you the opportunity of developing your own custom product by mixing one of their three brand serums into its day or night moisturizer, which comes in a push-down pump-style container, and then applying it with their The Mixer mixing brush.
ERLY is also free of anything unnecessary, said Dr. Mcdonald, “It’s all fragrance-free, hypoallergenic. There are no dyes, no essential oils, but we were also really thoughtful about including ingredients that were really beneficial for the skin and safe for all ages and skin types.”
She lists some of these ingredients like, niacinamide, peptides with hyaluronic acid: “Things that really can help with a multitude of skin care concerns, whether that’s anti-aging or hyperpigmentation or inflammation, but are safe for even you know, the youngest person to use or you know a sensitive skin type,” she says.
“Niacinamide is a good alternative to Vitamin C because it is a great antioxidant, Vitamin C is not necessarily appropriate for all skin types, but niacinamide is,” she explained. “Daily SPF really is a big one for me. The mission is to get people of all ages to be wearing it as consistently as we brush our teeth.”
The line also features a gentle cleansing Face Foam, along with two moisturizers—the ERLY Start Moisturizer SPF 40 which protects your skin from UV rays, and the hydrating and repairing ERLY Night Moisturizer— and three serums.
The three serums are all formulated for three different skin concerns: The Daily Dew to refresh dullness and brighten the skin, the Daily Soothe to calm irritation, reduce redness, and minimize pores, and the Daily Splash to quench thirsty skin and plump.
Behind the Packaging
I was intrigued by the packaging. Since I’m used to seeing less colorful dermatologist-created products, when I asked Dr. McDonald about the choice, she said they paid special attention to the branding.
“I really think the packaging is an important piece to this whole puzzle, primarily because I would have these patients come into my office with these overcomplicated routines and I would tell them to use different products, and I would suggest things that quite frankly looked a bit medical, and my patients didn’t want to use them,” Mcdonald explained. “We worked with a visual designer to help us kind of marry that whole idea between having safe and hypoallergenic products in fun and playful packaging.”
ERLY’s packaging was designed by Studio Lotta Nieminen, the designing studio behind Eadem, which, according to its Behance info, is focused on “creating holistic visual solutions for clients across disciplines.” The design studio is led by Lotta Nieminen, a Finnish Illustrator and graphic designer based in New York City.
The brand’s goal is to always have a streamlined list of products, but to keep growing, expansion is necessary. However, I had to remind myself their focus is quality, so I asked Mcdonald what her and her partner’s future product release plans or wishes are. She said “a tinted SPF, chemical-free.”
To keep up with ERLY, be sure to visit itserly.com or follow @erlyskin on Instagram.
