TIB x ASHLEIGH ALLI
Just two years after their launch, ASHE London has been featured in some of the most popular and most loved magazines. And you’re about to find out why.
To uncover the journey behind the brand's success, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Ashleigh Alli, founder and powerhouse behind ASHE London - a luxury award-winning vegan nail colour brand with a conscience. Yes, all of those things.
Not only is she a creative genius, she's also a mother of two AND a lawyer on a mission to reshape the world around her into a better, fairer one. I mean…. I already said it. Powerhouse.
One of the distinguishing features of ASHE London is its outstanding nail colours, intentionally made with vegan formula, removing any harm to animals in the process. Ashleigh could have stopped there, but she’s serious when she says her brand has a conscience.
What truly sets ASHE London apart from the rest, is the deeper meaning and and purpose woven into every aspect of the brand.
From the stunning imagery that champions diversity and inclusion to the carefully curated names for their collections, Ashleigh is sparking meaningful conversation that go far beyond a nail colour.
In addition to these conscious choices, Ashleigh has made a commitment to giving back. By partnering with two charities, a portion of their sales are donated to those in need. This philanthropic aspect of her brand serves as a reminder that businesses can be vehicles for positive change - empowering people to feel good - not just because they look good (and trust me, you will rocking a set of these nails), but also about the impact they create in the world.
Ashleigh’s commitment to social and environmental change resonates deeply with the team at TIB. We firmly believe that businesses can be catalysts for a better world, and she exemplifies this notion. By utilizing her business as a force for good, Ashleigh leaves a lasting impact on society, not only empowering individuals to express themselves but also inspires them to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
So join us as we get to know Ashleigh, her brand and her movement, and of course, find out what her unique perspective of beauty is.
Ashleigh, you left school at 16 and started work as a nail technician, but you went back to study and are now a qualified lawyer. There HAS TO be a good story here! Can you give me a brief history of where you started, where you are now and all of the beautiful moments and lessons in between?
Yes! I actually started working as a nail technician at 14, while I was still at school, but then left school at 16 to do nails full time. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately and realised that working in a salon from such a young age was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I learned so much – from how to understand a customer, how a business runs and just generally how to deliver good customer service and talk to people.
I was exposed to so many inspiring women, that was actually one of the reasons I wanted to go back to school and what inspired me to become a lawyer. I saw women who were making their own money, who were running their own businesses and who were lawyers and professionals and I felt like it was something I could try and do too. Nail salons have an amazing energy – I love being in a salon! I wanted to capture some of that feeling through ASHE and give you something that makes you feel a little bit better about yourself and the world when you wear it!
And now you are the founder of ASHE London, Luxury Vegan nail varnish. Can you describe the exact moment it time, when you decided to launch a vegan nail colour collection and why?
I actually can’t remember! I remember researching how to go about creating a nail varnish range and what’s involved lots of times in the past. But this time I took it a bit more seriously. I started having meetings with potential manufacturers and was designing things in the background and then the pandemic came along and put everything on hold. We launched nearly two years ago when I was on maternity leave – I was actually on a call to sign off on the final website amends whilst I was in labour! I didn’t realise right until the end of the call!
I think if I’m honest I was in denial about it all – every meeting and decision I took, I think somewhere in the back of my mind I wasn’t really convinced I was going to go through with it all and then sooner or later it had gone too far! I’d always wanted to do something with nails – I thought it would be a salon, I could never have dreamed it would turn into an actual product; a brand.
And why vegan?
I wanted to put something out there that did more than just make you look good. It wasn’t right to create these beautiful colours, but then be doing harm at the same time. Typically cosmetics companies rely on animal testing, or ingredients such as fish scales or insects to produce shimmer or an intense colour. Loads of market leaders are still using animal derived products to create their nail products. Vegan nail colours, like ours, replace these animal derived products with things like vegetal biomass (sugarcane, cassava, cotton and corn for example).
You name your shades after people who have made it their mission to change the world. WHY?
This was really important to me. Our colours are so distinctive that they almost have their own personalities (I always refer to our colours as ‘her’) so we needed names that would complement them. I didn’t think we could do this if we were just making up random words and sticking them on the bottles so it had to be real people that are change makers. The name ASHE (pronounced ‘A-shay’; rhymes with ‘sashay’) is inspired by the Yoruba word ‘àṣẹ’, a West African concept roughly translating as the power to make things happen and create change. Everyone always thinks it’s pronounced Ash (because of my name) but it’s actually just a coincidence!
We mean change in a really wide sense, for example, our shade Mabel was named after my nanny who came to the UK form St Vincent as part of the Windrush generation and raised 4 children by working as a seamstress. We’ve also got Olympians (Tessa) and the first African American woman into space (Mae). Change makers on so many levels. It’s important that people see change as something we can all create however big or small.
Being featured in prestigious and influential magazines like Marie Claire and STYLE magazine must have felt insane!! Can you share with us how you felt when you saw your Ashe London HAD BEEN FEATURED?
It’s amazing, I’m shocked every single time! It makes me feel really proud to see something that I made be featured in those kinds of titles. It’s always so exciting to see them – I always buy the magazines we’re featured in. I’m a geek at heart and love books so seeing our bottles in print is the best! We won the 2022 Cosmopolitan Beauty Award and I’ve got the page we’re featured in framed in my office.
Alongside your gorgeous nail varnishes, and beautifully curated Instagram feed that makes me want a fresh set of ASHE London nails every day of the week, you're actually using your business to contribute to a greater cause. Your tag line is 'Nail Colour That Cares'. What does this mean?
I’ve always liked helping people (and I hate injustice and inequality) these were the reasons I think I became a lawyer. These things impact everything that I do so I always knew that if I set something up it would have to help people in some way. Look, I’m not saving the world – I’m selling nail varnishes, but if I can do a little bit of good while I do that then I’m happy.
We think about every aspect of what we do and see where we can ‘do good’. From our formula, to our packaging, to our suppliers and our stockists (who are all female-owned and independent), to working with like-minded creatives to bring it all to life. We didn’t want to saturate the market with unnecessary shades, instead we produce small, curated collections that are timeless and that people can really connect with.
We of course donate to our charities (charities Bloody Good Period and Cianna’s Smile). This used to be 10% of all of our profits but it takes a long time for a business to become profitable and so we switched to 5% of all sales instead.
Was there a challenging moment or particular obstacle where you wondered if this might never happen?
There’re many moments! I still get them frequently. There’s always something going on behind the scenes. This is all new to me so it’s a learning curve. It’s hard not to compare to other brands and competitors and feel like you’re not making enough progress which is tough – I’m trying really hard not to do that.
What makes you proud of being the founder of Ashe London, AND the work you do as a lawyer?
I’m proud that I put myself out there and went for it. I’m naturally shy and I really suffer with a lack of self-confidence at times. When you add that to the fact that I didn’t grow up knowing anyone in business and was the first person in my family to go to university there were so many barriers to becoming a lawyer and setting up a business. The 14 year old me working in a nail salon would be proud I think.
What kind of impact to aspire to leave with Ashe London? What's your biggest, boldest vision for the brand?
Honestly, I just want people to take our colours home, use them and feel a little bit brighter, just have a little minute of happiness. That’s it! I also hope that our branding and socials continue to connect with people and show that we are for everyone – you don’t have to have long, slender, white hands to wear our colours. Hopefully other brands will get the memo soon!
If you could look at your 16 year old self, what would you tell her about education, beauty, self-expression and following your dreams? What do you want all young women out there to know?
I would say just go for it. Do it all! Wear whatever makes you feel confident, learn as much as you can about anything and everything; read books, travel, learn a language. Don’t refuse to do stuff because you’re scared or don’t have the confidence – I missed out on so much when I was younger because of that.
Lastly, we would love to hear your personal perception of beauty.
Since ASHE and especially since having kids, beauty has become more about self-care. I go out a lot less these days and wear less make up but I invest a lot of time in my skin care and also hair care and looking after it more (I have naturally curly mixed race hair that I straightened throughout most of my teens and twenties). It’s like my way of investing in myself and thanking my body for what it goes through and has been through.
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