Makeup removal is a nightmare for everyone who’s ever dealt with it. It usually requires a lot of (not so healthy) cosmetics, cotton pads and time. Have you ever tried washing off cosplay or Halloween makeup? It takes up ages and somehow the eyeliner is still there. Monika and Ewa from Phenicoptere totally get those who deal with makeup and did their best to help by creating GLOV. With this pretty inconspicuous gadget, you’ll be able to take off your makeup in seconds.
They studied together at the Management and Marketing at University of Warsaw. Monika studied international business at University of Florida and Polytechnic University of Valencia. Ewa is currently doing Executive MBA at University of Warsaw. They’ve both had experience in running a business before setting up Phenicoptere together to fulfil their dream.
The origin story of GLOV is the same of many other innovative products: the need of something that didn’t exist.
“One evening over 7 years ago I came back to my hotel room exhausted. Of course before going to sleep, I had to remove my makeup, but I was out of cotton pads or makeup remover. That’s when I started dreaming of a product that would quickly and efficiently deal with makeup. However, the idea the create a makeup removing glove had its origins in Tasmania. That’s where, during an internship at a plastic surgery clinic I first encountered micro-fibres that inspired me to create textiles to clean your skin,” says Monika.
How do you use it? It’s as simple as it can get. All you have to do is wet it and it’s ready for use. You don’t need any special makeup remover, it’ll effortlessly deal with every sort of makeup, be it just mascara or a full makeup. After use, all you have to do is wash it with a bit of soap and hang to dry. Everything takes under a minute.
GLOV is one of a kind. there’s never before been a product that would remove makeup with just water. You can’t categorise it as any traditional type of cosmetic, it’s an innovative hydro demaquillage product. Its secret lays in the fibres. Made with microtechnology, GLOV fibres are 30 times thinner than a cotton pad and 100 thinner than a human hair. Their electrostatistic abilities absorb all makeup like a magnet till you wash the GLOV. It’s made of polyamide and polyester fibres, which work on makeup and oil build-up like a magnet. Unlike cotton fibres, they don’t smear everything on your face.
They admit that it wasn’t often easy. Everyone tried to put them down saying they’d no chance to win the market. But they didn’t give up because they both knew the idea was huge.
“Three years of testing and researching thousands of possible fibre convolutions, compositions, and structures resulted in creating the final version of GLOV products,” says Ewa.
Ewa and Monika created the project out of their own pockets. After launching their project, they’ve got funds from AIP Seed Capital, Paszport do Eksportu and Ministry of Economy’s “Promotion of cosmetics abroad”. At the moment, they’re distributing GLOV to over 40 countries and it’s a bestseller in French Moniprox or Swiss Marionnaud.