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“Feeling beautiful and being beautiful are the same.” —Isabel Madison, Founder of Nude Envie
The world of cosmetics can feel scary and pressuring, especially when so many beauty brands push the newest trend or urge us to transform our appearance completely. Nude Envie offers a simple message we can all resonate with: makeup should help us feel more like ourselves.
Nude Envie is a female-founded luxury beauty brand created around effortless neutral makeup. It is a collection of cosmetics that are designed to complement one another. This includes lipsticks, lip glosses, lip liners, eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters, bronzers, and a selection of nail colors. Rather than completely concealing natural features, the brand’s pure, wearable tones gently enhance them.
These products are a love letter that reflects beauty lovers’ different values and needs.
According to Nude Envie, its cosmetics are vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and gluten-free. This makes the brand an option for anyone who wants their makeup routine to feel more luxurious while still being thoughtful about the formulas they use.
Let’s meet the ceo of Nude Envie.
Behind this love letter is the founder, CEO, and creative director Isabel Madison. Her passion for cosmetics began long before the company even existed. Madison grew up surrounded by the beauty industry because her father was a cosmetic chemist and the founder of Visage de Beauté, a company later sold to Revlon. As a younger girl, she recalls visiting her father’s laboratory and quickly learned how colors were created, lipsticks were molded, and formulas were perfected.
However, Madison learned that beauty was way more about how a product was perfected. Watching the women in her family apply makeup showed her how a few subtle touches could make someone feel glamorous, sophisticated, and confident in their own skin. This understanding would eventually become the heart and soul of Nude Envie, which sparked in 2016 and launched in 2017.
As Madison began contributing influential ideas to her father’s company, she stepped away from her makeup career to raise her three children. Her path may have shifted ever so slightly, but her passion for beauty never truly disappeared.
Later, a shopping trip with her sister rekindled her spark for makeup and cosmetics.
While walking through a cosmetics department, Madison noticed how her sister felt pressured and overwhelmed by the huge selection of lipstick colors. The colors were so bold and eye-catching that she didn’t feel comfortable wearing them at all.
Now you might be wondering: why didn’t she choose a different color or brand and leave the more vibrant colors to those who wear them daily?
The birth of Nude Envie and the 2017 hard launch
That moment inspired Nude Envie.
The brand officially launched in 2017 with nine lipsticks and one lip liner. It then expanded to include more shades and coordinating products for the eyes, cheeks, and even nails. With every release, Madison remained committed to creating comforting neutrals that feel exciting on all skin tones.
Nude Envie’s story is also a lovely reminder of why smaller, founder-led brands deserve a place in our already jam-packed makeup bags, even when celebrity and designer brands seem to be everywhere.
Now, there is nothing wrong with getting excited about a celebrity makeup launch or treating yourself to something from a beloved famous designer. However, independent brands can bring a personal story to the beauty industry.
After all, we are all beautiful.
This started because someone notices a real-world problem, imagines a thoughtful solution, and then decides to share it with the world. For Madison, the problem was rather personal. She saw how overwhelming beauty shopping could be and recognized the need for more coordinated neutral shades that openly celebrate the wearer instead of competing with her features.
Honestly, Nude Envie wasn’t created simply because neutral makeup suddenly became trendy. It grew out of Madison’s family lore and childhood experiences, shaped by her genuine love for how cosmetics can make someone feel beautiful inside and out.
My first ever pr box and what I thought about the products
I had the opportunity to try Nude Envie’s Saint Tropez Bronzer and Greatness Blush, and what stood out most was how naturally both products blended into my tan skin. The bronzer added a softer, sun-kissed warmth without looking heavy or overpowering, while the blush gave my cheeks a beautiful flush of color.
Together, they gave my complexion a healthy glow that felt perfectly polished yet effortless. The products enhanced my face so subtly that I still looked like myself, just a little brighter and more confident.
As someone with a freckly face, my relationship with makeup can sometimes be a love-hate relationship. I enjoy putting on makeup since it helps me feel more confident throughout my day-to-day in college. But fuller coverage products often conceal the features that make me naturally unique. My freckles are part of my identity, and covering them can make me feel like I am hiding the very things I should be celebrating.
Makeup should not require someone to choose between feeling glamorous and embracing their natural appearance, but I have often struggled to find that balance.
I did not have that problem with Nude Envie.
The Saint Tropez bronzer and Greatness blush complemented my tan skin tones and my freckles instead of concealing them. It kept my natural features visible while still giving me the color and definition I wanted. Rather than completely changing the way my face looks with loads of makeup, the products elevated what was already there.
This experience helped me understand Nude Envie’s message on a more personal level: beauty doesn’t have to come from transforming yourself. Sometimes, the best makeup is the kind that helps you recognize and appreciate the beauty that I already possess.
Understanding our own cosmestic individuality
Brands like Nude Envie also give people more freedom to decide what beauty means to us individually. Some people feel their very best in a hot pink lipstick, dramatic eyeliner, or a vibrant 2000s blue eyeshadow. Others feel more confident with a softer touch of blush, a glowing highlight, or a nude lip that feels polished without feeling too overdone.
Beauty should have room for all of these choices.
At its heart and soul, Nude Envie isn’t asking people to cover themselves up or become someone completely different. It is encouraging them to notice the beauty that is already there. Sometimes the perfect makeup product is not the one that changes everything about your face.
It is the one that makes you smile when you look in the mirror and think, “Wow, I still look like me, just a little more confident.”
Learn more about Isabel Madison and what her brand offers on the brand’s official website!
Want to learn more about diving into makeup? Read this article by Elena from Her Campus at FIT!