A young couple launched their own cosmetics business when they were unable to find fake tan products that suited everyone.

Alex Jones and his partner L’Marl McGrath, from Stacksteads, have launched Voir Cosmetics Ltd. 

Alex, 21, said: “I always wear fake tan, but I found I would be embarrassed about going into a chemist to buy it. I would even say I was buying it for my girlfriend, but I’m gay.

“When you look at the self-tanning products on the shelves, they are always advertised for women and have pictures of models that are not really relatable to the person buying it - certainly not to men.

“In 2021 we approached at least 10 different manufacturers and asked them to produce an olive tone mousse which would create a more realistic tan than what we had found currently on the market. We also didn’t want it to have that ‘tan smell’.”

After nine months, they had got the formula right and then they had to come up with a name.

Alex said: “That was the hardest bit. I wanted it to say a certain thing and so started thinking about foreign languages and came up with Voir. French beauty products are synonymous with quality and it means ‘to see’.

“We want our customers to see their own beauty while wearing our products and our brand promotes body positivity, inclusivity and the beauty in everyone of all shapes, sizes, ethnic groups, ages and genders.

“We want our brand to show that everyone is unique and everyone, and their bodies, should be celebrated.”

The partners got friends, aged 18 to 50, to be models to create their adverts and social media videos. The models, of all genders, tried the product in advance of the photo shoot.

They then shared the results via social media videos to their 100,000 TikTok followers and 23,000 on Instagram.

L’Marl, 30, said “They all said they loved it. We sell two shades, medium and dark. The mousse can be seen as soon as it is applied and can be left to develop for whatever length of time people want, to achieve the shade they desire. Then you simply wash it off and it leaves a natural looking colour.”

The mousse is vegan, is not tested on animals and retails at £18.

They have dreams to maybe one day make Voir Cosmetics their future career, when the product takes off and are already working on a second eyebrow range.

For more information visit voircosmetics.co.uk or TikTok @VoirCosmetics.