INTERVIEW: JOANNA WHEATON FOUNDER OF SHANGHAI SUZY

Yesterday I posted a review on the amazing Shanghai Suzy lipstick range that launched in August this year. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to ask Joanna the founder of Shanghai Suzy a few questions and I'm super excited to share this with you all. 

Photo of Joanna by Owen Zhang

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Tell us a bit about yourself? 

I'm a 27 year-old Melbournian who lives for a good chuckle, lipstick, fashion, cheese and wine (ideally enjoyed together), and my family and friends! I tend to be a bit of a workaholic but I plan on working on that (ahhh oops more work!!!)

What inspired you to started your own business? Why lipsticks? 

I'm a huge lipstick lover and I am always on the lookout for new exciting colours, especially in matte formulas (which I am obsessed with!). I have never finished a lipstick in my life as I either lose it when I'm out or get tired of it and move onto the next one! With that insight I really saw the need for a lipstick brand that delivered in terms of colour/pigment, formula and packaging that was super affordable. A go-to brand where I could always find the latest colours rather than having to search high and low through all different brands for the 'it' colour of the minute! And so Shanghai Suzy was born - a cheap and chic fashion lipstick brand with limited edition colours that are updated every 6 months. 

-The brand name has a ring to it, is there any meaning behind 'Shanghai Suzy'? 

Each of the Shanghai Suzy colours is named after someone special in my life. I was going to name a shade after my girlfriend Suzy, who is from Shanghai.  When I said 'Shanghai Suzy' out aloud I thought it had a great ring to it and so it instantly became the name of the brand! 

Shanghai Suzy only launched in August this year, I can only imagine how much work has gone into starting up the business. How long has it been in the making? How has the experience been so far?  

It has taken me about three years to get to this point but to be honest it definitely should not have taken that long! It was tough to get the project completed with my full time and full on marketing job plus modelling (which I used to do a lot of) and it took me forever to save the pennies to make the dream a reality!  And I was adamant that the business would be self-funded. But I finally bit the bullet in April and quit my full time job to get the brand off the ground, things moved pretty quickly after that! The process has been inspiring, exciting, fun and rewarding.

 Could you explain a bit more about the two different formulations? What makes them special?

Even though the brand is affordable the formulas are fantastic quality and have received rave reviews from makeup artists and beauty press. The matte is a creamy matte so it lasts ages, has a matte look finish and builds up to an amazing bold result with so much pigment - but it doesn't dry out the lips. The nourish formula has jojoba seed oil to make it super moisturising - a great look for softer colours and I find it to be very daytime/office friendly.  Both formulas smell and taste like grape bubblegum so they're a pleasant change to many of the waxy smelling lippies in the market.  

Is there any particular shade from the current range you're particularly fond of? 

It changes weekly - my top three on rotation are Miss Jade Orange, Miss Sanja Fuchsia, Miss Claire Fire Engine Red.

What are your favourite make up trends for summer? Which Shanghai Suzy shades fit into those trends?

This Summer I plan to regularly be sporting a (fake) bronzed complexion with a bold, bright almost neon lip - Miss Sally Watermelon or Miss Jade Orange for example. I'm also loving a bold, pigment-rich pink or coral eyeshadow with a nude lip like Miss Emma Taupe.

We love to hear a bit of behind-the-scenes - what is a typical day for you at Shanghai Suzy HQ? 

My days vary dramatically! The mornings could be spent in the office working on merchandising, the books, PR and marketing, product development etc or I could be out on the road visiting salons or setting up new stores. The afternoons are often spent packing orders, visiting the post office, catching up on emails etc. 

What's in store for the future of Shanghai Suzy?

Our new AW14 range will be released in Feb/March with some seriously amazing colours, I'm so excited! Hopefully we will continue to grow and expand, we're currently in 16 stores so hopefully the Shanghai Suzy family continues to grow!

I hope you all enjoyed hearing a bit more from Joanna. I had alot of fun testing out the products and learning about Shanghai Suzy! I've fallen in love with the brand. Thank you to Joanna for answering my questions and I cannot wait for AW14 range to be released :) 

Don't forget if you missed yesterday's review to check it out because there is some gorgeous shades available in the SS13 collection now. See post here