"Nails are accessories, art, a mirror for your mood, the foundation to an outfit, and a conversation starter." Rachel James describes her starting force to found Pear Nova, and reminds us of the importance of the nails. Our nails reflect our personality, style, and even who we are, and we know we don't want to use products from toxic companies anymore. Pear Nova is cruelty-free, 10 free, and vegan because, as a vegan nail brand, health, quality, and inclusivity are what they look for. When Rachel James first Googled“how to start a nail polish brand,” we wonder if she knew she would be so successful that create both a sustainable and fashionable brand. Recently Pear Nova collaborated with The Nova Star Project which is a nonprofit organization devoted to educating, strengthening, and empowering domestic violence survivors for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We talked to Rachel James about the brand, the latest nail trends, and the effects of Covid-19. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Pear Nova.

Where are you based?
My company headquarters and beauty lounge, Pear Nova Studio, are both based in Chicago.

What inspired you to launch the Pear Nova and what is the ethos of your brand?
My driving force for creating Pear Nova is my love for fashion and beauty, my entrepreneurial passions, and the hope that I could create something that my children’s children can benefit from. I wanted to share something that sat perfectly in between fashion and beauty. Nails are accessories, art, a mirror for your mood, the foundation to an outfit, and a conversation starter.

Can you tell us how you got into the beauty business and how you found your style?
I grew up being a DIY type of girl. I learned how to do my hair, my brows, and I faithfully painted my nails every couple of days. I even remember giving my mom manis and pedis all the time. After high school, I got my aesthetician license and then I went to school for fashion merchandising. A lightbulb moment went off right around the time I graduated college. I did a marketing presentation for one of my classes and made up a fake nail polish line even though everyone else did fashion lines because we were in fashion school. My professor was blown away by my presentation and told me I should go work for OPI. I didn’t want to work for a brand, so I went home that day and Googled “how to start a nail polish brand.” Nail polish felt like the perfect combination of fashion and beauty because it's both an accessory and beauty product.

The entire beauty industry is dominated by toxic brands but Pear Nova is vegan and cruelty-free. What was the motivation for you to cultivate a brand that is ethical and ecofriendly at the same time? What are the major challenges of developing sustainable beauty brands?
Luckily with the vegan and cruelty free trend, creating non toxic beauty products isn’t too difficult. Manufacturers are understanding what consumers need. Pear Nova is cruelty free, 10 free, and vegan. All of our lacquers are free of formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, and camphor. There are no animal-derived ingredients present in the formulation of our nail lacquer. Health, quality and inclusivity are what I look for in brands so creating a brand with similar values was a no brainer.

What is the best color of the new year and what do you think are the key trends in beauty at the moment?
One Piece Wonder. Although it’s a candy apple green we’ve been seeing it become a favorite for Winter ‘21. The pop of color instantly catches your eye and because green represents renewal, growth, and new beginnings, I understand why everyone is gravitating towards it.

Can you tell us a little bit about your holiday essentials kit?
The Pear Nova Holiday Essentials Kit was exclusively curated for Oprah’s Favorite Things 2020. The limited-edition set included four luxury classic nail shades; Michelle Our Mama, Ginzaholic, Dianna Boss, and Rub My Temples, our fast dry top coat Clearly Top Coat, and our clean-smelling Growth Green Tea Cuticle Oil to complete your manicure.

How do you determine the style of your brand for each season while fashion constantly renews itself?
The inspiration for my collections change with each season. Fashion will always be at the core but I am heavily influenced by world travel, art, music and creative women. The allnude BRWNGRLMGC collection was inspired by not always being able to find the right nude shade for medium to deep skin tones, while two of our more vivid collections, All Thai’d Up and Thai Dye, were inspired by a trip to Thailand. I’ve developed collections based on Chicago neighborhoods, self-care and menswear, but I make sure each color palette can inspire a woman’s wardrobe so that the ideas always return to fashion.

How dramatically has the coronavirus affected your business? What impact do you think this pandemic is having on the beauty industry?
We had to close our nail studio, which was a huge negative, but luckily we saw growth in our e-commerce sales . The pandemic is forcing us to think outside of the box, go with the flow and forcing some to DIY.

What sets Pear Nova apart from the other nail brands?
Pear Nova is different from other nail brands because we’re blending health and luxury all while celebrating every skin tone.

It is really exciting that you collaborated with The Nova Star Project which is a nonprofit organization devoted to educating, strengthening, and empowering domestic violence survivors for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Can you tell us a little bit about The Nova Star Project and why is it so important to you? How can we support it?
This organization is very near and dear to my family and me. It helps to provide resources and encouragement to women surviving domestic violence. For more information, please visit: https//novastarproject.org

How are you staying positive during a shelter in place?
By keeping my focus on being a better mother and entrepreneur.

What is your motto in life?
Enjoy the journey. Everyday routines become ritual when the action is more meaningful than the result.

To learn more about Pear Nova please follow them via the following links:
www.pearnova.com
Instagram: @pearnova
Facebook: @pearnova
Twitter: @pearnova

Photography by courtesy of Pear Nova

Pear Nova Is The Perfect Combination Of Fashion, Beauty and Sustainability