Caliray Beauty

From blank page to international Sephora distribution & Series A in 36 months.

Brand Conception · Launch Strategy · Creative Direction · Sephora Rollout

As co-founder and Creative Director, I shaped Caliray from concept into one of Sephora’s fastest-ramping indie launches in its first 12 months. The name, the world, the product architecture, the storytelling, the visual identity, the packaging, the campaigns, the Sephora rollout. All of it flowed through me.

It still does, now for my clients.

THE WORK

Creating a world, not just a brand.

Most clean beauty brands play it safe. Black and white packaging. Serif font. Quiet. Caliray was the opposite. A poetic love letter to California with just enough bite to keep things interesting. The voice was charmingly off-the-wall and unapologetically sexy. The visuals transported you somewhere you wanted to live. The goal: shoppers should recognize Caliray before they saw the logo.

Building the creative infrastructure.

Every product, campaign, and retail moment was guided through one consistent system. Visual identity. Naming conventions. Brand pillars. Messaging hierarchy. Packaging narratives. Education frameworks. Sephora merchandising. Creative standards for photo, film, and digital. Not assembled. Architected.

Bringing icons to market.

Each launch was a chapter in a larger world, not just a SKU. I led campaign concept, naming, casting, photography, DTC storytelling, and Sephora launch narratives across the entire portfolio. Clean performance beauty. Formulas that delivered. Vibes that felt like a margarita.

THE RESULTS

Caliray launched DTC in 2021 and expanded to Sephora.com by year-end. The 2022 in-store debut earned front-table placement across 500+ US and Canada stores, a permanent shelf footprint, and a full digital blast across Sephora’s social, web, app, email, and SMS. We also helped Sephora pioneer the nationwide Pact Collective recycling program for all US stores.

By the Numbers

Web traffic growth: +276% YoY
Instagram growth: from zero to 38K
TikTok growth: from zero to 70K
Top 10 Mascara on Sephora.com: Come Hell or High Water
Seven consecutive sellouts for So Blown Primer
Best-in-class ROAS campaigns with Allure
Marie Claire Changemaker Award, Beauty 2022
Product recognition: Allure, ELLE, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, SELF, and The Kit across 2022 and 2023

That warm, irreverent, sun-drenched aesthetic now moodboarded across the category? Caliray was one of the first to crystallize it.