From stardom to beauty universe. The Brazilian actress Cristiana Oliveira became famous after playing one of the most famous roles on Brazilian Television, Juma Marruá, in the first version of the soap opera Pantanal, in 1990, and nowadays she spends her time between acting and her cosmetic brands: D’Bianco Professional and C.O Cosméticos.
It is not enough to star on television, in movies, in music, or on the internet, in recent years we have seen a movement of actresses, singers and digital influencers becoming entrepreneurs in the area of beauty.
Rihanna may be one of the most famous international examples of investment in the beauty market. Betting heavily on the cosmetic industry, one of the most known singers currently, she even took some time off of her career to dedicate exclusively to her brand. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna has added up more than 11 million followers on Instagram only, and it is an absolute sales success, having transformed the singer into a new beauty sector billionaire.
Before her, sisters Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian had also launched Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty, respectively, and, following their lead, there came Haus Labs, by Lady Gaga, r.e.m beauty, by Ariana Grande, JLo Beauty by Jennifer Lopez, Rhode, by Hailey Bibier, amongst countless others.
Brazil is not far behind this trend, in the last couple of years, renowned names from the digital universe, such as Camila Coutinho, Julia Petit and Bruna Tavares, invested both time and effort to create their cosmetic brands, transferring their knowledge and reputation to their businesses.
We have interviewed exclusively the actress Cristiana Oliveira, who has also joined the cosmetics market recently. She welcomed us in a virtual meeting that was more than 2 hours long and, told us upfront that her inspiration for the beauty universe comes from observing her mother when she was still young.
“Since I was a teenager, I had always noticed that my mother was very careful with her hair and skin. My father was the chairman of a big company in the 60s and my parents used to travel a lot and participate in events which made my mother constantly worry about taking care of herself. She really liked to look after herself.” says Cristiana.
Following her mother’s example, the actress was always inspired to research cosmetic products. The exuberant hair, a trademark of the leading character Juma Marruá, played and immortalized by Cristiana in the first version of the soap opera Pantanal, has always received special attention from the actress, but it took 3 decades for an opportunity to invest in the cosmetics universe to arise and, coincidently, in the haircare sector.
In 2018, the actress was invited to become a partner in the brand devoted to hairdressers, D’Bianco Professional. “I said that I wanted to learn about [the products], try [them], but also send the products to friends, influencers, people I’m not so close to, so that they could give their honest opinion. After having 98% positive feedback, I accepted the invitation to join D’ Bianco as a business partner and director.”, explains Cristiana.
In 2019, the business partners created another brand, aimed at the end consumer this time around, called C.O Cosméticos, in reference to the actress’s initials. The C.O Cosméticos works with a door-to-door sales model and is also sold in stores specialising in cosmetics.
The news this month is that they are launching a vegan line, offering the market 9 products developed with oils from the Pantanal and inputs from other Brazilian biomes. “We had already launched a vegan micellar water that became a hit, and now we have developed this line”, says the actress and businesswoman.
The line with “Pantanal oils” is divided into 3 kits with shampoo, conditioner and hair mask each. The products for curls are made with Pequi oil, the products for hydration have Buriti oil in their formula and the post-chemical products were created with Pracaxi oil. Cristiana Oliveira was recently invited to be an ambassador of SOS Pantanal NGO, an organization whose mission is to disseminate and promote dialogue for a sustainable Pantanal. According to the actress, part of the income from the sale of these cosmetics will be donated to the NGO. During the launching, the products will be sold with a special box that on the side will display a summary regarding SOS Pantanal and a QR Code that will take the customer to the organization’s website.
The timing to talk about Brazilian biomes in the country couldn’t be better, since a remake of the Pantanal soap opera has just starred on Globo Television, 32 years after its original version – in the last week of March. Although Cristiana Oliveira is not cast in the new version, she says that if she’s at all worried about sustainability, animals and environmental preservation, it is all due to the experience and immersion she had in Pantanal in 1990. “I also lived in Manaus for 4 months in 1991, while shooting my second soap opera, that went by the name Amazonia, and all this experience led me to volunteer and work with several conservation NGOs over the years,” tells us Cristiana.
For the fans who miss the actress, she will soon be on the big screen with the movie Eco Loucos, and at the end of April, she will also release an autobiographical book, in which she tells her stories in search of self-esteem and her relationship with maturity. For those who would like to know more about Cristiana Oliveira’s businesswoman side, they can now take home a little bit of Pantanal in the haircare products that C.O Cosméticos produces.
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