Meet Maddie Fantle!

From building a conscious beauty brand during a global pandemic to now having a cult following, her company, Maes Face, is ready to make your skincare routine a lot more colorful! Through her past full-time jobs in the marketing industry, Maddie knew at some point in her life she would be a business owner. Back in college she used to make her own face masks, but now she has mastered the art of colorful but nontoxic skin care that specializes in face masks. With seven ingredients or less, Maes Face is free of chemicals and toxins, vegan, cruelty free, as well as environmentally friendly. Keep reading to learn more about her journey into the clean beauty industry and her dreams for her company. 

• My Name is: Maddie Fantle 
• My social handles are: @maes.face / @madelinefantle
• Find my website at maesface.com 

1. Tell us a little about yourself. Have you always been interested in the beauty world?

My name is Maddie. I’m from Milwaukee, WI and now live in New York City.  I have a background in marketing and am a certified health coach. I’ve always loved the beauty space – specifically the clean beauty industry. I used to make my own face masks in college with avocados and honey; however, it wasn’t until recently that I realized I wanted to start my own brand! 

2. What or who inspired you to start your own business?

I’ve had multiple full-time jobs where I worked directly under founders of their respective companies. It was incredibly inspiring to see the business they built from the ground up. I saw them work hard everyday, but also be able to enjoy the benefits of what they built. It was very motivating to watch and learn from them. 

3. How did marketing prepare you to start your own business?

I’ve always been in the marketing field, so that knowledge has helped me immensely with my business. It’s also, in part, what gave me the confidence to start. My most recent job was at a digital marketing agency where I grew my expertise on marketing digital-first brands. I feel so lucky to have had the past experiences I’ve had.

4. What does a typical day in your life look like?

Wake up, coffee right away, check my phone (honestly, usually Instagram). From there, it varies. No day is ever the same which I love. It can be anywhere from packaging orders, creating social content, press outreach, talking to potential vendors, analyzing and tweaking our paid ads, and finding time to get outside and do something active. And then I usually end my days spending too much time scrolling on Tiktok (it’s addicting)! 

5. What was it like starting your business during the COVID pandemic?

I truly believe that if it weren’t for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have started my business. I always planned to, but the pandemic definitely pushed me to start it earlier. I quickly realized during quarantine that I was not cut out for zoom culture (constant zoom’s all day), and this pushed me to go for it. I had been saving my money to launch, did a family and friends round of investing, and went all in! I was also lucky to have the support of friends, family and mentors as a foundation when I started off.

6. Tell us what clean beauty means to you. How important is clean beauty within your company?

Clean beauty IS our company. All our products contain 7 ingredients or less, and all the ingredients are natural and recognizable. The fact that we even have to call out clean beauty  makes me sad, it should just be what’s required! The chemicals in most products are so harmful – especially for women. The Environmental Working Group’s research showed that each day, American women use an average of 12 personal care products that contain 168 different chemicals. These chemicals have so many different side effects, including hormone disrupting ones. I wish there was more education on the topic and more regulation. I will say though that the clean beauty space is thriving now with so many great options and brands. I’m excited to see it continue to grow.

7. Tell us about your products and how they are different from what’s in the market right now.

We launched with 5 hero products. Four clay face masks and one face oil. Our masks are unique because they’re gender-neutral ( we found this seriously lacking with skincare face masks!) and colorful. We wanted to create selfie worthy masks that are fun to wear AND effective. Our colors come from superfoods like beets, spirulina, blue algae, and charcoal. Additionally, unlike most powder masks, ours includes different oils. Clay masks can be drying, and this was our way to combat that! 

8. What is something that others might not realize about being a business owner?

It’s okay if you don’t know everything when starting a business (most don’t). When you’re first starting out there’s so much to learn ( especially on the business side, for me), and you figure it out and you trust your instinct. As long as you are confident in your vision and your brand mission, you’ll make it work!

9. What are your dreams for your brand?

Keep growing and building a community! Be known as a clean beauty brand that’s inclusive of all gender, races and skin types. And possibly down the line expand from skincare into other clean beauty products – who knows!

10. What is your favorite product from Maes? 

This question is like asking my favorite child, but I do have one…if I’m breaking out it’s our purple charcoal mask and if I want even and smooth out my skin tone it’s our beet red mask (which is our bestseller).  I will say that this changes though, in the winter time it’s the blue algae mask because it’s so hydrating!  

Interested in learning more from professionals in the digital marketing and beauty industries? Check out the rest of our As Told By series.