While awareness of the importance of sunscreen usage for protecting against ultraviolet rays has become widespread, regular reapplication remains elusive. London-based brand Beame aims to change that.

“We know gen Z wears sunscreen, but 70% of the U.K. population actually don’t reapply it,” says founder Eniye Okah. “No one was doing anything about this fact, even though that’s how sunscreen works.”

Launched in March this year, Beame is out to make sunscreen application easy and fun for gen Z consumers. It’s started with two products—SPF 30 face mist Something You Mist and Under The Spotlight UV Detection Stickers—priced at 25 and 10 pounds, respectively, or roughly $34 and $13 at the current exchange rate. The face mist is formulated to be non-greasy and not leave a white cast to be suitable for every skin tone and to go over makeup.

Beame describes its Under The Spotlight UV Detection Stickers as sweat-proof and water-resistant and advises customers to place them on a visible spot on their arms. They usually turn from clear to purple after around two hours as a sunscreen reapplication reminder.

Something You Mist

Okah says Beame’s mission blends skin health with emotional well-being, which she believes are inextricably linked. She explains high levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress, can weaken skin barrier function and increase the skin’s susceptibility to UV damage.

Beame’s Something You Mist comes in a fruity floral fragrance the brand describes as mood lifting. Its notes include raspberry, orange, lemon zest, green pear, mandarin, jasmine, musk and cedar. The mist also incorporates the ingredient neurophroline, an extract from wild indigo known for its calming properties that has been used in Ayurveda for skin benefits. The mist comes in an unscented variety, too.

Beame ran a Kickstarter campaign leading up to its launch, and it surpassed its fundraising target of $4,027 in 34 hours. All told, it raised $6,306 from 134 backers. L’Oréal Paris backed the brand through its Women in Tech and Beauty Forward Fund effort with Kickstarter to support woman-led technology products on the platform. On top of the Kickstarter campaign, Beame has raised 10,000 pounds or about $13,400 from Adobe’s Express Manifesto competition last November.

An LinkedIn post Okah uploaded nine months ago sharing Something You Mist’s attributes that’s garnered 149 comments and 610 likes was helpful for the success of Beame’s Kickstarter campaign. It caught the attention of customers, investors and retail executives, who messaged Okah to learn about her business.

Along with Beame’s website, its Under The Spotlight UV Detection Stickers are available on Amazon. The brand has partnered with subscription boxes like The Indy Box, which shuttered in January, to distribute samples of its face mist, and they’ve been integral for onboarding its first customers.

In the future, Okah envisions Beame being sold in mass-market retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Boots and Superdrug. Airport retail is a future goal, too. Okah says, “We want to be a travel brand and literally everyone to be picking up Beame on their way to the next holiday.”

Okah has previous experience with entrepreneurship and catering to young consumers. Prior to Beame, she spearheaded Blob Box, a subscription box service that operated from 2019 to 2022. Inspired by her younger sister getting her period, it featured tampons and pads along with skincare and snacks. Boxes were priced at 25 pounds or about $33 for merchandise valued at 50 pounds or about $66.

Discussing Blob Box’s closure, Okah says, “Subscription fatigue was growing, and with the cost of living rising, fewer people were willing to spend 25 pounds a month. Everything was sourced from other businesses, which made the boxes feel really thoughtful, but also meant margins were tight.”

She adds, “With Beame, I knew I wanted more control. Rather than relying on other businesses to supply me with products, I wanted to create something from the ground up. That’s given me the freedom to build a more margin conscious, scalable business, and when the time’s right, I’ll be able to explore subscriptions again in a much smarter way.”