Karen Murrell's journey into the beauty industry started over 33 years ago with an apprenticeship on the shop floor of Clinique. The experience opened many doors for Murrell, which she is grateful for and shaped her to understand different skin types and practice her craft of makeup.
This experience sowed the seeds for Murrell to create her self-titled Karen Murrell natural lipsticks.
"I have always lived my life naturally and organically, I was raised rurally, and it was only natural then that those ways of living and beliefs flowed into my cosmetics company," said Murrell.
She continued her hard-working family mindset, and goal setting has been integral to her company's long-term success.
"My dad talks about resilience often, and as I age, I look back and realise I was very fortunate to be in a family that encouraged strong will and leadership as these are necessary qualities in business."
Murrell's inspiration for her craft comes from life, self-described as naturally creative; Murrell said that finding inspiration in her role was easy as she can source it from all around her, particularly in nature.
Karen Murrell
She loves to utilise new ideas and technologies. One of her latest new product launches, Kerra Kisses, is a lipstick with a new ingredient, a microparticle of sheep's wool keratin, creating a luxurious and wonderfully hydrating end product.
If Murrell could advise her younger self, it would be to seriously evaluate the attitudes of the people she surrounded herself with.
"I would say to myself, keep walking when you see negativity, envy, or greed. Nothing good will ever come from those friendships and relationships."
Murrell is most proud of being able to manage an international company through covid and is now seeing positive growth returning.
She added that recent scan data has shown the lipstick category has recovered strongly since the pandemic and the effect of mandatory masks. Murrell said that the lipstick category overall is in growth mode, with the Karen Murrell brand being one of the top three in New Zealand driving that growth, which is another aspect Murrell is proud of.
For the future, Murrell is excited about the upcoming rollout of her newly illustrated packaging, each resulting from 12 months of work, with each new design inspired by her range of lipstick colours.
She said every Karen Murrell girl on the packaging had been revisited, and the illustrations are stunning.
"I cannot wait to reveal the new look for each. I am excited to launch this nationally and internationally in our markets."
