120 N. Larchmont is buzzing with activity in anticipation of Friday’s official opening of Thirteen Lune, Larchmont’s newest beauty store.
Locally owned by Windsor Square resident Nyakio Grieco, a veteran of the beauty industry who started at the ripe old age of 27 envisioning her own products designed for all skin types. Thirteen Lune is both a brand and a retail store that Grieco founded in 2020 during the pandemic as an e-commerce site offering consumers a platform to find beauty products created by BIPOC business owners. Larchmont is the company’s flagship store with Grieco curating all the elements.
The store reflects Grieco’s commitment to featuring beauty brands founded by Black Indigenous and People of Color founders or their allies. Over 90 percent of the brands fit that criteria. As a first-generation American of Kenyan descent, Greico aims to fill a void in the market place drawing on her family background for inspiration. Her grandmother was a coffee farmer, her grandfather was a medicine man, and she grew up in with her mother making herbal remedies for her skin. Her first product was a coffee scrub that her mother taught her to make.
Her second brand, Relevant – Your Skin Seen, was actually born right here on Larchmont during the pandemic, explained Greico.
“This reflects a culmination of the last 22 years of my life and everything that I have learned in beauty. But now, as a black female founder, finally having the autonomy, the runway and the support, the space to share it in a way that I never experienced with my first brand,” Greico told the Buzz.
To help her develop the line, Greico said she hired two Black chemists because she wanted people with an understanding of how to create Melanin safe products for all skin types. Melanin is in all skin types but to varying degrees and people who have more Melanin can be subject to more skin issues, explained Greico. The product is very science-based but combines her family traditions.
Grieco and her team worked remotely, during the height of the pandemic, socially distancing and meeting on Larchmont to grab coffee and share ideas.
When she was thinking about opening a retail shop, Larchmont wasn’t on her mind initially but the fifteen-plus year resident realized that “Larchmont was becoming a beauty destination in Los Angeles,” said Grieco. “I really wanted to be in a traditional space that felt like old school Larchmont and when I noticed the old LF space was empty, I decided this was it.”
The shop also features more that beauty products. Eyebrow expert, Damōne Roberts, makeup artist and brow specialist to the stars, is in residence at the shop and customers can make appointments for a consultation. There’s also a selection of delicate 14 karat gold jewelry designed by a friend of Grieco’s and a flower shop, County Line Florals.
“I love beauty and I love flowers and I am really excited about the idea that you come for flowers you discover beauty” explained Grieco. “I wanted to open a beauty store that didn’t feel like a traditional beauty store so I decided one of the best ways to do that is to put a flower shop in the middle of it! I also love the idea of store in a store resident model.”
Thirteen Lune is already open but the official opening is Friday. There’s a VIP shopping event Thursday evening and the grand opening is next week, Tuesday, May 9th. Lots of festivities have been planned to welcome shoppers to explore the shop and learn more about the brands featured.
