213Deli
In a beauty landscape crowded with endless launches, viral products, and conflicting recommendations, 213Deli is refreshingly simple: someone with impeccable taste does the editing for you.
The Los Angeles-based beauty platform curates one standout product each week and delivers the recommendation directly via text. If it catches your eye, simply reply to buy and it arrives at your door, with complimentary shipping. No app to download, no endless scrolling, and no subscription required. It’s a concept that has quickly caught the industry’s attention, with WWD recently calling 213Deli “one of the industry’s most unique, innovative new retail concepts out there”.
Behind the concept are beauty-industry veterans Nicole Collins, Corey Weiss, and Jules Camposano, who met while working at Ipsy and bring decades of experience across beauty, branding, technology, and commerce. Their idea was born partly from a belief that genuine curation has become lost in an industry increasingly driven by algorithms and social-media trends. Instead, 213Deli acts like a trusted beauty insider: seeking out the products actually worth knowing about, from established favorites to emerging brands and new launches. Previous drops have included names such as OSEA, Farmacy, Phlur, RMS, Vacation, and BIOEFFECT.
The name itself captures the spirit of the concept. Much like a neighborhood deli filled with favorite staples alongside something new to discover, 213Deli is designed to offer a tightly edited selection of beauty finds that bring a little pleasure to the everyday. Its particular focus is Gen X – playfully described by the brand as “beauty curated for cool kids 40+” – with recommendations selected by people who understand how beauty needs and priorities evolve, without making the experience feel overly clinical or serious.
At a time when shopping for beauty can feel like a research project in itself, there is something wonderfully old-fashioned about having a trusted recommendation simply arrive in your messages. Consider 213Deli the beauty-obsessed friend who has already tried everything, and who doesn’t gatekeep.
My Morning Routine with Nicole Collins, co-founder of 213Deli
What does the first hour of your day look like?
It’s not glamorous. I have 6-year-old twins, so the first hour of my day is consumed with getting them ready for and out the door to school. Of course, I sneak in a quick skincare routine but it’s 99% mommy duty.
You’ve spent more than two decades immersed in beauty; what does your own morning beauty routine look like? Which skincare, makeup or wellness products do you genuinely use every day, and is there one hero product you simply wouldn’t be without?
I’d be in a most perilous position without my Olga Lorencin Skincare Eye Cream. Olga is one of the best facialists in the world, a dear friend, and the genius behind her eponymous skincare line, which is world class. Every morning, I wash my face with the Bioeffect Micellar Cleansing Water and then apply my eye cream. After that is the serum that suits the season. It’s currently the Bioeffect EFG Serum. I top all of that with Olga’s Pep-Revive Daily Moisturizer and a spritz of Heritage Store Rosewater. If it’s a no-makeup morning just to drop the kids at school, I simply comb my brows with the Thrive Causemetics Liquid Brow Lock 24 Hour EyeBrow Gel and add a bit of Hanalei Kukui Oil Lip Treatment and head out. That lip treatment will actually change your life, so you’re welcome for that tip.
When I’ve got meetings, I use the Sarah Creal Face Flex Correct Under Eye Brightener in K. Bye. then Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40, which is the perfect way to blur imperfections but still look like yourself. I’ve strayed from her over the years, but I always come back to her. I just started setting it all with the RMS Beauty Hydra Setting Powder which is sheer with the slightest luminescence. For my cheeks it’s the Jamie Makeup Blighlighter (I literally own every shade and swear by this cream blush/highlighter), which I always top with the classic NARS Orgasm powder blush. I’m promiscuous with my mascara and am currently loving the SoShe Peptide Lengthening Mascara. For lips, I always reach for the most chic lipstick ever made, Valde Beauty. I could go on, but I don’t want to lose anyone.
My morning wellness routine consists of drinking my Chinese herbs as custom blended by my acupuncturist followed by a glass of lemon water and some hot tea.
You’ve described yourself as a lifelong beauty obsessive, but what was the moment that turned that passion into the idea for 213Deli? Was there something missing from the way women were discovering and shopping for beauty that you felt you could do differently?
I’m obsessed with beauty, and I love shopping for beauty. I’m also a GenX girlie who grew up on glossy magazines and expert advice on which products are the best. Although I love social media, I wouldn’t call it an expert curation. It’s the wild west. Even my favorite retailers have gotten a little verbose and not quite as curated as I would like them to be. And that was the white space I saw. GenX (who spends more money on personal care than any other generation in America) wants a curated, cut-to-the-chase-edit, delivering the best of the best. Text is easy, especially when all you have to do to buy is reply.
As a founder, wife, and mother of twins, your mornings have plenty competing for your attention. How do you protect your time and energy, and has building your own company changed the way you think about balance, ambition, and what deserves a “yes”?
If it’s not an immediate yes, it’s a no these days. I’m an Aries sun and moon so if I’m not passionate about something, I don’t care at all. And these days I don’t have any extra time for anything that’s not crucial. There’s no grey area. I’m a yogi who meditates and practices gratitude daily so that I can keep my priorities in life, business and family straight. My definition of ambition certainly changed when I transitioned from maiden to mother. Although I want to make a mark on the world, what’s most important to me is chasing passion and balancing that with a life well lived. And a life well lived is not consumed by work 24/7.
213Deli is built around making beauty discovery feel simpler, more curated, and more personal. As you look ahead, what is your bigger vision for the company, and how would you like the way women discover and shop for beauty through 213Deli to evolve?
My eye is on personalization. Eventually every customer will tell us when to text them, how often, exactly what categories and shades and scents they are drawn to. We’ll curate for them, and we’ll engage in two-way chat to really nail preferences. That’s the ultimate curation and white glove concierge shopping experience.
