How ANNAGA Luxury Skincare built a beauty brand with Selfnamed
Table of Contents
Shannon Balenciaga had already built a name for herself before ANNAGA existed. Television. Entertainment. Leading the House of Balenciaga. But none of that had given her the one thing she actually wanted on her own bathroom shelf: a luxury skincare brand that looked and felt like her.
"I realized I needed to stop searching for a luxury skincare brand that reflected me and create it myself," she says. "That is when ANNAGA was born."
Key Takeaways
No lab needed. Shannon builds ANNAGA with Selfnamed's ready-made formulas and no minimum orders.
Customer need comes first. She tests every formula herself before it's branded and launched.
Surprise hits happen. The Retinol Collection wasn't planned as a hero, but it became one.
Control protects quality. Shannon approves every sample before production, every time.
She's her own customer. ANNAGA is built to the standard Shannon holds for herself.
The idea was easy. The execution wasn't.
Skincare had always been personal to Shannon. "I understood how looking good can change the way you feel," she says. That instinct became ANNAGA's tagline: "Where Skin Meets Science & Luxury Begins with Love." Ask her which half came first and she doesn't hesitate. "Love came first. Science became the way I delivered it."
The first year taught her a harder lesson, too. "Having a beautiful vision does not mean everyone handling your brand will share your level of care," she says. So she built the habit of checking everything herself, approving every sample before it went into production, and keeping her name attached to every detail.
Her advice to anyone starting out is blunt: "Never assume, never rush, and never place a large order without seeing and approving the final sample first."
Ask her who she's building all of this for, and she doesn't reach for a persona. "The most honest answer is that I am the first ANNAGA customer," she says. "I'm busy, often traveling or on camera, and managing several responsibilities, so I need products that feel luxurious, deliver results, and fit into real life."
That's who she designs for, and it shows in how she talks about everyone else who buys ANNAGA: "The ANNAGA customer may come from any background, but they believe caring for themselves is not vanity, it is an expression of self-love and self-respect."
Why Shannon partnered with Selfnamed
Shannon found Selfnamed while researching manufacturers, comparing ingredients, packaging, and production options for the brand she was building. What made her stay was specific, not vague.
"Selfnamed stood out because it offered quality formulations, customization, and the support an independent founder needed, while still allowing me to give ANNAGA its own identity," she says.
That's the part that tends to get lost in a sales pitch: an independent founder doesn't need a lab, a formulation team, or a warehouse. She needs a partner who already has all three, and the room to still make the brand unmistakably hers. Selfnamed's catalog of 200+ ready-to-brand products, with no minimum order quantities, gave Shannon exactly that: a place to start selling without ever owning a production line.
From idea to shelf, in her words
Shannon describes the process in plain, practical terms. "I begin with a customer need, study the available formulas and ingredients, order a sample, and test the product myself," she says.
Once she approves it, she builds the name, story, label, and packaging, places the order, and inspects the finished product before it reaches her website or shelves. "If everything is approved without revisions, the process can take just a few weeks," she says, noting that sample delivery typically runs about seven business days.
The backbone of ANNAGA is built on a handful of Selfnamed staples: the Foaming Wash, Vitamin C Serum, Hydrating Serum, and Niacinamide Moisturizer. But the product that surprised her most wasn't a hero item she planned around. It was the six-piece Natural Retinol Alternative Collection.
"It is absolutely amazing and has truly transformed my skin, along with the skin of many of our customers," she says. "They consistently share how much smoother, healthier, and more radiant their skin looks and feels."
Ask her what she can do now that she couldn't do before, and the answer is direct. "I can now take an idea, test it, brand it, and bring it to market without owning a laboratory, managing formulation, or committing to enormous minimum orders," she says. That freedom is what let ANNAGA grow past skincare into hair, body, men's, baby care, and makeup, while Shannon stayed focused on her customers instead of her production line.
Two years in, and still building
Shannon has been a Selfnamed customer since 2024. Two years and plenty of orders later, ANNAGA has grown from a single idea into a multi-category brand, and Shannon is still the one testing every new formula herself before it reaches a customer.
If you have a brand idea but not a plan yet, her advice is worth taking: “Start, but start with intention.” "Research your market, understand who you are serving, test every product, and never rush into a large order simply because you are excited. You do not need everything figured out or a huge budget, but you do need patience, consistency, and the willingness to learn." Then, almost as an aside: "And it's okay to start over if you don't get it right the first time."
An idea remains an idea until you move. Shannon moved, and ANNAGA is what happened next.
Must read
