Runway Room is a brand built on the foundations of quality Australian Made products, clean ingredients, innovation,  ethics and exceptional service. CEO and Founder, Alex Fevola set out to demystify beauty and make it accessible to  everyone. Her mission was to transform the way people feel about themselves and the way they feel about beauty. Since 2012, Runway Room provides affordable luxury for all Australian consumers and has become a cult favourite with Make-up Artists and leading professionals.

Bbeautiful Alex Fevola – the CEO and founder of Runway Room – is well on her way to becoming an all Australian beauty mogul.

The former model, photographer and make-up artist, created Runway Room in 2012 – a local ethically made brand that prides itself on being uncomplicated, ageless and above all, accessible to every woman.

“My vision was to create premium products at an affordable price range,” she says over the phone from Melbourne. “I wanted to produce makeup that women of all ages could access and enjoy using.”

Modest and low key, the hard working Fevola is all about demystifying the beauty industry, making it easy for women to get their glow on.

This drive to achieve was unfortunately born out of necessity. Fevola has experienced true adversity in her life. She details some of the challenges in her best-selling book, Silver Linings (Lake Press) with a chapter on being a single mother in her early 20s when her first husband unexpect- edly passed away.

Fevola, now has four children and is partnered with reformed bad boy, AFL legend and media personality, Brendan Fevola.

She confirms that she wrote the inspiring book herself – no ghost writer needed!

Of course, she did. This is a woman with true grit, self-belief and a passion for her work. She can make anything happen.

The Runway Room beauty brand, which was launched in 2012, has actually been 20 years in the making.

With her background of modelling and photography, she’d first sought the financial security that working as a makeup artist offered. Her life was all about helping women to look beautiful for their weddings and those special occasions.

“At that time most people would have to go to Napoleon Perdis for makeup or to one of the makeup counters at David Jones or Myer, then go somewhere else to have their hair styled. So, what I did was to connect the two to have a one-stop shop where women would be transformed.”

The Runway Room makeup line grew organically.

Fevola started small with just a few products and constantly refined them.

“Many beauty brands put most of their resources and dollars into marketing and lavish packaging. We did it the other way around, spending years on product development and testing until we curated the perfect range,” she explains.

“We understood that one of the most powerful marketing campaigns of all is simply getting the product right and word of mouth. If people like it, they will return and tell their friends,” she says.

“It’s an old-fashioned approach but in my opinion a much stronger base to operate from.”

The Runway Room packaging is also eco-friendly. It’s basically ‘what you see is what you get’ without having to crack open layers of plastic and glitter to find a foundation or a blusher. In fact, the Runway Room collection looks more like a makeup artist’s kit.

Fevola admits that it was tough going at times and there were long periods when nothing seemed to be happening at all with her brand. Perhaps some would have given up in frustration then but she knew that she was on the right track and waited for that “break in the clouds”.

However, she acknowledges that she’s operating in a tough, competitive market with thousands of beauty brands all vying for attention and a small army of influencers pushing them all along.

“I’ve always known that the best way to stay relevant is to remain true to your brand’s DNA and to avoid being influenced by what other brands are doing,” she says. “Otherwise you risk losing your authenticity.”

Runway Room flourished during the COVID pandemic as more people discovered it and loved the fact that it was Australian made.

“We experienced some huge growth through that period,” she says. “I had always sought out Australia’s best manufacturers and formulators. It was just the right time to be offering a clean, ethical product and helping the industry to grow here.”

The brand now encapsulates a flagship store in the high-end Melbourne suburb of Armadale and another salon in Sorrento on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.