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NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A local duo is taking on the major makeup companies, launching their own brand of cosmetics here in New York.
And their smart, sleek packaging is attracting a lot of women on the go.

That's not an easy task when you're the new kid on the block going up against brands many women have been using for years, brands with major marketing budgets.

But if you can promise women that you'll cut down their makeup bag by 75% and get rid of the mess, you may be onto something.

That's where Jennifer Kapahi, the co-founder of trèStiQue, got started. She was sick of lugging around an overstuffed makeup bag and felt like there had to be a better, easier, and simpler way to use and apply makeup.
So she and her co-founder, Jack Bensason, created trèStiQue, a line of cosmetics made entirely of two-in-one magnetic sticks.

Whether it's a brow-liner, highlighter, or lip color, it all comes in pencil form with a tool built in, taking the bulk out of your bag.

Kapahi says, with trèStiQue, you can fit an entire set of two-in-one products into a little makeup bag that only weighs half a pound.

That kit of eight essential products can give you, what she calls, a five minute face.

The magnetic cap keeps the inside of your purse clean, and the makeup fresh.

Hidden underneath the cap, a makeup tool that keeps your hands clean on the go.

Kapahi says the tools twist on and off, and are either replaceable or refillable.

Kapahi and Bensason launched their e-commerce brand right here in New York City just over a year ago, backing it with their life savings and more than two decades of collective experience in the beauty business. Kapahi says it was like jumping off a cliff.

But that jump is paying off and wowing industry insiders.

Last May, trèStiQue won the prestigious QVC Discovery Award.

In July, Kapahi debuted trèStiQue on QVC, selling out their most popular Nantucket Nude lipstick in minutes.

Their formulas are all cruelty-free and are also free of synthetic fragrances, talc, and parabens.
They're made and filled here in New York.

While trèStiQue was initially made for millennials, they're now attracting customers of all ages.

Kapahi says they've learned that their customer actually goes all the way up to 80, because their formulas are cream-gel based and don't have heavy pearls or glitters. She says that makes skin look younger and lighter.

trèStiQue products run from $24 to $34.

There's also a line of minis for younger customers who might not want to spend as much to create a makeup kit.

And they just launched a Sweaty-to-Ready Fitness Makeup Set at the new Footlocker Six:02 Store on 34th Street.

It's designed to get you looking good and out the door, post-workout.