Nordstrom’s first Vietnamese-owned skin care line

With the endless array of skin care products available, it can be overwhelming to find something that truly meets your needs—especially if, like me, you have extremely sensitive skin and seek out products that are both gentle and environmentally friendly. That’s why I was thrilled to discover House of M Beauty. Yet, what truly captivated me wasn’t just their clean formulas, but the inspiring story behind the brand. 

House of M Beauty is the brainchild of CEO and founder Anne Oliver, whose personal journey shaped the heart of the company. After finding a natural remedy that helped her through postpartum depression, Oliver was motivated to create a skin care line that could offer others both healing and beauty. Her dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed—she’s been honored with the 2023 SHEroes Award and a coveted spot on Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 list. House of M is also the first Vietnamese-owned skin care line at Nordstrom.

Beyond her business, Oliver is deeply committed to giving back, co-hosting and supporting fundraisers for charities that benefit children. As a mother of two, she is passionate about mental health care for children and is a committed donor and board member of the mental health program at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Foundation which helps children who cannot afford treatment. Her story and commitment to making a difference serve as a powerful reminder that with passion and perseverance, we can all inspire change.

I recently spoke with Oliver about turning a painful experience into a passionate business, her inspiration, cultural influences, and what makes her products uniquely different.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Rasha Goel: How did you get into the beauty industry and wanting to create your own line?
Anne Oliver: My love for the beauty industry happened when I was 12 years old, and it was by accident. Growing up in Vietnam, I stumbled across Michelle Phan on YouTube. I instantly fell in love with her and her content because she had a last name that I could recognize and I connected deeply with someone who looked like me. Her videos introduced me to this world of makeup and skin care, and it was just fun. Then, when I came to America at 15 for school, I would collect makeup and skin care products as a hobby. I followed the beauty industry trends and was interested in learning the business side of the industry. I never thought I would do something with it, but here we are with House of M Beauty.

Michelle Phan was the first A+PI beauty creator, before the word “influencer” was created. She made a lot of us feel seen and heard. When I saw her on YouTube at the time, I saw somebody that looked like my older sister. I felt I could go to her content for beauty advice during a time I needed it the most. She broke many boundaries for so many of us. She was the first to create her own cosmetics brand and the first to have a major brand deal with L'Oreal.

RG: What is House of M and how do you define House of M as a beauty company?
AO: “M” stands for miracles and reflects my personal journey. I lost my parents at a very young age and had to build my life in America on my own. I am grateful for my friends and family who supported me. But I believe it takes miracles to be able to chase my dream. Small miracles led to larger ones. 

I see House of M as this constant, no frills, no marketing gimmick skin care company that sensitive-skin people can trust or people with regular skin who want results with products that are gentler, have products that work for them. My mission is to continue to make the most beautiful formulas from the highest qualities of ingredients with products to provide to our customers. 

RG: Did the creation of House of M also evolve from a personal experience?
AO: The inspiration to create House of M was a coincidence. I went through postpartum depression with my first child, and my doctor recommended medicinal saffron. He suggested I drink it as a tea to help me sleep better and ease my anxiety. During that time, I also discovered that medicinal saffron is a really good skin care ingredient that solved specific issues such as hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and fine lines, especially for people with sensitive skin, who often weren’t able to find a product that could help them with these issues, at the time.

Everything just fell into place and that was when I decided the mainstream beauty market needed to see medicinal saffron highlighted in a scientific and a meaningful way.

RG: Is medicinal saffron different from the other saffron, or is it all the same?
AO: It is one, but the difference is in how it’s processed, which includes the way the flower’s stigma is cut and processed as soon as the flower is harvested. The key is to capture the nutrients.

In cooking, you only need the aroma, the coloring, and the taste, and not much of the nutrients from the saffron. The International Standard Organization actually has a standardized test to differentiate medicinal saffron versus cooking saffron.

RG: Saffron, from what I understand, is a very expensive resource. Why did you want to invest in this resource?
AO: It started out with my love for medicinal saffron and realizing that there is a group of people out there that need this healing ingredient. At the same time, I was struggling with postpartum depression. My skin became very sensitive because of all the hormonal changes during pregnancy. I also developed melasma, and was struggling to find a vitamin C serum that was gentle enough on my sensitive skin, postpartum skin, but also potent enough for the dark spots. If I couldn't find any products on the market, people struggling with the same issues, and not just mothers, but people that have rosacea, fine lines, and dark spots that wanted treatments probably were having the same challenge. I wanted to share the same joy that skin care and beauty products brought to my life with others. 

Although it is expensive and the process of sourcing, extracting, and producing is very difficult, I truly wanted to share this ingredient with the world. I went through the creative process and developed the formula. My team works with a manufacturer in France, who produces the product for us. We are EU (European Union) compliant. We're clean, cruelty free. All the formulas are very gentle. And being EU compliant is something that we take pride in because the European standard for companies is the strictest in the world, and that is very important to us. 

RG: As saffron is an expensive resource, are you having to sell at a higher price point?
AO: I started out this journey wanting to create something that was effective. I wanted to introduce this beauty line to as many people as possible. Although our product price point is higher, it's still relatively very low compared to other high-end skin care lines. Our competitors retail at $300 to $400 for a bottle of serum. Our comparable product is $98, which is our most expensive product. We keep the margin very low—still healthy to grow a business, but definitely not as high as our competitors. 

The goal is not to make as much money as possible with this, as it is to introduce this ingredient to as many people as possible.

RG: Is saffron something that's used a lot in Vietnamese culture?
AO: It is not a common ingredient used in Vietnamese culture or in Vietnamese cuisine. We actually use turmeric as a similar property and dye for a lot of the food. Saffron wasn’t something I grew up knowing about. It was purely through my personal journey and my doctor that I stumbled across medicinal saffron.

RG: With House of M being the first Vietnamese-owned skin care line at Nordstrom, how easy or challenging has it been to get your products in a mainstream store?
AO: It is definitely very challenging and especially for indie brands. The beauty industry is very saturated and led by the bigger brands with larger budgets and resources. For us to be able to get in front of Nordstrom and have the buyers try our products, love them, and put us in stores was such a huge accomplishment. I am very proud of our achievement. 

I think we understand the struggles of being an immigrant and to build a life for ourselves in this country while getting over our own traumas and limiting beliefs. Anytime I see A+PI creators that are successful, I’m just happy for them.

RG: How would you say your Vietnamese heritage has influenced you in creating this business?
AO: Growing up in Vietnam, moving to the U.S., our culture, the way that we treat others and care for others, and all of the traits that have been instilled in me at a young age by my parents, helped me build a strong community. Having a strong community is very essential in building a business. When I reflect back, I would say that a lot of our success has been built from our own community and having the love and support from our customers. 

I did create this company from scratch, but I want to emphasize that House of M would not even be here without the community support, without my Vietnamese community. Customers continue to love us and our products, and they repurchase and tell their friends. That would be the biggest factor in terms of the success of this company; it is definitely not me or our team alone.

RG: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in running this business and being in the beauty industry that has turned out to be a blessing or a learning curve for you?
AO: I would say the biggest thing that I've learned is that sometimes I have to let go of my perfectionism tendencies, especially when launching a business. One day, I listened to a podcast of a fellow founder, and she said just start whatever crazy ideas you have. Just start. Put one foot over the other and start the motion. And it's not going to be perfect. It's never going to be perfect, but at least you're on the path and you're building momentum.

It was the greatest advice I heard, because it actually helped me get out of my own head and my own way and start the business. I'm so thankful for those words. Even right now, it's still not perfect, but we are constantly growing and changing. The world is not perfect, but as long as you make progress, I think that's a very beautiful thing. 

RG: Tell me one favorite thing and one challenging thing about being in the beauty industry?
AO: The one beautiful thing about being in this business is that you don't feel alone. You don't feel like you're in the wrong room or intimidated. Majority of the time, you get the support and the love from your friends, fellow founders and creators. It’s uplifting.

The challenge or downside of the business is the beauty industry, especially in present times, has been obsessed with newness. Brands will release products that might not fulfill a void in the market, but it's very trend based.

I personally think in terms of creating environmentally friendly products and the waste. Products create waste, they sit on the shelf, and then go to landfill. That’s the ugly side of the business, that’s frustrating to see.

It is challenging for us, because that goes against our ethos at House of M. We make products and fill the void in the market, not what’s hot and trending. However, I am hopeful as people are becoming more conscious, the beauty industry will take a turn!

When people ask, what's next? For our four products that we have, right now, we're good. We are always creating new formulas, but I would rather sell one product to 10 people than sell 10 products to that one person. That’s the challenging dance right now!