Nestled on Whidbey Island, Bandbox Beauty has emerged as a hot spot for the latest beauty products, offering not only a unique shopping experience but also a platform for inclusivity.
Celebrating the store’s one year-anniversary in February, Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon, owner and founder, has embarked on a journey to bring clean beauty to the island.
Muncey-Gordon has high standards for what she keeps on her shelves. Bandbox beauty only carries vegan, allergy-friendly and cruelty-free beauty brands owned by women and people of color. She makes sure every product she carries has been verified by a third party not to test on animals.
Ere Perez products are featured at Bandbox Beauty Supply. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
She started down the clean beauty path midway through her career as a hairdresser when she developed allergies to hair dye and several other common ingredients used in typical beauty products.
Muncey-Gordon said the name “Bandbox” comes from her grandmother, who would always say, “You look fresh out of the bandbox,” to someone who looked particularly well put-together. A bandbox was like a Victorian-era makeup bag, usually holding hats, small articles of clothing, and cosmetic items such as combs, ribbons and jewelry.
“It’s our time to have this town”
Having grown up in a town mostly catering to tourists, Muncey-Gordon created her business with locals in mind.
“I recognize the need for tourism revenue, 100%, but I didn’t want to have a shop where the only people I was interacting with were tourists,” she said. “I wanted to be here for the locals and provide access to things that we don’t usually have access to.”
Having been born and raised in Langley, Muncey-Gordon knows firsthand what it’s like to be bored in a small town. On an island where access to the outside world relies in large part on the ferry system, it can be hard for islanders to access the necessities, let alone specialty makeup.
Part of the goal of Bandbox is to give locals, especially the younger population, a way to express themselves without having to leave Whidbey.
In her early adulthood, Muncey-Gordon left the island in pursuit of her career in beauty. But the longer she was away, the pull to go back got stronger.
“When you’re from a small town, there’s that deep sense inside of you telling you you have to come back,” she said. “It’s our time to have this town for a little bit and to fulfill those gaps that we saw. Are you just going to sit and complain about it for more generations? At what point do you actually walk the walk?”
Langley is mostly quiet during the frigid winter months. In the absence of tourists, several businesses close their doors or operate on shorter schedules to accommodate for the lack of foot traffic. This isn’t the case for Bandbox — business has been booming continuously since the store opened in February 2023.
“The hardest part has been keeping up with demand,” Muncey-Gordon said, stocking the shelves after a rush the day before. “We haven’t had any sort of lull yet.”
Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon applies some BITCHSTIX lip oil. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Muncey-Gordon does it all by herself, running the store six days a week.
“I didn’t start a business not to work in it,” she said. “I enjoy working retail, I enjoy talking to people. This space ends up being a place where people come to sort of chat about not only makeup and skincare, but other parts of their life that we can all kind of relate to. First, we’re talking about having a zit, but next thing you know we’re having a heart-to-heart about childhood trauma.”
Whidbey Island renaissance
Muncey-Gordon had her share of doubts being a first-time business owner. Despite her fears, the community has rallied behind her.
“Langley has a really strong history of women supporting women,” she said, starting to tear up. “I’m so lucky.”
In the year since opening, Bandbox has donated to at least 10 local charities, Muncey-Gordon said, including the annual Holiday House drive that brings free Christmas gifts to those who need them.
She said she often donates products from her store specifically for teenagers, who she feels can often be overlooked during these types of community drives.
Island residents have banded even closer together in the past decade or so, starting with the 2008 recession and strengthening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism is the main source of income for a lot of businesses on Whidbey Island. At times when tourist traffic dwindled, it became more important than ever for islanders to keep their local economy afloat.
“If you go and spend your money at Target, they’re not donating to your kids’ soccer team, the way all these businesses in town are donating,” she said. “Taking your money off-island, that’s just less money that will get put back into the community in the long run.”
Every brand sold at Bandbox also donates profits to charitable causes. Muncey-Gordon said she wants to spotlight brands doing good in the world, and to avoid putting more cash into the hands of big-box stores.
Wall hangings at Bandbox Beauty celebrate women in art.
Even after the recession and pandemic, Muncey-Gordon thinks Langley is on an upward trajectory. After the pandemic, a more diverse range of people opened businesses. Now more than ever, there’s a wider selection of products and goods available to island residents.
“I think the island is having somewhat of a renaissance, and it feels really nice to be a part of it,” she said. “Guys, Langley’s cool again. We did it.”
Earning and keeping the community’s trust is what it takes to run a successful business in a small town, Muncey-Gordon said. She assures customers that it’s not her goal to sell more products, but to help people find a product to make their skin better in the long term.
She added that with the rise of social media, children are constantly exposed to marketing at increasingly lower ages.
Lately it’s become a nationwide trend for children to buy expensive beauty products made for adult skin, such as retinol cream designed to prevent signs of aging. Muncey-Gordon said she makes sure young girls aren’t walking out of her store with things that won’t have a positive impact on their skin, even having to stop some of them from buying certain products.
“It’s just such a small town that I want to build a reputation that we’re doing something better here,” she said. “We’re doing something a little more meaningful than that, especially when it comes to children.”
At the end of the day, many of Muncey-Gordon’s customers are also her neighbors. Bandbox isn’t just a store, but a place where she can give back to the community she grew up in.
“I don’t want to be the one that makes every single decision,” she said. “Every bit of feedback customers give to me is heard and will likely be implemented. I really want to be here for us.”
Sarah Jean’s go-to products
• Cocokind Ceramide Barrier Serum ($22): Enriched with ceramides and lipids, this serum helps with inflammation and hydration after the cold, dry winter months.
• Mad Hippie: Muncey-Gordon has been using this brand for over a decade and says it helps with her rosacea. She recommends the face cream ($27), as it goes well with most foundations.
• Ere Perez Oat Milk Foundation ($40): This product doesn’t have SPF and is available in 12 shades, so it’s perfect for photo shoots. It’s popular for weddings for this reason. It’s also great for dry skin and safe for people with dermatitis and psoriasis.
• Ere Perez Arnica All-Cover Pot ($32): Arnica is used in the medical field to reduce bruising, making the concealer great at covering up dark undereyes. It’s available in eight shades and has buildable coverage to address blemishes, uneven skin tone and more.
• BITCHSTIX: Lip care with a cause. This company donates to survivors of domestic abuse, and their lip oil ($25) is one of Muncey-Gordon’s faves for hydration, plumping and a gorgeous glossy finish. It comes in vanilla mint, mixed berry and rose scents, each with a delicate hint of color and shine.
Sound & Summit
This article is featured in the spring issue of Sound & Summit, a supplement of The Daily Herald. Explore Snohomish and Island counties with each quarterly magazine. Each issue is $4.99. Subscribe to receive all four editions for $18 per year. Call 425-339-3200 or go to soundsummitmagazine.com for more information.
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