It’s recorded origin may be 17th century England, but the proverb “necessity is the mother of invention” is as apt today as ever. Dr. Doris Dalton, founder of Doll 10 Beauty, knows this first hand. A decade ago, the former Mrs. America was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Hurthle cell carcinoma, which required removal of her thyroid and chemotherapy. “It put me into early menopause,” she said. “It left my skin with a lot of redness and irritation, basically a rosacea-type condition.” When she lost her hair — including her eyebrows — she barely recognized herself in the mirror.
At that time, the cosmetic industry only offered eyebrow enhancements such as pencils, powders, and waxes. But to Dalton those weren’t much help since she had no eyebrows on which to apply augmentations. Frustrated with her choices, she decided to create her own brow tool, one that would simulate natural looking eyebrows.
A chiropractor by trade, Dalton spent years as a consultant for makeup companies as part of her duties as 1992 Mrs. America; she helped with product development, working with labs to establish colors and formulas, among other things, she explained. To create her brow tool, she called upon her industry contacts to help her bring her vision the fruition, with the result being Brow Fix. “When I created Brow Fix, it was the first colored gel/powder all-in-one that had fibers in it that actually look like real brow hair,” she said. “It adhered to skin and stayed on until you took it off.”
Dalton then turned to her complexion. “I needed a foundation that suited my skin, but still gave me coverage that didn’t look like a mask,” she said. She also wanted the formula to be free from toxic chemicals and be restorative. “Not only did I want to keep out all of the things that aren’t good for your skin, but also make sure that we’re nourishing the skin at the same time,” she said.
This led to all-in-one foundations that offer coverage, moisturize, and revitalize the skin — essentially doing away with the need for layering of products. Your skincare products and your makeup should complement each other, Dalton explained. “You don’t bake a cake and then just put mayonnaise on it. You’ve got to put nice buttercream icing on top, right? So that’s what we do,” she said. All of the products are “powered by 10 ingredients.” For example, Doll 10 mascaras incorporate natural additives including vitamin B5, biotin, and castor oil, among others, into the formulas. “We work with pharmaceutical labs creating blends that are proprietary to Doll 10.”
Doll 10 may have been born for personal reasons, but the results are good for everyone. I don’t use much makeup and am picky about what I do use; when I tried Dalton’s products I was duly impressed. The Anti-Stress Skin Perfector foundation feels like a rich moisturizer when applied but also gives as much — or as little — coverage as you’d like without becoming pancakey. The three-in-one Brow Fix allows both nuanced and dramatic results. I use it to subtly fill in the wee gaps between eyebrow hairs. The Effortlash XL Lash Expanding Mascara has a great applicator that separates your lashes with no clumping.
I was equally smitten with the lipstick, which goes on like no other I’ve tried. It is remarkably creamy, doesn’t dry out, is long lasting, and comes in an array of colors. I put on just a bit in the morning as a substitute for lip balm. Needless to say, I was won over by Doll 10’s quality products.
And I’m not the only one. Although Dalton originally had “no intention whatsoever of creating a makeup line,” as soon as Doll 10 launched, she had devoted customers. “It became like a cult following to the point that most of the major cosmetic companies now have copied it,” Dalton said. “I’m not distributed in traditional brick and mortar, but we are on QVC, have been on there for 10 years. We’re on HSN as well. We’re one of the only brands that have crossed over and do both networks. And we’re global so we’re Japan, Australia, Canada, U.K., Italy, Germany.”
As for the future? After a decade being sold on television and the internet, Dalton is “dipping her toe” into having Doll 10 available in stores. For now, however, you have to do your shopping at doll10.com.