Pastel

Pastel is a Turkish colour-cosmetics brand based in Istanbul and owned by Pinkar Kimya, the company that created it. Its range centres on makeup and nail products — nail polish, lipsticks, eyeshadow and face products — sold both in Turkey and, through a dedicated UK arm, in the United Kingdom. The brand also runs a newer line, Show By Pastel, positioned around clean beauty.

According to the brand's own account, Pastel launched in 1988 as its parent company's move into colour cosmetics, having previously worked across a broad mix of everyday products [2]. The brand remains active: its UK e-commerce site carries a current catalogue with "NEW" and "PROMOTIONS" collections, and the parent company's corporate site is up to date.

Pastel is the cosmetics brand of Pinkar, a Turkish company founded in Istanbul. Pinkar began by supplying a wide range of everyday goods — cologne, baby powder, hair dye, shampoo and skincare — before moving into makeup [2]. The company's UK about-us page dates Pinkar's founding to 1938 and states that the Pastel brand itself launched in 1988 as the transition into beauty and colour cosmetics [2]. Pinkar's own corporate site describes Pastel as having "a successful 34-year history," which is consistent with a 1988 launch [3].

There is some inconsistency in how the brand's age is reported. One editorial listicle of Turkish makeup brands states that Pastel "started its activity in 1938" and describes an "80-year history" [6], but this figure refers to the founding of the parent company, Pinkar, rather than the Pastel brand — a conflation the brand-owner's own "34-year history" contradicts. The 1938 date is therefore best read as a Pinkar milestone, with 1988 as the launch year of Pastel as a distinct brand.

The individual founders are not named in the available sources.

Pastel is owned by Pinkar, whose full legal name is recorded as Pinkar Kimya. Pinkar operates two cosmetics brands: Pastel and the newer Show By Pastel [4]. The site pastelcosmeticsuk.com is the brand's UK arm, identified in its footer as "LKD – Pastel Cosmetics UK" with a contact address in Enfield, England; the brand's origin and ownership remain Turkish.

Pastel presents itself as inspired by women and driven, in its words, by a mission to "breathe new life into the concepts of beauty and color" [3]. On its UK site the company frames its priorities as "more colours, quality, sincerity and innovation," describing a range meant to respond to consumers' changing needs. Its tagline is "Cosmetics made with LOVE" [1].

Pinkar, the parent company, states a broader mission to remain "a wellspring of inspiration for future generations and women," pledging to be "more beautiful, more powerful" by drawing on its past experience and the brands it has created [4].

The brand's collections span nails, lips, eyes, face and accessories, alongside the Show By Pastel line. Nail polish and face products account for the largest parts of its UK catalogue, with lipsticks and eyeshadow also prominent. The available sources do not identify specific signature products or hero ingredients.

Show By Pastel, the company's more recent brand, is positioned within the clean-beauty movement and described by Pinkar as nature-inspired. For that line specifically, the company states that it follows cruelty-free and gluten-free practices and offers vegan products [5]. These claims are recorded only for Show By Pastel; the sources do not extend them to the wider Pastel range.

Pastel describes taking its approach worldwide, with the parent company stating it has made international investments since the 1990s [3]. Its distribution is multi-channel, and the dedicated UK operation gives the brand a direct retail presence in that market.

Pastel is an active, trading brand. Its UK e-commerce site is operational with a current product catalogue, and the parent company's corporate site is up to date. The brand is not the subject of an English Wikipedia article, but it is a clearly live Turkish colour-cosmetics brand with international reach.