Bespoke Beauty: How Carolina Herrera Is Reinventing The Concept Of Customisable Cosmetics

Herrera Beauty global make-up consultant, Lauren Parsons, shares how the brand is fusing together colour, style and endless options, in order to create a healthy obsession with make-up

When Bazaar first learned that Carolina Herrera would be unveiling a line of cosmetics, we were both excited yet curious at just how the iconic fashion house – founded by Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera – would make its debut into the world of beauty.

Developed by a team of experts – including beauty creative director Carolina A. Herrera, house creative director Wes Gordon and Carolina Herrera global makeup consultant Lauren Parsons – the trio of brilliant minds created the perfect make-up collection for the glamorous, confident woman on-the-go: a line of versatile lipsticks and powders, that can be used in a multitude of ways to create any look, while its packaging can be ‘styled’ to compliment its wearer’s outfit.

HERRERA BEAUTY couldn’t have made a better entrance into our lives and, of course, our make-up bags.

Both the lipstick tubes and power compacts can be ‘styled’ in a variety of ways, and with over 36 shades to choose from in three different formulas even the most minimalistic of beauty lovers will be able to find a colour and formula to suit their own personal needs. And that’s not all. With eight different shades of  setting powders, one highlighter and one mattifier powder, the line has all your make-up essentials covered. 

Bazaar had the chance to speak with Lauren Parsons, who revealed the line had been three years in the making; shared insight into the creative process behind developing the products and, of course, let us in on a few professional tips for when it comes to looking your best with the help of HERRERA BEAUTY.

Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA): Can you tell us more about why HERRERA BEAUTY has decided to launch now in 2020? And why with a range of lipsticks, powders and highlighters?

Lauren Parsons (LP): It was so the right time. We were at the point where it just seemed right to actually push the finishing touches into the whole head-to-toe. And I think that’s why we launched with lipsticks first; we really wanted it to be that effortless finishing touch at the start and also there is no other kind of jolly burst of feeling than putting a lip on, especially now when everyone is so used to these screens and we’re all experience Zoom fatigue, a little colour can give you that extra pop.

HBA: How does the concept of “Obsessions” fit into HERRERA BEAUTY?

LP: What we wanted to do is [develop] this healthy obsession with makeup.  Instead of being something that people are scared of or [thought of] like a mask, we wanted everyone to be obsessed with being the best version of themselves.

It was a celebration of women and a celebration of all the types of beauty we love. As a makeup artist, I am well known for doing the natural no-makeup look, which we all know includes a lot of products [and] Carolina loves wearing no makeup with a lip or no makeup with like a sheer tint. So, what we were trying to do is go from that and then also encompass all the things that we love about finishing touches.

For example, I am obsessed with imperceptible contour and highlight – and not the Instagram one that looks great in selfies. We’ve created a cream-to-powder texture with our highlighter, but it has absolutely no glitter in it; what it has is crushed shimmer, so each bit is suspended within the balm texture.

It’s almost like you woke up, you put your makeup on but it’s effortless. It’s also non comedogenic, so especially in your humidity, you [can] keep on applying [it] and you don’t need to worry about it.

I think this is where the obsession comes in again. It’s being obsessed with the way that you look in a really healthy way, as opposed to the Instagram selfie generation. We’re trying to create that with everything so it looks soft, gorgeous and just effortless.

HBA: Can you share with us any tips for applying lipstick on the go? Because for some people it can be quite anxiety-inducing…

LP: For me, personally, I’m a makeup artist and I know how to put a red lip on, but for some people [it can be stressful.]

We came up with the lip brush which is incredibly foolproof. If a tool could be a lip liner, this is the one. It’s very firm and it’s got a really good tip on it. It’s retractable, [so] you lower the tip [back into the case], put it in your handbag and it’s good to go.

The other bit [that] is so important when it comes to the formulation, especially the Satin, is that we wanted it go on like a lip balm essentially, so it’s not scary because [of] the way it glides on. You’ll think “Oh, this is actually quite easy to apply.”

All of the lipsticks have a special quality within them, so they actually blend onto your lip shape [on the molecular level.] But what’s quite good about all of them is they don’t set quickly; the Matte formula will set eventually, but not in a horrible way and after a bit of time.

We’ve made the whole range as effortless as possible.

HBA: You mentioned there was a molecule level within the formula of the lipsticks. How long did it take to create the HERRERA BEAUTY?

LP: It took quite a long time, almost two years to get the formulas up to scratch. I’m quite pedantic with details; for me, I needed it to really stand out and be something completely different.

If you look at one of these [lipsticks] closely, they all look quite similar in the bullet, but then when you apply them, they totally change. I think [what’s different about HERRERA BEAUTY] because normally it’s how products look on counter [for some beauty brands]; whereas with us it’s [about creating] products with purpose.

For me this is the biggest thing, because you’re looking at a spectrum, the slight tweaks in the [lipstick formulation] means that anyone can go in and find their perfect lipstick.

HBA: You were, of course, very involved with the creation of HERRERA BEAUTY, but how involved were Wes Gordon and Carolina A. Herrera?

LP: Very much so; it was a true collaboration from its inception. When I joined, there was the idea of what it was going to become. And then it was really amazing because the packaging went to Carolina. From that point, on Wes went through the whole collection to get prints [for the customizable compacts]. It definitely is a team effort and it’s quite nice in that respect as well, because everyone kind of has the same mindset.

HBA: How many different variations could somebody potentially have with all the different combinations options and accessories, when it comes to customizing your Herrera Beauty compacts?

LP: When it comes to customizing the lipstick tubes and compacts, I think that it’s endless and will obviously grow with the brand. It’s one of those things that I quite like and not in a very superficial way. But you can match the compacts with your outfit and there’s something quite chic about wearing a certain outfit and then you can have a [matching] compact cover.

HBA: Can we expect to see more products joining the HERRERA BEAUTY family in the future?

LP: I think some point, in the future, you can be head-to-toe in HERRERA BEAUTY.

HBA: Anything else you would like to share with us about HERRERA BEAUTY?

LP: You can layer everything! For example, with the nude shades, you could do a layer in the outer corners [of your lips] with the darker shades and then use the lighter nude on the inner part, and it can literally pump your lips and really change everything. You can layer the lipsticks so you can make your own colour, which is especially good with the Sheer formula.

Honestly, everything can switch and change, which is really good! It’s kind of like picking your one colour, and then it just follows through. What’s good is you can always take it from your lipstick, if you want to top up your blush as well; it’s always going to match.

Herrera Beauty will be available at Harvey Nichols (Kuwait) in November 2020.

Images supplied.