At Beautyblender, our quest to create the best beauty products never ends. And guess what: We love that!
The *whole* reason Beautyblender exists is because our fab founder, Rea Ann Silva, never settles. ICYMI, the entire BB empire started because she couldn’t find a sponge that worked like she wanted while working as a TV makeup artist. So she made it herself.
How exactly do we go about creating the best beauty products in all the land?
The Blend chatted with the Beautyblender Product Development Team to find out.
How does Beautyblender product creation start?
It all starts with an idea session. We not only look at trends, what’s going on in the market and what our retail partners need, but we also gain inspiration from our founder’s 15-plus years as a professional makeup artist. Having Rea Ann’s knowledge and hands-on experience gives us a huge advantage.
Where do the ideas come from?
It depends, but a few places we get inspiration are:
— Rea Ann’s needs as a makeup artist
— What’s going on in the world (ex.: a focus on sustainability)
— Ideas to improve a product (ex.: adding the finger slot to the Power Pocket Puff to make it extra precise)
— Our lives (ex.: our color-change sponge technology was actually inspired by one of our team member's nephew’s color-changing toys!)
— The latest trends
On the trend note, for example, when we were launching our Detailers makeup brushes, we saw how popular facial massage was becoming. We suggested adding cooling rollers to the end of each brush. Having the flexibility to combine our ideas with the latest trends is key to creating the best beauty products.
Beautyblender doesn’t launch products as often as some other brands. Why is that?
When you start from scratch — like we did with our BOUNCE Foundation and most recently our BOUNCE Concealer — it takes a long time to get it right! It typically takes about two years to develop any product, but it’s worth every minute. The only way to create the best beauty products is to take your time.
How do you test Beautyblender products?
Every product has its own requirements.
Does it smooth pores? Does it wear long enough? Does it crease?
Once we have a formula we like, we enter a second phase of testing where we look at:
— Stability: Does the formula stay the same over time and against various temperatures?
— Compatibility: Does it work with the packaging we want?
— Safety (aka Human Repeat Insult Patch Test, or HRIPT): Extensive safety testing ensures we never launch anything unsafe into the market.
— SPF: If the product has SPF (sun protection factor), we perform the FDA requirements to receive the monograph.
We never test on animals, and all of our products are made in labs that meet quality and sanitary standards.
How do you factor in customer feedback?
We’re always checking in to see what you guys think! We constantly review feedback from the website, customer service and social media. We also love doing early focus group testing so we can get input before we launch new products.
What do you think the most important step is in creating the best beauty products?
Putting products on your actual skin throughout the whole process is so important. People have been trained to test things on the back of their hand, and you don’t get the full experience that way because the skin on your hand is vastly different than what’s on your face.
Another way we ensure we’re putting out only the best beauty products is our focus on consistency. You have to have checks and balances throughout the whole process — even after a product launches — to maintain consistency. We check every batch of every shade as long as the product is on the market.
Who should people contact if they have questions?
Good question! All of the ingredients are listed on the packaging, or you can look up product info on our website to find ingredients. If you can’t find the answer after that, feel free to contact our Customer Service team at 888-474-5369. We love to hear from you guys!
For info on all the ingredients we put in or leave out of Beautyblender products, check out these blogs:
— What’s in My Makeup? What You Won’t See in Our Product Descriptions & Why
— What’s in My Makeup? 6 Ingredients You’ll See in Our Products & Why
