101 GUIDE TO LAWLESS BEAUTY
Looking for a beauty brand with uncompromising quality, serious pigment pay-off and a focus on good-for-skin ingredients? Introducing: LAWLESS Beauty.
Launched in 2018 by lifestyle and fitness guru Annie Lawless, LAWLESS Beauty is focused on creating a range of cleaner, more considered beauty essentials that perform just as well as traditional make up.
Interest peaked? Ours too! Which is why we sat down with founder Annie Lawless to discuss what inspired her to step into the beauty sphere, to uncover how she creates her social media approved sensations and to ask what more can we expect from the brand.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- The Story Behind LAWLESS Beauty
- LAWLESS Beauty’s Core Mission
- How Does LAWLESS Beauty Create it’s Beauty Products
- Annie Lawless’ Favourite Lawless Beauty Products
- What’s Next for LAWLESS Beauty
THE STORY BEHIND LAWLESS BEAUTY
“I created LAWLESS Beauty out of a genuine need for clean ingredients. Growing up with multiple auto immune diseases, including Celiac and severe eczema, I learned at a young age that what I consume directly impacts how I look and feel” explains Annie. After switching to cleaner skin care, Annie noticed her skin was less reactive, clearer and more even prompting her to look for the same in her make up. “When I tried clean make up, I discovered there were few to no products on the market that lived up to my conventional favourites. I knew there had to be so many other make up lovers like me who wanted cleaner ingredients, but weren’t willing to sacrifice the payoff, long wearing qualities and coverage they desired. That’s when I knew I wanted to break the rules of clean beauty and create more than just a “clean” make up brand. I wanted to create beautiful make up brand with products that perform just as well, if not better, than your conventional favourites, that just happens to also be clean.”
LAWLESS BEAUTY’S CORE MISSION
On a mission to re-imagine beauty as a daily source of pleasure and joy. LAWLSS Beauty aims to inspire consumers to expect more from their make up. “We create a higher standard that is cleaner and harder working, where high performance make up meets clinically proven skin care efficacy... inspiring people to do the most for themselves, every day. As a busy mom and business owner, I find that my make up is on my face longer than my evening skin care! It is critical to me that our formulas are multi-tasking powerhouses that benefit my skin while providing the instant gratification I look for in my make up. I ensure this is reflected in our products by undergoing rigorous clinical and internal testing, among experts, dermatologists, our community, myself, and make up lovers alike.” The quality of the ingredients the brand uses is critical, especially for Annie who has “experienced many flare ups and skin upsets from ingredients in make up and skin care products. So, the integrity of our ingredients is critical to me as someone who loves make up first and foremost, but must use clean, skin caring ingredients as a necessity.”
HOW DOES LAWLESS BEAUTY CREATE ITS BEAUTY PRODUCTS
"Clean beauty” has many different interpretations and means different things to different people, depending on each person’s goals and needs. “For us, clean is non-toxic, non-irritating, non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic, intentional, and safe. I want to know why every single ingredient is in a formula and what it does. We do not take stock formulas from labs, sign off on them, and call it a day. We build our formulas with time, intention, planning, testing, engineering, and care.”
And how does she create new innovations?
“New product development is my passion, and most favourite part of LAWLESS Beauty! The industry is a crowded, noisy space with new trends and launches occurring frequently. I personally do not believe in creating products to feed a current aesthetic or social media trend. I prefer to create new products based on my own personal need for something I can’t find, or something that inspires me.”
“We open development by briefing the various labs we work with on the desired format, payoff, texture, application, consistency, ingredient story, etc. Next, we take a look at skin care actives to better understand the benefits and efficacy levels that make the most sense for the specific application area of the face and format of that product and how they integrate into a formula. Then, we look at delivery systems and packaging to determine the most pleasurable and efficient delivery of a formula onto the skin, lips, or eyes.”
A case in point? The brand’s iconic Forget the Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing lip gloss. Featuring a doe foot with an ultra plushie texture, and an oversized curved C shape, it hugs the shape of the lips for even and full coverage upon application.
And to finish off comes the testing. “We do clinical testing, consumer testing, internal testing, community testing, make up artist testing, retailer testing and dermatologist testing. This phase is critical because it’s where all the changes and refinements happen to ultimately create the most perfect product we can. Our recent Forget the Filler Foundation launch is a great example of how rigorous the testing phase can be. We tested, modified, and refined this product for 2 years and over 200 iterations!” Sounds impressive!
ANNIE LAWLESS’ FAVOURITE LAWLESS BEAUTY PRODUCTS
“They are all my favourite children, but I will shout out two that are very near and dear to my heart.”
“First is our Forget the Filler Plumping Gloss. I use this every single day, all day long, and I cannot imagine completing a make up look without it. I love how great it feels going on and the long-lasting high shine finish that really coats my lips in hydration."
“Second is our Perfecting Powder. I take this everywhere and use it all day! It quickly blurs and smooths my skin to set my make up, is a great touch up during the day in areas I desire more coverage, never looks dry or cakey, controls my oils, and beautifully refreshes my make up before I go out in the evening.”
MORE LAWLESS BEAUTY PRODUCTS
WHAT’S NEXT FOR LAWLESS
“We have some extremely exciting innovations in development that we can’t wait to share! As a brand best known for lip in our hero franchise, Forget the Filler, I firmly believe the next phase for LAWLESS Beauty is to become a brand also best known for complexion...”
Watch this space!
Rina is Cult Beauty’s Junior SEO Copywriter and has always had a passion for beauty and skin care (rich moisturisers are her obsession). What started as a love for The Body Shop and their famed Born Lippy lip balms (in ‘Watermelon’ of course!), she is now more interested in finding products with proven effectiveness instead of broken promises. A loud and proud VIEVE fan, Rina owns nearly every item of the range and recommends the brand to anyone who will listen... When she’s not intently reading ingredient lists, you can find her either immersed in multiple true crime podcasts or co-hosting her own parenting one, with an *extra* hot cappuccino in hand.
