Celebrity Makeup Artist Fiona Stiles Launches Eponymous Cosmetics Line
Celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles is gearing up to launch her first product collection. (Photo: Fiona Stiles)
When makeup artist Fiona Stiles — whose client list includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Banks, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Garner — decided to create her own cosmetics label, it wasn’t just to make products she and her fellow professionals would love using. She aimed to demystify makeup for women outside the industry, and focus as much on education as artistry. “Women constantly tell me they’re intimidated by makeup and don’t know how to use it,” says LA-based Stiles, whose Fiona Stiles Beauty launches February 18 in more than 500 Ulta stores. “For all the tips and tricks, women still have hesitation about products. I want the line to feel welcoming and supportive with education about the products and how to use them.” Heads up: Expect lots of tutorials and how-tos.
Stiles, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field, has spent plenty of time traveling in the search for exceptional formulas. She’s even taken dedicated makeup shopping trips to Tokyo and Seoul. “Textures, colors and trends are so different in other countries and cities, and seeing them firsthand is so inspiring,” she says. She also went the distance when it came to the development process. Stiles calls the experience of working beside chemists a steep learning curve. “I sat in the lab and we evaluated the colors for days. And days. It’s a lot of waiting then a lot of testing,” she says. “I tried everything on myself. My lips peeled, my eyelids peeled, my skin was raw.”
“I wanted to be sure the colors are perfect matches,” says Stiles of her Luminous Finish Foundation Concentrate range. (Photo: Fiona Stiles)
In addition, Stiles brought models into the lab while she worked on her foundation colors. In fact it’s one of the things that sets her 120-piece premium range apart from others. “I wanted to be sure the colors are perfect matches and you can’t cover that range on yourself — you need bodies in the room. The lab said they had never seen anyone do that before, which I found shocking.” Once the formulas were perfected, she also began using them on almost all her famous clients.
Along with being comprehensive when it came to the universal complexions she matched, Stiles was laser-focused on payoff, as in color saturation. “I wanted the eyeshadows to be on par with Tom Ford, Chanel or Dior,” she says. “I wanted the texture of a luxury brand at an accessible price point: I wanted the lipsticks to feel divine when you swipe them on, and for the foundations to rival those three times more expensive. And we did it.” Pieces range from $12-30, and will be sold in the prestige aisle.
Stiles’ Radiant Aqua Eye Veil shadows are a unique, pudding-like texture. (Photo: Fiona Stiles)
As for the actual products, they range from the Ultimate Lash Icon Volumizing Mascara to pigmented Color Impact Matte Lip Crayons and the sheerer, glossier Hydrashine Essential Lip Color, which includes a shade named for fellow top makeup artist Rachel Goodwin. The Luminous Finish Foundation shades are numbered for easy navigation, and match up with the same numbering system for concealers, making it a no brainer. Stiles says she’s particularly obsessed with the Radiant Aqua Eye Veil shadows. “It’s such a unique texture, like pudding, and it’s super long wearing.”
A sheer contour palette inspired by a trip to Japan. (Photo: Fiona Stiles)
But for her, accessible and non-intimidating doesn’t translate to boring. “We have bright lip colors in matte shades, but we also have vibrant colors in sheer formulas so if the color is a little scary for you there’s room for experimentation and play.” That idea even extends to products like her buildable Sheer Sculpting Palette. “I couldn’t wait to show it to Nikki Reed, because we talk about contour all the time. I had found a pale sheer contour at a drugstore in Japan, which is what inspired the products, and her and I geeked out over it at the time.” Of course, Reed was an instant fan of her makeup artists’ new creations. Ultimately, the “mistake-free” line is for those who like or need a little hand-holding in the form of a highly experienced makeup artist. Says Stiles, “I hope it removes a layer of fear for people.”
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