The Kristin Ess Hair Line Is Going to Be Major
By Macaela Mackenzie. Photos: Courtesy of Brand.
Let’s be real: Target is the closest thing we have to heaven on Earth. Need convincing? Walk in for a bottle of shampoo and just try to come out without a bag full of beauty scores under $100. We dare you. And right now Target is killing the game when it comes to affordable beauty loot. Following the announcement of Peach & Lily for Target, the chain is about to launch the Kristin Ess Hair line—and we're basically freaking out about it. Welcome to your new favorite beauty destination.
As the founder of beauty site thebeautydepartment.com, a major social media influencer, and stylist to clients including Lauren Conrad and Lucy Hale, Kristin Ess knows a thing or two about style, both on Instagram and IRL. With her collection launching first online{: rel=nofollow} on January 15 and then in Target stores a week later, us mere mortals will be able to become Ess's clients—kind of—right at home.
“I never thought I wanted to do a hair-care line. It sounds crazy, but I didn’t want to do it unless it was a Target line,” Ess tells Allure. So, when she was approached to collaborate with the brand, it was a no-brainer. “The minute they said Target, I was like, ‘I’m in.’ I’m a very big fangirl of Target, obviously."
To develop the collection of 15 hair products—which includes cleansers, conditioners, restorative prep products, and options for wet and dry styling (think soft wave sprays, styling powders, and turn-your-hair-to-silk serums)—Ess kept the role she plays as a consumer of hair-care products in mind. “I always use various products from various lines, but I don’t have one solid product line that’s affordable and accessible, that has all hero products for me,” she says. “That was the goal: to make one big line of heroes.”
For Ess, creating an entire line of total hair-care superstars meant stress-testing each and every product against the demands of her crazy beauty schedule. “For six months I walked around with these fifteen products in my bag and did this trial-and-error thing to see if I could try and style everyone’s hair,” she says. From BTS sets to the red carpet, she did it, earning each product the hero title. While what’s in the bottle was the big focus, the packaging is pretty awesome too. “I really wanted to focus on aesthetic,” Ess says. “I want people to leave [the product] out.” But the best part of the new luxury-level line? Every item is priced at less than $14.
Ess’s collaboration with Target is a bellwether for a trend that’s sweeping the entire beauty industry: More than ever, consumers want to engage with the experts behind their favorite products. “The jig is up. Everyone knows someone in a corporate office isn’t a makeup artist—it’s not a trusted authority,” she Ess says. “Smoke and mirrors have started to go away because of social media. There’s so much truth out there now, and I think the people want some realness.”
Realness is something Kristin Ess Hair will have in spades. Keeping with her track record of engaging with customers and with Target’s overall approachable vibe, Ess will publish a series of tutorials and styling tips to start a conversation with her fans about the line. “I’m not interested [in] just putting the product out there. I want to show [customers] how to get the most out of every product,” she says. If nothing else, that’s worthy of hero status in our book. Plus, have you seen Ess's own hair? Anyone with hair that great can definitely tell us how to fix ours.
Additional reporting by Sophia Panych.
This story originally appeared on Allure.
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