This Indie Makeup Brand Wants You to Be Free
This Indie Makeup Brand Wants You to Be Free
and they've expanded their foundation range to help
Hello Beauty,
I recently had the pleasure of talking with Thijs Faas from our Ellis Faas indie makeup brand about the launch of their expanded range of Skin Veil foundation colors.
Thijs is the brother of Ellis Faas, the internationally acclaimed makeup artist behind the brand that carries her name. (And pictured above.)
When Ellis passed away recently, Thijs had a decision to make. Close the company, or carry on.
“We decided we’ve built too much to quit. It would have been a shame to stop. Ellis left a lot of ideas on the shelf. An immense legacy. And lasting inspiration.”
With Ellis’ genius still guiding them, Thijs turned to a group of her former assistants to help him.
“I don’t come from the makeup scene. I’ve never done anyone’s makeup,” said Thijs. “I’ve seen the shows but never done it myself. I was managing Ellis.”
The first of Ellis’ ideas they enacted was to expand the foundation range.
“The new shades are a group effort of people I trust, who knew Ellis and worked closely with her. It was Ellis’ philosophy to work in a team. For runways and for photography. She loved the inspiration of the group.”
“Expanding the foundation range was a natural place for us to start. We went back to our roots, and why we started the brand. Back to our own foundation.
It goes back to our upbringing within the family, living in Amsterdam in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Amsterdam was very international but still tiny. There were about 180 nationalities living in the city.
It was like a hippie kingdom where no one was really told what to do. We loved that freedom, and want to promote that with the brand.”
To enhance that freedom, they’ve added 5 new Skin Veil shades to the 9 they started with. They’ve renamed everything too, to designate the skin tone (Neutral, Warm or Cool) and undertones (Neutral, Pink, Yellow, Gold or Olive).
The shades range from very fair skin, neutral with a neutral undertone, to very deep skin, neutral with a neutral undertone. But in between are shades for skin that’s warm with a pink undertone, warm with a golden undertone, cool with a yellow undertone, or warm with an olive undertone. And several other combinations - check them all out here.
The easiest way to choose is to look at the swatch - and never fear! When you order from Indie Beauty Market, we send you samples of the shade you ordered, plus the shade above and the shade below.
So when you receive your order, we ask you to try the samples first. If you need to exchange your order, we’re happy to do it! We know it’s hard to choose colors based on your computer screen.
Plus the shades are extremely versatile. You can mix them for your own custom color.
Ellis' Philosophy
Ellis believed that foundation should illuminate the skin. But it shouldn’t look or feel like a mask. It should be like your skin, but better.
She created her ideal foundation in Japan. It has an exceptional balance of high-quality ingredients. It glides on effortlessly in a thin layer, blending into your skin in just a minute or two.
Of course, it’s buildable for heavier coverage, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how great just one layer looks.
Skin Veil’s minerals diffuse light across your skin’s surface. So it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
It also has moisturizing ingredients that nourish your skin. Like squalane, glycerin, vitamin E and sodium hyaluronate, among others.
They have no irritating ingredients like bismuth oxychoride (makes me itch). Gluten-free too.
And it feels like you’re wearing nothing!
Here’s what people say about Skin Veil:
“Super amazing. The skin looks flawless with nice highlights.” - Polly Osmond (makeup artist)
“I love using Ellis Faas Skin Veil foundation on the skin for an incredible silky finish.” - Romy Soleimani (makeup artist)
“This is the ‘holy grail’ of foundation that I have been searching for all these years. It has made such a difference to my confidence.” - Karen S.
“I LOVE the skin veil - not only does it perfectly blend with my natural skin color, it lasts all day without needing a touch up, and even looks great after a workout at the gym after work!” - Ashlye D.
Human palette = freedom to have fun
“Ellis thought makeup should be FUN! It’s a way of having fun with yourself,” says Thijs.
“Yet Ellis found that it’s not always easy to get people to do their own thing. Some may lack confidence and want to be told what to do.
But if there’s a right way, there’s a wrong way. That makes people insecure. And Ellis didn’t like that.
So one distinctive aspect of our brand is we never want to tell people what to do with it. Give them as much flexibility as possible.
You have your mirror. You have your own taste. Just try it on.
Fortunately, now there are younger makeup artists that really don’t give a *^#% about “the rules”.
And our Human Colors make it easier because they work on every skin tone, every age, every style.”
From the tawny peach of a freckle to the vivid red that pulses through our veins, Ellis always looked to the human palette for inspiration. The colors that exist in our bodies are rich and complex. And they’re also universal, shared by each and every one of us.
When it comes to looking your best - whether it’s highlighting a great feature or hiding an imperfection - what better way to do it than with hues and tones that already exist in each of us?
And that’s the key. That’s what gives you the freedom to use it without the fear of it being “wrong”. It won’t look bad. You can just play!
Of course, Ellis Faas foundations are vegan and cruelty free (officially acknowledged by PETA) - and
Only Tested on Supermodels.
“To us, this was always natural,” says Thijs.
We love it - and we think you will too!
To your beautiful skin,
Susie:)
IT'S ABOUT CLEAN. IT'S ABOUT HEALTHY. IT'S ABOUT SKIN.
Susie Kuse is Passionate About Great Skin and Co-Founder of Indie Beauty Market. She has been in the spa and beauty industry since 2002. She loves to help people understand that a little daily self-care goes a long way toward great skin, health, beauty and happiness. And it’s important to keep your products safe, effective, healthy, clean, sustainable and ethical.
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