Indie brands are the new luxury: William Smolen

We speak to indie makeup brand co-founder William Smolen about personal style, being the best version of yourself, and how social media is affecting the makeup world

Do we need to know about another makeup brand? It's a legitimate question, especially here in Dubai where every girl (and even guys at this point) have a pretty impressive education when it comes to makeup. I would be shocked if anyone in Dubai hadn't heard of or knew one or two makeup trends, for example the cat eye (as revived by Adele) or countering (everyone is thanking the Kardashians but you should technically thank Leonardo Da Vinci for creating the sfumato technique - Google it). All of us know of a (and might be sick of) a regionally based beauty and makeup vlogger. So, let's repeat our question - why do we need to know about, yet another, makeup brand? Well, because this one is different, that's why.

Increasingly bombarded with international brands, names that have great historical and cultural heritage, brands whose ambassadors grace their advertising posters with the same elegance and poise they grace the films they star in and the stages they perform on, you'd think that would be enough. We don't, we need more. A couture dress isn't made for everyone, but it can inspire anyone. And makeup is about inspiration, aspiration and it's about discovery. Next time you're walking through Harvey Nicholas, as you pass by the makeup counter you know well, we encourage you, no, in fact we implore you, to stop by the new kid on the block. You'll want to meet her, she's pretty cool if you ask us.

MAKE BEAUTY is a cult New York based makeup brand that literally has us foaming at the mouth. In just four years since their initial launch they feel established, interesting, innovative and their products are not only progressive but gorgeous.

Just as their name suggests, they are about using makeup to make what you want out of it and express yourself. What else did we love about them? Their co-founder William Smolen, who was here in Dubai to launch the brand in Harvey Nichols. Not only was he a pool of knowledge when it came to the international world of makeup, he's pretty clued up to what the modern woman wants and needs (even if she doesn't know it yet) and most importantly we've yet to meet someone as passionate as he is about makeup.

"If I wasn't passionate I couldn't be doing it, I've aged greatly doing this line,' he laughs, 'It's the passion that actually keeps it going. Which is why it's been really successful."
City Times had a great time chatting with William about makeup trends, his thoughts on Dubai and what advice he has for all our beauty entrepreneurs out there.

What are your initial thoughts on Dubai?
Loving it! As far as the retail experience, it's the most progressive environment in the world. You can't call yourself an international brand unless you're here. And the diversity of people that are visiting, this wide range of the West and the Arab world, trend driven and inspired, really casts a wide net. So I'm excited to have this here and see how people will respond to it.

What trends have you noticed about how women use makeup in Dubai?
They are bringing their A game. It's really impressive. Everyone I ask has a different routine, they have a different tip on what they love and they've responded to different things in the collection. A lot of people have asked me about the difference between here and the West and I tell them it's not about the difference. Makeup has power in it and it's very individual. It's about building blocks that help you explore, build confidence and find your best self. It's less about our differences and more about using this form of expression and we are finding that everyone taps into it differently.

Do you think you'll do something a bit different for Dubai and this region?
As sales increase, I want to do something local for this region and really personalise it and build a campaign around it. Why not make it something that people get behind and sort of contextualise that. So we are thinking about how to make that happen.

Why are you passionate of makeup?
I think I'm very fascinated by the industry. It's a very dark industry, it's owned by three places, it's very against women, it's kind of strange. Our team felt that there wasn't a brand that was responding to this in a more inspired way. So we are a hip beauty brand from New York, we've become known for these one of a kind products that no one else has. My founder is one of the world's leading contract cosmetics manufacturers so for over 40 years he's been incubating and manufacturing many of the world most recognisable luxury makeup brands.

How are you guys trying to approach this social online platform differently then?
We do collaborations with artists outside of beauty. To explore an idea, we pair with makeup artists and we create a collection. Then we have people who aren't "celebrities", they're actually really cool people in their respective fields. They're interior designers, fashion photographers, musicians and they are people we love that strike this diminished chord that resonated strongly among a group of certain people. So that's what's interesting. The idea is to channel with an authentic collaborator who is doing interesting things and it's been so successful for us.

Would you say people are more interested about having a more socially aware brand?
If you look at a luxury brand at this point, it's not just some gilded object on the table made with bad labour. (The questions are) where is it made? What are the ingredients? Where is the money going? It's a larger conversation, we felt if we were going to be in this space, in a luxury space, let's walk the walk and do this differently.

In saying that, competition is tough in the beauty industry, especially in Dubai. How do you deal with that?
You know people might see Chanel everywhere and then see something different, and think 'oh what's that?' Yes, they love those big international brands that everyone knows but I know for a fact people are also interested in 'hey what is this?' It's an interesting mix. We know it's social media 100 percent that build everything. I hope we can find an influencer who loves us that we can afford that's part of the game.

But does that competition worry you as a newer, smaller brand?
We are David amongst the Goliaths, so I'm definitely terrified but I'm going to let that fear propel me and do interesting things and connect to people not just go away so that other big brands can take it. And you're seeing that a lot of the big brands are hurting. Indie brands are the new luxury.  It's because we have these ingredient stories.

Who would you say is the MAKE BEAUTY makeup girl?
She's the girl who wanted to go to art school but went to law school. Urban areas, late twenties, early thirties, discerning, follows her own rules, educated, aware. I'd say it's like the girl who can play jazz after she's learnt classical music. There's an appreciation for arts and culture and design and she has the confidence to kind of go outside, left of centre.

Dubai is filled with entrepreneurs especially in the beauty and luxury industry. What advice do you have for them?
The incipient ones are obvious. Do what you love because it's going to be a really long road and you need to enjoy the process. Be nice to people because it's a small world and you'll be surprised how far that goes for the right reasons. But have a real point of difference with your product, go where it's warm. Go figure out if it's working in a direction and build that out. Look, no one needs another beauty brand and that's the whole reason why there is so much of it, why it's so competitive. So, if you're a young person trying for it, find something about it that you can get behind, because you need to tap into that. Work insanely hard, show up early and be good to people.