It took a pandemic for Carisa Janes, who based and offered Hourglass Cosmetics to Unilever Prestige, to begin enthusiastic about her subsequent act.
Sequestered away in Palm Desert, CA, throughout Covid-19, she lastly had time to ponder her follow-up, which meant revisiting an thought she had placed on the again burner for nearly 10 years.
“I was busy, but a different kind of busy,” Janes informed The Business of Beauty. “I was just staring at nature and I was isolated.”
The end result, a brand new model known as Outside In. will launch on Thursday with three merchandise: a Silk Serum Foundation, $64, in 25 shades, plus a $52 accompanying brush and a Floral Reserve Facial Oil, $72. It’s been a very long time coming: Janes has owned the mental property since earlier than she offered Hourglass to Unilever. The line might be accessible from the model’s personal direct-to-consumer web site beginning Thursday, with a retailer in New York’s SoHo slated to open in spring 2026.
The price ticket of premium make-up usually raises well-manicured eyebrows, however buyers frequently present curiosity in catering to the high-net-worth buyers who’ve confirmed themselves to be almost resistant to macroeconomic slowdowns. And Janes has already completed it as soon as: Hourglass launched with a luxurious proposition in 2004 (its vary of Ambient setting, highlighting and blurring compacts are oft-duped), was offered to Unilever in 2017 and arguably helped pave the way in which for modern-day premium strains like Westman Atelier and Fara Homidi. She’s additionally a shrewd investor, having injected funds into the buzzy manufacturers Youth to the People and Salt & Stone.
But the local weather by which she’s launching Outside In isn’t the identical as Hourglass’. Premium magnificence manufacturers are a dime a dozen, wallets are tighter and buyer expectations are even increased. Janes will even be dividing her time between the brand new line, working with Nature of Things, a physique and perfume line she acquired in October 2023 and relaunched this 12 months, and persevering with to guide Hourglass.
“I still feel vulnerable, but it’s less scary than it was the first time,” stated Janes. Her wager is that clients are nonetheless trying to find a model that synergises skincare and make-up, and that the road’s loftier promoting factors round lowering virgin plastic (supplies like limestone composite and bio-resins from rice have been used) create a novel proposition.
Unlike Hourglass, Janes felt a way of calm making Outside In. There was no rush or strain to supply something, which helped her deal with it like an “after-hours” undertaking. Now that Hourglass is a mature model with a “very capable team” in place, she’s emboldened her to focus extra time on her subsequent act.
“It felt like such a luxury, because this has been my passion project, she said. “But now, it’s finally coming to fruition.”
A Second Act
Making Outside In as large as Hourglass might be a problem. Hourglass might have needed to work exhausting to persuade clients to half with upwards of $50 for merchandise like powder and primer, nevertheless it had a first-mover benefit, in addition to the upmarket and now-defunct New York division retailer Barney’s, to assist attain rich buyers. Now, her new line enters a crowded market, and the prosperous buyers who can afford it have extra alternative than ever.
Hourglass already has 4 basis SKUs, from a persist with a gel-cream, and likewise has a small vary of skincare. It leans considerably maximalist in its vary, providing giant palettes of glow-giving powders, and richly pigmented lip merchandise. Outside In, however, feels spare, partly with its small line-up at launch, but additionally its skincare-first claims. Its elevated worth level comes with elevated advertising claims, boasting what Janes refers to as “self-setting” know-how, implying superior long-wearing advantages.
The oil is one thing of a Swiss military knife, and may be combined with the inspiration, used as skincare or used to clean the hair, nourish the cuticles and extra. The basis additionally dovetails with the enduringly fashionable “clean girl” development that has seen clients desire merchandise that supply skincare advantages alongside a wholesome, fresh-looking glow. Janes stated that clients are nonetheless on the lookout for extra enhanced complexion choices.
Hourglass was not Janes’ first foray into working a model: Aged 24, she was poached from her position at cosmetics model Urban Decay to run a vintage-inspired line known as Body & Soul, which later shuttered however nonetheless retains ardent on-line followers.
Her experience is in elevating on a regular basis merchandise: Before Hourglass, powders had been merely used to set make-up in place, however the line helped pioneer the concept that crafted accurately, they might additionally blur, spotlight and diffuse.
The Founders’ Bug
Janes additionally has a tough time sitting nonetheless.
“A lot of people sell their business and they’re like, ‘I’m safe now, I’m gonna go buy an island and chill.’”
She secured the mental property rights for the title in 2015, two years earlier than she offered Hourglass. While she didn’t have an official noncompete clause that precluded her from launching Outside In, she stated she and Unilever had reached a mutual understanding that she would prioritise Hourglass for the foreseeable future. (She additionally stated she was far too busy engaged on Hourglass for a few years.)
Many founders have the entrepreneurial bug, and usually are not content material with merely launching one firm: Bobbi Brown launched premium cosmetics model Jones Road in 2020, 25 years after promoting her eponymous line to Estée Lauder Companies. Brown has spoken about feeling constrained by the company machine in direction of the tip of her tenure, which explains the punk-lite ethos of Jones Road.
Marcia Kilgore based the spa and pores and skin line Bliss, then the mass physique care model Soap & Glory earlier than launching shoe model Fitflop and at last, cosmetics line Beauty Pie. It wasn’t simple to step away from Bliss, however she did so when an excessive amount of of her day had change into involved with “big corporate and big politics” duties. “I’m great at ignition … but I’m not necessarily the person who wants to keep the engine running at a lower speed,” she wrote in an electronic mail to The Business of Beauty.
Janes clearly thrives underneath strain. She is motivated by the will to make one thing that genuinely excites clients, nevertheless it’s tough in an business that principally runs on viral stunts and fleeting developments. She stated she had no mounted milestones or income objectives for the model, describing it as a inventive outlet.
She is, nonetheless, relishing the chance to maintain a foot in each camps.
“There’s expectations [from Unilever] but I have the freedom to focus on the things that I loved the most [about Hourglass],” she stated. “I would be crazy to leave.”
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