The long-awaited Victoria Beckham Beauty range has finally launched to much fanfare. Stepping away from her relationship with Estee Lauder, VB took with her Sarah Creal, the woman behind both the VBxEstee Lauder range and the Estee Edit.
You won’t be surprised to see that the range has launched with eyes, such is VB rarely seen without a smokey eye. It’s pretty simple. There are four palettes, four eyeshadows and three eye liners. We are promised lip and skin are to come.
The Satin Kajal Liner in Black, is easiest the best I have used. It’s super-soft, goes on like a dream and smudges out without taking your eyelid with it. Yes thank you.
The packaging is designed with sustainability at the forefront, including cartons made from 100% post-consumer waste (certifications: Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), sourced from responsibly managed forests), packaging foam made from 100% biodegradable cornstarch – chuck it in the sink, it dissolves in water (certifications: USDA certified biobased product, 100% compostable) and the shipping outer is 100% recycled cardboard, which in turn can be recycled.
Where I think there is a missed opportunity is the education piece. VB uses the term ‘Clean Beauty’ freely all over the website and they of course, have an ‘Excluded Ingredient’ List, which sadly includes both safe ingredients, such as short-chain parabens, and confusingly, ingredients that are banned in the EU, such as microbeads and hydroquinone. Saying that they are not included in your line is redundant and akin to saying ‘there is no cocaine in our eyeshadow’. I’m obviously exaggerating but you see the point. I’m not surprised that VB has gone down the ‘clean’ road, it’s a trend, and she will, I’m sure, always choose trend over science. But imagine the knock-on effect it could have industry-wide if someone like Victoria Beckham came out and said ‘I’m going to put short-chain parabens in my formulas, because they are scientifically proven to be the safest option for my customer’. One can dream.
Instead we have another ‘clean’ brand joining the bandwagon. And yes, I know it’s not her responsibility, but the word ‘responsibility’ is used multiple times on the website in conjunction with ‘customers’, so maybe it’s something that could be considered for the upcoming skincare launches. (I’m not hopeful, and I am telling you now, if the line includes wipes…)
As an aside, I attended the launch in London and VB was perfectly lovely, passionate, polite and worked the room like a pro, introducing herself to everyone and shaking their hands whilst doing so. A nice change from recent big name launches, and noticed by everyone. (And yes, she smiles constantly. Give her a break.)
The Victoria Beckham Beauty Collection is available from VictoriaBeckhamBeauty.com and in her boutiques.
