‘I Don’t Do Straight Makeup, It’s Hybrid Makeup’ – Hailey Bieber Gives Grazia An Exclusive First Look Of Her New Blush

Model Hailey Bieber Opens Up About Standing Out From The Crowd, Waiting For The Perfect Moment And Finding A Blush To Replace All The Other Blushers


by Verity Clark |
Updated on

Hailey Bieber is glowing. Perhaps it’s the fact that the model and social media darling has recently announced that she is expecting a babywith her husband, popstar Justin Bieber. Or, perhaps it’s that she’s ‘finally nailed everyday makeup’ as she tells me when we meet over Zoom. Most likely though, it’s because she’s added another baby to her first family, Rhode, her line of dewy-skin achieving skincare and skincare-first makeup. Yes, Bieber is expanding the line with the arrival of her second colour product, a Rhode blush, named Rhode Pocket Blush, £24.

Harley Weir

Cosied up in an oversized navy knit, hair scraped off her - exquisitely angular - face with a trademark white stretchy headband, Bieber is in business mode. And her business (aside from being one of the most photographed women in the world) is beauty.

The poster girl for impossibly glossy skin and food-themed makeup trends (glazed doughnut skin, strawberry girl makeup and peachy beachy summer makeup would never have entered our orbit were it not for her influence) has a stellar track record for launching sell-out beauty products. In 2022 Bieber launched the first Rhode product, the Peptide Lip Treatment. The peptide rich lip balm sold out in three days and racked up a waitlist of 440,000.

Bieber’s thing has always been good skin. Each of her beauty babies (there’s now an entire skincare regime)  is boosted with a notable combination of hardworking actives. Hydrating and plumping hyaluronic acid, brightening niacinamide and firming peptides are all mainstays of the Rhode family.

Considering Bieber has created a entire beauty movement based on her fuss-free, no-makeup makeupvibe, it’s fitting that the makeup she creates is designed to be used on the move. Rhode Pocket Blush is ,erm, pocket sized, and the complexion lifter is designed to be tucked into pockets, chucked into bags and smooshed onto cheekbones - 'and lips', Bieber tells me - wherever you are, whenever you like.

Last year, Bieber dabbled in makeup with her first colour product, a tinted version of the best selling Peptide Lip Treatment. Now, she’s translating her trademark peptide rich formula - sometimes with a hint of tint - into a complexion product. Grazia got a sneak peek of the Rhode blush and,  I can confirm, the  beautiful buttery balm adds an uplifting faux flush of colour to even the most pallid of complexions.

Rhode

Curled up in her LA office, Bieber is sat next to - ironically - a giant sized caramel brown blush capsule. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Grazia, Hailey Bieber opens up about being a forever nineties girl, naming a blush after her dog and her two minute makeup routine.

On Learning The Importance Of A Good Skincare Routine

Growing up, I was surrounded by women teaching me about skincare. My Grandma was a makeup artist and as far back as I can remember she was always obsessed with creams and lotions, particularly with French pharmacy beauty. My mum was big into skincare, makeup and body care and she introduced me to the importance of taking care of my skin and my body. If you look at them now you can see how well they’ve taken care of themselves.

On Sticking To Her Guns

At Rhode we don’t do straight makeup, its hybrid makeup. We’re skin first, skin forward, skin thinking. That will be our forever approach at Rhode; I don’t think you’ll ever see us deviate and come out with an eyeshadow palette, that’s just not our vibe.

On Doing Makeup On The Move

I wanted to create something that you could throw in your purse or toss in your pocket as you were going out for dinner, or to a concert, or wherever. And then, when you’re running around you can whip it out, touch up your cheeks and immediately bring some life to your face.

On The Rhode Pocket Blush

There was a checklist. It needs to last a long time, it needs to give you a glow, It needs to give you the right amount of flush, it has to be creamy and a good experience. One thing I often don’t like about cream blush is that sometimes they have a drag to them,  and they don’t apply well to the face. I want it to melt into the skin, this is  really a melting a blush. It melts to the temperature of your skin. All those elements had to line up.  And that’s the blush that you have today.

It’s very buildable. You can start off soft and build on top of it depending on how much colour you want or not. My favourite way to apply it is to put it on my finger and then tap it onto my cheeks where i want it. I feel like it brings that really beautiful flush of colour and it lasts a really long time, for hours and hours! Sometimes if I’m doing a full beat, say  if I’m going out for dinner, I’ll apply it with a brush to get a bit more coverage.

I wear them all. But my go to’s that I reach for on a day to day basis are Piggy, Freckle and Sleepy Girl. If I’m on vacation I’d go for Spicy Marg. A top tip is to mix the colours. At the moment I like to combine either Juice Box or Sleepy Girl with Piggy.

On The Art Of Waiting For The Perfect Moment

Pocket Blush has been two years in the making. We had a whole other version, a confirmed formula that was a totally different iteration. But, it just didn’t feel right to me, it didn’t feel like exactly what I wanted, it didn’t feel perfect and I just really wanted  to make sure the blush that I bought out would replace every single other blush I’ve got in my makeup bag, I just didn’t want to have to reach for anything else. I’m hellbent on taking my time and  I’m really glad that I took the extra time because now I really do feel like it’s the only blush I have with me all of the time, everywhere I go, and that’s what I wanted.

On Standing Out From The Crowd

Blush is such a saturated space in general so I wanted ours to have a different vibe and a different life to it. There’s tonnes of great blushes on the market, blushes that I love! How do you make something stand out? For me it really is the story of it being that on the go, throw it in your purse blush. That’s what I felt was missing.

On Naming Her (Blush) Babies

The one that is personal to me is Piggy. I have a dog that is called Piggy. She’s a cute blonde yorkie with a lot of attitude and she’s just a cute little girl so I felt like the colour matched her personality. The inspiration behind Spicy Marg? Well, who doesn’t love a good spicy marg? We love doing yummy sounding things. We tie things to food, and things that sound really delicious and cosy and warm and yummy.

Rhode

On Being A Forever Nineties Girl

The 90s, 90s supermodels and 90s photography, particularly pictures of Kate Moss by Mario Sorrenti,  is so big for me. And 90s style is something that I just always gravitate towards. So much of my inspiration comes from the modelling world and the world of editorial which has always been my favourite thing to shoot.

On Beauty Advice For Her Younger Self (And Future Children)

More is not more! If you’re overdoing it you won’t like that in the future. If I ever have a daughter one day my advice would be, less is more!

On Creating An Iconic Beauty Look

What I love about having my makeup done is that you get to have this collaborative process with the makeup artist. You come up with these fun things together and watch them come to life.  I’ve always loved that. When I’m working with women that I work with a lot like Mary Phillips or Leah Darcy we have an inspiration photo that we work off of, and these inspiration ideas that we bring to life together.

On The Three Tiers Of Her Makeup Routine

At this point I’ve nailed my everyday makeup. It’s very, very little; there’s no complexion to it really - a little cheek and a brow. My medium is a little more, a little underpainting to it but it’s still very minimal.  And then there's the full on makeup look if I'm doing a full beat myself. I have the three stages but it’s always going to be minimal for me in comparison with other people.

On Her Two Minute Makeup Routine

Set those brows, put on a cheek, lip liner, lip. If you can fit in a little concealer then that too!

Rhode Pocket Blush, £24, is available to buy from 20th June. Sign up to the waitlist here.

Verity Clark is the Acting Health & Beauty Director at Grazia

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