Makeup Wizard Creates Her Own Beauty Brand

What inspired Half Magic—how long in the making was it and what’s in a name?
We started working on this makeup line in the summer of 2019. That was right after Season 1 of Euphoria aired and we started concepting the makeup line and exploring how to do it. What tipped me off to the idea of doing my own line was a lot of brands were coming to me inviting me to choose eyeshadow colors for a palette, and while that would be super fun and I really wanted to do it, I knew I had to be patient and hold out for a bigger opportunity and not go for the instant gratification so more than three years later Half Magic finally launched and the name has two meanings. The in-a-nutshell meaning is: the makeup is half of the magic and person wearing it is the other half. Although this is not a Euphoria makeup line, it transcends the show, it’s a makeup line. What I’m known for and what I love with makeup is bridging that gap between magical fantasy and models wearing these really cool makeup looks with total reality like a normal person going to the grocery store. Half magic, half fantasy, half just real everyday life.

How did you go about curating the colors for the palette?
Our first launch had a lot of really vivid colors. The matte eye paints, the shimmer eye paints, the glitters. We had our lip launch again. Really bold statement colors I think are really beautiful and flattering. For this launch, for the eyeshadow color, I wanted to show our audience and our consumers how we do something a little bit more neutral. So how we bring our own beautiful metallic buttery, tactile, blend-y feelings to our eyeshadows. I think eyeshadows are the least intimidating form of makeup. Eye paints are really exciting, but I think take a little bit of a learning curve. This is our chance to communicate with consumers that we do subtle magic too, this is how to elevate an everyday look bulletproof colors that are exciting, not just neutrals. We have our very first non-color color Wet Pebble which is like a smokey eye metallic, kind of grungy.

Eyeliner seems to be a staple in your collection.
Tell me about it. The eyeliner pen MagicFlik we just launched on October 5. It’s a flat, disc-like paddle shape. It’s really different. I think doing winged liner is hard. One of the things I would like to do with my makeup brand is really make it feel easy and user-friendly. So, I thought it would be a really cool liner tool, a fresh new take on the classic tapered felt-tip pen. I thought it was easier to use. We did a whole panel and a lot of people were saying “Wow, this is easier to use.” That’s my mission: to make fun makeup a little less intimidating.

How did you get the idea to create the recyclable palette?
As a new makeup brand, it’s our responsibility to be innovative with packaging and sustainability. I think the challenge is rethinking the definition of luxury. I think a lot of people think a weighty makeup container feels more luxurious, but it’s not good for our planet and there’s other ways that we can do things, and we just have to shift that mind frame that something light and compostable like our little clamshells that house our single eyeshadows, that can be really luxurious. The eyeshadow inside of there is a luxurious, beautiful formula and I think the key is making that compostable. The key is making it cute and then having it stick.

In one word, how would you describe Euphoria makeup and what does it represent for you?
Euphoria makeup is emotional glam. It’s kind of like a mood ring, but makeup on your face. I always want the emotional state of the characters to come through in the makeup.