I’m not a makeup artist or a makeup fanatic or even someone who wears makeup everyday. But I’ve figured out a few products and looks that work for me. I enjoy doing my face up for birthdays or parties or nights out, but nothing intense. So usually, an eyeshadow palette with radiant blues, matte reds, bright pinks, and deep greens, or a dual tone highlighter and blush set, would be overwhelming. But the eyeshadow, creamy blush, and dewy highlighter from Kailav Beauty were far from that.
I began by layering Paris, a dark blush from Impressionism Colorwash, with the highlighter Soleil, from the Impressionism Colorsheen, on top. There was a subtle brightness to my face, and the highlighter was golden, shining, without streaking, across my cheekbones.
I moved onto the eyeshadow palette. As I swatched Poppies, a firetruck red from the Impressionism eyeshadow palette, on my forearm, I was pleasantly surprised by its smooth texture and blendability. Arles, a glowy brown, also caught my eye with its soft shimmer.
I began trying different eyeshadow looks. The first was an attempt at a blue monochrome. Starry, a dark blue, shimmered in the light, easily settling on my eyelids. I dabbed a bit of Coast, a more green blue, on top. Both colors complimented my eyes nicely.
The second was an attempt at a design. For liner, I used a bright pink, Amaranthine that reminded me of a sari my mom used to wear. The light pink, Waterlily, was the base shadow. It didn’t look half bad.
My confidence was rising, so I decided to try a cut-crease using Undergrowth and Dancers. It didn’t end up working as well, but that was okay, because over the course of the hour that I had spent with the Impressionism palette, I had fun playing with my eyes and the colors. I hadn’t done that with makeup since I was ten, dragging my mom’s lipstick across my face or drawing stars on my cheeks with her liner.
Soon into my conversation with Kailav Beauty’s co-founder, Kaya, I realized that I shouldn’t have been surprised at my success. The mission behind Kailav is “to spread joy through colorful play and self-expression.” Joy is exactly what I experienced with the makeup, and throughout the rest of the afternoon, Kaya detailed the journey of creating it.
Before Euphoria blew up and editorial makeup consumed our For You pages, co-creators of Kailav Beauty and sisters, Kaya and Tara, loved creative makeup. Kaya, now the business woman of Kailav, was a competitive dancer, so stage makeup was always a huge part of her life. Tara, the creative director, initially started using makeup during a bout of acne, and discovered how she could use it to express and empower herself. Their shared love of cosmetics sparked many conversations, including what they would change about the industry.
“We loved being creative with our makeup because both Tara and I are very artistic. But we couldn’t find any particular brand or palette that really catered to the colors and textures that really resonated with us. We constantly said: if I had a brand I would do this. Or, if I had a brand, I would do it this way. And then we’re like, wait a minute, like, what if we did start a brand?”
That was in 2018. Since then, Kaya and Tara reached out to their family (which is full of entrepreneurs) for advice. They researched the industry, defined their core demographic, and pitched their brand. In May of 2020, Kailav Beauty launched.
Since then, the brand has grown exponentially with numerous eyeshadow palettes, cream highlighters, and blushes. Each makeup palette is inspired by a different historical art collection. The Rococo Collection is based around the art movement of the same name with inspiration from the Palace of Versailles, incorporating a feeling of femininity. Their debut collection, and the makeup that I tried, was Impressionism. This art movement in particular is personal to Kaya. “It actually got me into art history, because I had taken art history classes at my university. But long before that, I remember it was like my eighth or ninth birthday. My parents gifted me a really beautiful coffee table book of all Van Gogh’s artworks and had his biography in it. And I read that coffee table book cover to cover so many times, and it really kind of sparked my love for art history.”
The sisters are very intentional with the ease of use of their products. The process of deciding which colors to put into a palette, and how they are oriented, is very specific to ensure that each palette is inspiring, rather than overwhelming. Kaya and Tara are also looking to bring more much-needed diversity to the editorial makeup space. “It’s very important to us that literally anyone can look at our brand and really see themselves wearing the makeup. Because the more edgy and editorial makeup is almost always showcased on white women. So for us to represent so many different types of genders, ethnicities, and more, well, it’s really something special. And that’s something that we take a lot of pride in, and it’s something that our community really enjoys.”
Looking into the future, Kaya and Tara will continue to build Kailav’s community. They plan to host more interactive events to introduce the world to their makeup, as well as build relationships with retailers to get their products into stores. Their journey with Kailav is just beginning, and Kaya’s fully aware that there will be more obstacles to overcome. But her mentality moving forward, and her advice for other young female entrepreneurs of color, centers around reframing negative thoughts. “Every kind of negative or self doubt story, I like to call them stories because they’re just stories, right? They aren’t actually true. For whatever story that I spin up in my head about how we’re not growing as fast. Well, I always look at the numbers. And I tell myself, you know, we’ve made it this far. Most businesses fail within their first year and we’ve made it past our first year and we’re doing great.”
We end our call with a few makeup tips. According to Kaya, Tara’s advice is to trust the process. “If you have a vision of how you want your makeup to look, and it’s a little more avant garde, chances are you’re going to look crazy until you put on mascara and until you put on your lipstick. So, trust yourself.”
Kaya’s tip lies in a similar vein: “Wear makeup that makes you feel good. If you hate the way that winged eyeliner looks on you, but you keep trying to do it because it’s trendy or because your friends are doing it, just don’t. Wear makeup that makes you feel good, and authentic to yourself.”