Each season, I get excited to see what new products Sonia Kashuk will come out with. Whether it’s her beautifully formulated makeup, cool brushes or versatile makeup bags (which double as stylish clutches) – each collection is more wearable, user-friendly and stunning than the last. Kashuk’s brand has become synonmous with luxury. Impressive when you consider that it’s sold exclusively at Target.
Flashback to the beginning. In the 1980’s, Kashuk was a makeup artist juggling fashion shoots with celebs like Cindy Crawford and developing cosmetics for Aveda. After 7 years working in the labs, Kashuk decided it was time to craft her own line. “Francois (Nars) and Bobbi (Brown) had just launched their lines at prestige,” she tells BTR as we sit in her incredible Wall Street studio. “But the prestige market was saturated.”
Always one to think outside the box, Kashuk decided to take a different route and approached the discount retailer, Target. “My definition of mass was/is different,” she says. “It’s thought of as lesser quality but, to me, it just means bigger numbers. My brand is sold at mass but I choose to be the educator of style, good taste, form and function.” Today, Kashuk is the company’s only long-standing partner and next year marks her 15-year anniversary with them. In an industry dominated by big players like L’Oreal and CoverGirl, Kashuk’s “little engine that could” brand serves up serious competition.
My brand is all about quality and luxury.
This Sunday, Kashuk is about to take on another part of the beauty industry when her first Bath and Body Collection hit shelves. “In the mass market, bath and body was really lacking,” Kashuk says. “The packaging wasn’t pretty and the fragrance options were either cucumber and melon or smelled like pledge. That’s when I said, let me do a bath and body line that has beautiful packaging, smells amazing and has a formula that’s second to none.”
Kashuk turned to perfumer Jerome Epinette of Robertet (the genius behind the amazing fragrance of Oribe Hair Care) to create the four exquisite scents that make up the range: delicate Pink Innocencia, sensual Purple Seductia, fresh Yellow Alluriana and captivating Red Promisia. Each scent has it’s own line consisting of an eau de Toilette, body lotion, body butter, body oil, exfoliating body polish, crème body wash and hand cream.
The editors of BTR are already obsessed with the collection. It makes us feel pampered and luxurious when getting ready in the morning. And that’s exactly what Kashuk wanted.
