Lawless Beauty’s Forget the Filler franchise, which started with the clean cosmetics brand’s hero plumping lip gloss in 2021, has another hit.
A test of Lawless’s ability to extend Forget the Filler across categories, Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation, a full-coverage foundation that boasts blurring properties and builds on the brand’s positioning in plumping, beat its first-month sales target by 33% in the two weeks after its February debut. It’s since sold out of shades one to four twice on its direct-to-consumer platform and in Sephora, where the foundation is in 300 doors with Lawless gondolas. Priced at $43, it comes in 33 shades. Lawless previously extended Forget the Filler to concealer, mascara and brow products.
The reaction to Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation underscores to CEO Rachel Shelowitz the value of placing the product within the franchise to boost recognition and drive a halo effect for the brand overall. She says, “This foundation does for your face what our gloss does for your lips.”
Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation, Lawless’s second foundation following its entrance in the product category four years ago with Conseal The Deal Long-Wear Full-Coverage Foundation, was in development for four years. Its launch, originally slated for 2023, was delayed after Sephora challenged Lawless to elevate performance. The brand was focused on strong efficacy claims, and Sephora wanted a formula that could compete with prestige foundation benchmarks.
The result is a hybrid foundation blending long-wear coverage with clinically verified benefits targeting elasticity, firmness and lift. Lawless describes the formula as containing over 40% skincare ingredients such as maxi-youth, a fermented hyaluronic acid designed to plump and hydrate that’s in earlier Forget the Filler products, vitamin E and a blend of glycerin and triglyceride. It features what the brand calls “octopus” pigments that it characterizes as coated to “behave like tentacles anchoring pigments together,” enhancing their vibrancy and staying power.
“It had to wear like Double Wear, blur like Luminous Silk and deliver on clinically backed skincare claims,” says Shelowitz. “That bar was nonnegotiable for us—and for Sephora.” She adds, “We wanted this foundation to be a crowning glory. It’s Forget the Filler. This is our hero franchise. And to do foundation in this day and age, especially given this is not our first one, is not just a giant lift, but we believe it says something big about the brand. When we began to talk about what a Forget the Filler Foundation would be, we were very clear from the start that it had to raise the bar in formula, texture, measurable benefits to the skin and shade range.”
Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation’s strong out-of-the-gate sales performance comes as prestige makeup sales are softening. According to commerce intelligence platform Daash, in the second week of April, prestige makeup sales dipped 13% year-over-year. Prestige foundation sales for the week were down 11% year-over-year. Foundation, concealer and blush are the top three prestige makeup products and accounted for 28% of prestige makeup sales in the second week of April. Makeup accounted for 44% of prestige makeup sales, making it the largest single prestige beauty category.
To raise awareness of Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation, Lawless zeroed in on a tight circle of content creators (it had 10 at an intimate launch event, including Maggie Awbrey, Erica Taylor, Aditya Madiraju, Monica Hamada, Amina Aminu, Avani and Madi Monroe, chosen because they were organically mentioning the brand) and hosted immersive founder-led sessions. “It wasn’t just about exposure, it was about real connection,” says Amanda Tong, SVP of marketing at Lawless. “We don’t pay for most of our posts. We built this launch on real relationships, community management and listening to our customer.”
So far, Lawless likes what it’s hearing from customers about Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation. Early takes on the product on Sephora’s website and beauty news and reviews social media account Trendmood commend the brand’s attention to offering a variety of shades. More shade options are on the table for Skin-Plumping Line-Smoothing Foundation.
“We don’t think hybrid makeup is a trend; it’s the new baseline.”
“It’s interesting to see how the community is responding. They are telling us we have room to build out the light end of the spectrum, while equally praising the brand for nailing it on the medium to deep end of the range. So, we are going back to see where the gaps are and how quickly we can fill them,” says Tong. “The good news is that our community is so leaned-in that we already have a pretty clear list of their wants and needs. It is an open dialogue and the transparent discussion makes this even more meaningful.”
That feedback loop is a hallmark of Lawless’s strategy. From gloss to foundation, Lawless mines reviews for product improvements, storytelling hooks and brand direction. “Our bestsellers have evangelical reviews,” says Shelowitz. “And reviews get reviews—the more passion people see, the more they want to add their own voice.”
Founded in 2017 by Annie Lawless Jacobs, co-founder of Suja Juice, Lawless Beauty specializes in results-oriented skincare-infused clean cosmetics priced from $21 to $52 for the clean beauty consumer who “demands more,” per Shelowitz. The brand secured an exclusive Sephora distribution deal shortly after launch. Its $26 Forget the Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing Gloss is a perennial top seller. Lawless is backed by Cult Capital, an investment firm with Subtl and Act+Acre in its portfolio as well.
Looking ahead, Shelowitz sees consumers’ expectations for hybrid makeup products only growing. “If something’s on their face for eight hours, it better be working just as hard as their skincare,” she says. “We don’t think hybrid makeup is a trend; it’s the new baseline.”
