This New Brand Wants Makeup Removal To Be As Intentional As Makeup Application

Four years ago, Shaun O’Hollaren and Riley Egan, friends dating back to the early days of their careers when they were trying to make it as talent agents, were catching up with each other during Thanksgiving break. O’Hollaren, who’d moved on from being a talent agent to the beauty industry with positions at The BrowGal, The Original MakeUp Eraser and Sugarbear, let Egan in on his latest beauty idea: a brand that would elevate makeup removal to an intentional skincare step.

Egan, an actor prior to working at a talent agency and later in investment management, suddenly had flashbacks to terrible experiences he’d had in film and movie makeup chairs as makeup was harshly sloughed off his face. “One of the last movies I ever acted in, the lovely makeup artist helping me remove my makeup stopped, looked at me and asked why I looked so unfortunate, and I said, ‘It stings really badly,’” he recounts. “She looked at me horribly and said, ‘It’s not supposed to do that.’”

After confirming with everyone he could talk to about makeup removal that terrible experiences with it weren’t limited to being on set, he concluded O’Hollaren had hit on a gap in the market for upgraded alternatives. The two have partnered on Strip Makeup, a new brand dedicated to enhanced makeup elimination without skin irritation. It’s starting with four skincare-driven cleansing products priced from $15 to $49: Premium Cotton Cleansing Wipes, Reusable Cleansing Wipes, Whipped Coconut Makeup Remover and Caviar Jelly Makeup Remover.

“Makeup removal has been overlooked or rushed. It’s something people see as between their makeup routine and skincare routine rather than as part of their skincare routine,” says Egan. “We are not just looking at how we are fitting into this category, but we are wanting to redefine the category entirely. A makeup remover removing your makeup should be the bare minimum.”

There are plenty of makeup removers out there doing the bare minimum. Makeup and skincare brands frequently have a makeup remover in their assortments, and standard cleansers are makeup removal staples. O’Hollaren and Egan emphasize Strip Makeup’s products are different because they’re specifically designed to excise makeup while benefitting the skin and providing various formats and textures to grow makeup removal choices.

Whipped Coconut Makeup Remover and Caviar Jelly Makeup Remover are the brand’s initial hero products, and Egan mentions it went through 20 labs in the process of perfecting them. Caviar Jelly Makeup Remover has prebiotics, hyaluronic acid, vitamins A and C, and acai berry and pomegranate extracts. Along with coconut oil, Whipped Coconut Makeup Remover has ginseng root, white tea extract, and mango seed and shea butters.

“The high-quality actives in them are typically only seen in very high-end skincare products,” says Egan. Speaking of Whipped Coconut Makeup Remover in particular, he elaborates, “We were hearing so often that many women had given up on finding the right makeup remover and were using straight coconut oil. We wanted to make something better than that. Coconut oil can be very clogging for your pores. It can do the basic job of removing your makeup, but we wanted it to act more like a cleanser and have skincare ingredients.”

Strip Makeup has at least six additional products in its pipeline. Forthcoming products will expand its format repertoire. Oils, balms and melts are on the table. Affordability is a big objective, and Strip Makeup will extend its range to begin at $5. Future products will be tailored to the eye area and in-shower application, too.

“We are not just looking at how we are fitting into this category, but we are wanting to redefine the category entirely. A makeup remover removing your makeup should be the bare minimum.”

“The goal is to create a full line of makeup removal products that caters to every skin type, every preference in terms of removal routines and makes it accessible by having every price point,” says Egan. “We weren’t able to start there because of the focus on innovation, but that’s where we are heading.”

O’Hollaren and Egan spent around $50,000 to bring Strip Makeup to life. The brand is kicking off in direct-to-consumer distribution in the United States, but retail is on its roadmap. Credo, Sephora and Nordstrom are among its dream American retailers. O’Hollaren believes brands shouldn’t wait to travel abroad, and Strip Makeup has already inked a deal with a distributor in South Africa. European and Middle Eastern distribution are planned for later this year. Profits from Strip Makeup’s international business can be poured into building its U.S. business.

O’Hollaren and Egan envision Strip Makeup’s core customers as conscious beauty enthusiasts in their early 20s to late 30s who’ve invested a ton in their skincare regimens and aren’t interested in screwing up the results they achieve from them with poor makeup removal products. To convince them to buy Strip Makeup, education on the advantages of switching to its products from coconut oil or conventional makeup removal products is paramount.

Sugarbear has had great success with influencers, and Strip Makeup is taking a page from its influencer marketing. The brand has even hired Liz Elert, former chief brand officer at Sugarbear and SVP at The Honest Co., as CMO and creative director. O’Hollaren says influencers are questioned constantly about their favorite makeup removers, but generally haven’t had ones they truly love. He thinks they’ll be able to recommend Strip Makeup’s products with confidence and include them in posts showing makeup removal.

Sugarbear has been popular with international influencers, and O’Hollaren foresees international influencers as well as domestic influencers gravitating to Strip Makeup. He says, “Internationally, a lot of markets have caught on to what’s going on with TikTok, but a lot of brands are still getting there. A big part of our strategy is winning there and seeing it as not just top of the funnel, but bringing and connecting with a great audience through that platform.”

Pointing out that Instagram remains a leading customer acquisition tool, he continues, “Our approach to TikTok is we really treat it like a paid search engine. We are not just jumping on trends. We are educating cohesively.”

Egan chimes in, “We never set out to be a brand that someone will buy because it has so and so as a face associated with it. It’s about a longer term approach and helping customers understand what the makeup removal products they’re using are doing to their skin and why there’s a better option. It takes time. Ultimately, our end goal is to be the go-to source for education, products and innovation in the makeup removal and cleansing space.”