Swimwear Label Frankies Bikinis Dives Into Beauty To Produce A Beachy Glow For The Office, Club Or Couch

Brands from Victoria’s Secret to Tom Ford have leapt from clothing to beauty. An established apparel label can have a relatively smooth entry into the beauty category, if there’s synergy.

Frankies Bikinis is about to find out whether fervent fans of its swimwear want to buy skincare and makeup created by founder Francesca Aiello, who’s turning her business into a lifestyle play, and early signs are positive as the brand amassed a 5,000-person waitlist prior to entering beauty on Tuesday. The Malibu native launched Frankies Bikinis in 2012 when she was only 17 years old and harnessed the power of social media to connect with young shoppers. Its Instagram account has amassed 922,000 followers, including Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Gigi Hadid.

The self-funded company doesn’t share sales figures, but Aiello points out it’s landed distribution at some of the biggest retailers across the globe such as Le Bon Marche, Nordstrom, Free People, Selfridges and Kith. Out of the gate, Frankies Bikinis’ beauty products will be available at Revolve, Kith, Planet Blue, Diane’s and Verishop as well as the brand’s website. Additional retailers are on tap for the beauty line later this year.

Aiello eyes enormous potential for Frankies Bikinis in beauty, especially with gen z and millennial consumers flocking to the brand’s styles. “We think that this category can be as big, if not bigger. The market for beauty is so much larger and not as seasonal which is extremely exciting for me,” she explains. “The beauty industry was valued at almost four times the size of the swimwear industry, and we look at this as an opportunity to really enter the space strongly and continue to grow within it.”

Frankies Bikinis’ beauty line is launching with what Aiello calls the Essentials Collection. Her hacks for glowing skin consist of the line’s Glow Mist ($36), Glow Moisturizer ($40) and Glow Tint ($28). The trio packaged in a beach bag can be purchased for $90. Formulas feature ingredients like aloe, sweet almond oil, avocado and shea butter, and are cruelty-, sulfate-, gluten- and alcohol-free. The products are designed for consumers interested in simple regimens that hit upon the current trend for cosmetics that don’t appear overdone.

Aiello says the makeup is a “way to achieve the natural glowing skin I constantly get asked by them about. It also targets new customers that might be looking for a trusted three-step beauty routine that they know will be quick and easy to use alone or incorporated into their makeup routines.” She adds, “This launch shows that you can use very minimal, safe and clean products to achieve that natural glow that we are all aiming to achieve. You don’t need to layer on tons of products to do so.”

“This launch shows that you can use very minimal, safe and clean products to achieve that natural glow that we are all aiming to achieve. You don’t need to layer on tons of products to do so.”

As Frankies Bikinis extends from garments to beauty, it will encounter plenty of emerging brands already vying for the consumer desiring a skin-forward appearance with makeup as an amplifier rather than a mask. Among those in the space are Kosas, Tower28 and Undone Beauty. Aiello believes Frankies Bikinis is up to the task. She says, “These beauty products are competitive in the market, especially with the versatility and clean ingredients that we are working hard to perfect and will not only make your beauty routine more simple yet effective, but also enhance natural beauty and confidence in our existing and new customers.”

Like many beauty founders, Aiello has long dreamed of introducing a beauty line and tinkered around for years concocting her own beauty products. She says, “I made the decision to enter the clean beauty category because beauty has always been a passion of mine, and I felt as though it was a natural progression for our brand.”

Careful attention was paid to ensure Frankies Bikinis’ beauty line is amenable to all skin types. “I have very sensitive skin, and often woke up with swollen eyes or harmed skin after using specific products that contained harmful ingredients, so wanted to make sure that these products were safe to use on as many skin types as possible,” says Aiello, noting ingredients in the beauty products were picked to emulate natural skin without containing harsh colors. “I want to enter this new category with standout products that stay true to our goal at Frankies Bikinis as a whole, offering products that enhance your natural beauty rather than covering it up, and instilling confidence in people in their own skin.”

As she is with bathing suits, Aiello, whose mother Mimi is the CEO of Frankies Bikinis, emphasizes she’s a hands-on founder with beauty products. “I personally found the lab that we are working with and was involved in every step of the process from the ingredients to the packaging,” she says. “I researched a variety of different options before ultimately choosing the one we landed on because it was so important that we found a lab that was experienced and advanced at working with clean/safe ingredients to make the products.”