Fazit, the Taylor Swift-approved makeup patch brand, is traveling overseas with its viral glitter freckles.
The brand is launching exclusively in the United Kingdom chainwide at Sephora next Wednesday in the beauty specialty retailer’s Hot on Social and The Next Big Thing displays spotlighting emerging beauty brands, where bestsellers Glitter Freckles in the shade Gold Speckles and Golden Eye Speckles will be available, and at store checkout areas with mini products. A broader Fazit assortment is sold online. Sephora, which reentered the U.K. in 2022, is set to open its 11th door in the country on Nov. 7 in Oxford.
“They want to bring what’s hot in the U.S. to the U.K. customer,” says Fazit co-founder Aliett Buttelman. “It takes such a long time to get these U.S. emerging brands over there. It’s very expensive.”
Buttelman, who shares that conversations with Sephora U.K. began late last year, adds, “Typically the way to go about international expansion is focused on the U.S. first, and once you’ve cracked that, then you start expanding. Fazit loves to do everything backwards. Because of Taylor and being put on this global stage, we’ve had to make faster decisions than most brands to be more accessible to the customer and to give them what they want.”
Fazit’s Sephora U.K. partnership underscores the brand’s growing resonance abroad and retailers’ continued appetite for buzzy, socially-relevant and celebrity-aligned brands. The U.K. is Fazit’s largest market outside of the U.S. The brand’s journey abroad caps off a breakout year for its business marked by rapid retail expansion in the U.S. and viral sellouts. Fazit is forecasting $40 million in retail sales this year.
Swift is helping Fazit meet its forecast. The megastar, who’s breaking album sales records with “The Life of a Showgirl,” posted a photo to Instagram on Oct. 6 that showed her wearing the brand’s freckles as she worked on the album. Fazit’s Amazon sales subsequently shot up 235% and its Instagram engagement increased 800%.
Timed to release simultaneously with “The Life of a Showgirl” on Oct. 3, the brand’s limited-edition Show-Stopping Speckles have also repeatedly sold out on its site and at Walmart. Fazit’s products retail at $15.99 for packs of six patches. Gold Speckles is Fazit’s top-selling product, but it has competition as the brand leans into occasions and seasonal drops. Buttelman says, “Every time there is a seasonal drop, that seasonal drop becomes the bestseller.”
Its recent Halloween collaboration with nail polish brand Olive & June has been a bestseller at Walmart. Walmart has a co-branded endcap that includes Fazit’s Gold Stardust, Carnival Speckles, Twilight Speckles and Webbed Speckles, the latter two of which are exclusive to the retailer, alongside four limited-edition press-on nail designs from Olive & June.
Fazit collaborated with E.l.f Cosmetics earlier this year on a March Madness-inspired Spirit Stripes bundle aimed at female sports fans. Each bundle was priced at $26 and paired E.l.f’s bestselling Power Grip Primer with one of five shades from Fazit’s Team Spirit Collection.
Fazit continues to leverage social feedback loops to guide its innovation pipeline. Buttelman says that new product ideation often stems from how customers mix, match and repurpose existing items from the line. Launched in late August, Fazit’s first eye collection featuring Golden Eye Speckles, Silver Eye Speckles and Lacquer Liner in Golden Wings came about after seeing customers cut the brand’s face patches to fit their eyes. The collection has also sold out repeatedly on Fazit’s website.
Fazit’s adhesive glitter and makeup patches are stocked in nearly 5,000 U.S. retail doors at Walmart, CVS, Target and Urban Outfitters. Its sales are split fairly evenly between direct-to-consumer, Amazon and wholesale. Swift sent Fazit’s sales and recognition soaring after sporting its Gold Speckles at a Kansas City Chiefs game last year. The viral moment caused the brand to sell over $1 million worth of the product within 48 hours and end the year with $10 million in sales. It had previously anticipated 2024 sales to land between $5 million and $7 million.
Launched in 2022 by Buttelman and co-founder Nina LaBruna as a skincare patch company, Fazit raised $175,000 from friends and family to jumpstart its business. The brand reached profitability last year after introducing makeup patches to its lineup. It has yet to raise institutional funding despite strong investor interest.
“Right now, we don’t need capital, but things can dramatically change within the next six months,” says Buttelman. “I never look at my company like it’s my baby. I have always thought that’s very unhealthy. It clogs your judgment and leads to emotional responses. Fazit is our company that we’re building, and we’ll give it the resources it needs when the time comes.”
To promote its Sephora U.K. partnership, Fazit will participate in ribbon-cutting events at Sephora’s stores in Cardiff and Oxford on Oct. 23 and Nov. 7, respectively. It will subsequently initiate a so-called Fazit Roadshow where it will visit Sephora stores around the U.K. to meet with store teams and connect with shoppers.
