Ipsy launches in-house beauty brand, 'Complex Culture'

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Nov 13, 2019

Beauty subscription service Ipsy is diversifying its business with the launch of its own in-house beauty brand, ‘Complex Culture.’

The brand offers a brush collection designed to do the work of multiple brushes, and intended to solve a common problem found among Ipsy users: according to the company, 85% of its members consider brushes a necessary tool in their daily beauty routine, but nearly 2 million of them find it confusing to know which brushes to use for any specific makeup application.

In total, the collection consists of eight multi-purpose brushes: a contour brush, an angled foundation brush, a concealer brush, a bronzer brush,  a highlighter and powder brush, and three different eye shadow brushes meant to target different areas of the eye. All brushes are vegan, cruelty-free and made from sustainably sourced materials, featuring exclusive ‘SYN-TECHTM’ bristles and biodegradable handles. As an added boost, the collection also offers a travel-ready makeup bag and double-decker makeup case, both made with vegan leather. 

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The move to create its own in-house brand marks the latest expansion of Ipsy’s business model as the company's revenue continues to grow, reaching $500 million in September 2019.

Co-founded in 2011 by makeup guru YouTuber Michelle Phan, Marcelo Camberos and Jennifer Jaconetti Goldfarb, Ipsy has grown from its $10 monthly subscription ‘Glam Bag’ of sample-sized beauty products to the launch of its own e-commerce platform in 2018, where users can shop whenever they please from the company’s recommended products. Now, with a community of more than 3 million active members, Ipsy plans to utilize algorithms and data pulled from over 160 million member reviews to identify gaps in the beauty market. 

“One of the core ways that we delight our members is through the discovery of new brands they might not have otherwise known about,” said Camberos. “We are uniquely positioned to create innovative products that address hidden pain points and enable Ipsters to express their unique beauty in unexpected ways.”

Brush prices range from $18 to $35, while the makeup bag and case retail at $15 and $75, respectively. The Complex Culture collection is available now at complexculturebeauty.com and through Ipsy’s e-commerce platform, and select styles will be included in December Glam Bags.