VB’S beauty serum: we predict a riot
BEHIND EVERY GREAT WOMAN is, very often, another great woman. And there is certainly one behind the enormous success of Victoria Beckham’s burgeoning beauty empire. This week sees the launch of the brand’s first serum – a collaboration with prominent stem cell and biomedical scientist Professor Augustinus Bader – and is set to be another sell-out. Sarah Creal may not have her name on the bottle but, as CEO and co-founder of Victoria Beckham Beauty, she is the mastermind behind making it happen.
A former Estée Lauder executive, Sarah is a beauty magnate in her own right, and met Victoria while orchestrating her collaboration with the brand. ‘My job was to bring some razzle dazzle to the make-up section,’ she tells Grazia. ‘The first meeting was set up and I had to go to her house in LA. My Uber driver left me at the bottom of the driveway. I got to the front door and there was a welcome mat the size of my bathroom outside, with a humongous “B” on it, so I knew I was in the right place. Victoria met me at the door; she has a real talent for making people feel comfortable. I’ve worked with a lot of famous people and, believe me, that is a rare trait. I very quickly became excited when I walked into the dining room and saw a huge table full of 15 years’ worth of products she’d collected. She took me through every single one, explaining what she liked about it and what she’d change. I was probably there for four hours, taking notes.’
After leaving Estée Lauder, Sarah joined forces with Victoria, and was very frank about the mountains they had to climb. ‘Right out of the gate, I said to Victoria that nobody is going to believe a fashion designer can produce great skincare, that’s the biggest challenge,’ she explains. ‘We needed help, and we needed great technology. I met a lot of people, tried a lot of products and knew that Professor Bader was the man to approach. I said to Victoria, “I think you should just call him,” and she did. That’s the amazing thing about working with her. When Victoria Beckham calls, people pick up the phone. We had a meeting scheduled in for just over a week later.’
Victoria Beckham Beauty By Augustinus Bader’s Cell Rejuvenating Power Serum (at the that-must-contain-actual-science price of £170) is born of a passion to provide what both Sarah and Victoria believe is lacking on the beauty shelves today. ‘There hasn’t been the real deal in skincare, in my opinion, for around 30 years,’ says Sarah, ‘it’s been that long.’ For Victoria, too, there was a gap in the beauty market that she was keen to fill. ‘I felt there was a big opportunity to create what I wanted for myself: a clean serum that repairs and defends my skin and gives it a healthy glow, but doesn’t use anything harsh,’ she tells Grazia. ‘I couldn’t find one that worked for me and delivered on all my criteria.’ According to Sarah, this soon changed when she sampled their new release. ‘She’s been testing the lab samples and she sent me a video to say, “Sarah, this is so exciting, I’ve just bathed myself in the formula, it’s so beautiful.” We’re formulating products that we want ourselves, products that will hopefully make other women feel great too.’
EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING the plotline of new movie Queen & Slim, the clothes immediately tell a story. Directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, the story follows a young couple, played by Jodie Turner-smith and Daniel Kaluuya, who meet on Tinder, go on a date, get stopped by the police and experience a life-altering turn of events.
What ensues is a pacey, heartbreaking tale about love and belonging against a backdrop of America’s complicated history with race. The fashion, which has become one of the most notable talking points of the film, released last week, connects its tangled web of characters, yes, but also has taken on a life of its own, placing the film alongside other costume design legends, such as The Royal Tenenbaums and Kill Bill.
Bold looks are used to underpin the commentary about Black Lives Matter
– a zebra-striped minidress and snakeskin boots for Queen, a tracksuit for Slim
– and are imbued with clues as to their changing identities. The film’s costume designer, Shiona Turini, who’s worked in the magazine and music video world, looked across a broad spectrum of black cultural dress. Everyone from civil rights and black power activists to ’70s divas, like Diana Ross, Diahann Carroll and Angela Davis, to blue-collar workers made it on to her mood boards.
‘For a film that’s aimed at illuminating black experience in the United States, it was so important to think of the different facets and potent cultural wells of blackness,’ she says. The designers she collaborated with – including Aurora James of Brother Vellies and Kerby Jean-raymond of Pyer Moss – were also significant. ‘Throughout all of my work, it’s exceedingly important to promote black designers who are pushing the proverbial
needle forward in the industry,’ she says.
The costumes started generating column inches as soon as stills dropped in November, despite the fact that the eponymous characters only have two changes each. Queen starts with what Shiona calls a ‘nearly sterile’ white turtleneck, changing into the more visually arresting minidress and mid-calf boots when they’re evading the law. ‘At the beginning, we see her perform a version of herself that is highly guarded, almost antagonistic,’ says Shiona. ‘The transition into her second look represents her stepping into herself and letting the outer world in.’ Slim’s shift in dress is similarly bold, going from an unassuming navy jumper to a burgundy velour tracksuit.
You’ll have to watch the film to find out the couple’s fate. Whatever transpires, however, won’t take away from its celebration of black talent, craftsmanship and culture through clothes.