Tik Tok It’s Kesha’s Time
“My relationship to makeup is not purely to make me feel perfect or beautiful or filtered. It’s more to make me feel like my authentic insides are being shown on the outside,” the pop star said.
The pop star has a new album and a new makeup line, Kesha Rose Beauty.
Kesha is back, raising hell in the music industry — and in beauty, too.
The pop songstress has been releasing singles and visuals in anticipation of her forthcoming album, “High Road,” due out in January. In the video for her single “Raising Hell,” in which Kesha plays an abused housewife, she planted an Easter Egg for her beauty enthusiast fans: she wears makeup from her new beauty line, Kesha Rose Beauty.
“I feel like my face has been used to try so many different products over the years and I love the transforming thing that makeup can do and [how] you feel more beautiful,” Kesha told WWD. “I also love how much fun I have had playing with makeup my entire career and my entire life. My relationship to makeup is not purely to make me feel perfect or beautiful or filtered. It's more to make me feel like my authentic insides are being shown on the outside.”
Kesha Rose Beauty will bow with three products: the 12-pan FTW Eyeshadow Palette, $36; a set of two dual-ended waterproof liquid eyeliner pens called the Whatever Wherever Wands, $28, and a lip set that includes the Raising Hell Red Lipstick and That B*tch Lip Gloss, $26. There will also be two product bundles: a limited-edition Collector's Box, $120, which includes a note from Kesha, and the “I Want It All” Collection, $90, which includes all products from the debut collection. All products are clean, crueltyfree and vegan.
On Dec. 3, Kesha Rose Beauty will make its way online on Hipdot.com. HipDot is Kesha's official production partner and collaborated with the star on everything from creative concepts to development to product design. Kesha is HipDot's third collaborator; the company previously unveiled collections with queer artist Hey Rooney and Spongebob.
“When it comes to collaboration, we're looking for people who have a unique perspective on creativity, style and beauty. Kesha embodies everything that we look for,” said Jeff Sellinger, chief executive officer and cofounder of HipDot. “She's an icon. She's fearless, a free spirit, empowering. She's been through hell and back and come out on top with a positive attitude and outlook on life.”
HipDot also uses social media as a barometer for its collaborations, said Samantha Lim, chief creative office and cofounder. When working with Spongebob, the HipDot team found that the famed Nickelodeon character is mentioned every four seconds on social media.
“We do a lot of social listening and we'll look at how many people in Kesha's fan base on Facebook and Instagram are also beauty fans and if there is something there that speaks authentically to Kesha and makeup,” said Lim. “We did the same thing with Spongebob. Even though he's a yellow sponge, he does have a lot of beauty fans.”
According to industry sources, Kesha Rose Beauty could bring in as much as $5 million in its first year.
Kesha Rose Beauty has been in the works for about a year. The line consists of colorful makeup inspired by nature — sunsets, the desert, the ocean — and Kesha's heroes, such as David Bowie and her grandmother.
“My earliest makeup memory is my grandmother, [who] had this cube I thought was real gold. It looked so expensive and fancy,” said Kesha. “She actually passed away when I was younger, but that was one of the things I remembered the most: she always was wearing her red lipstick. In the line, I only have two lip products and one of them is this red, red, red. It's reminiscent of my very first experience with makeup. Also it's called Raising Hell because I feel like sometimes when I wear red lipstick, it makes me feel feisty and I'm ready to go out and conquer the world and raise some hell.”
A self-described “hippie punk,” Kesha was also inspired by auras. “I love auras,” she said. “I just got my aura photography read and I'm all bright colors. I want to be able to show that on the outside.”
When she entered the music scene,
Kesha was best known for black eyeliner, glitter, face paint and even a leopard print pedicure worn in the video for her hit single “Tik Tok.” She has continued to play with color, most recently for her Billboard cover shoot, and though she's known for her beach blonde wavy hair, she recently dyed it dark brown for her “Raising Hell” video.
“I'm always up for trying new things,” she said. “With our faces and bodies and hair, it's all temporary in this life, so why not experiment and try new things, especially things you've never tried before, things that you're not sure you can pull off. I'm inspired by people that just go for it. I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone in terms of colors. It helps you grow and if it doesn't help you grow, you do something you don't love, then you just wash it off.
“Sometimes with beauty, it feels like the goal is perfection,” she continued. “With my line, that's not the goal. My goal is happiness.”