The Unexpected Beauty HeroHow Rea Ann Silva revolutionised the beauty world with one simple tool
Who would have thought that a simple edgeless egg-shaped sponge could change the beauty industry - and the makeup bags of women around the globe – forever? For Rea Ann Silva, the founder of unarguably, one of the most revolutionary beauty products of the decade, the beautyblender, the idea was only natural.
“It came about out of necessity,” Silva says. As a make-up artist who was working around the clock on a television shows shot in high-definition, getting each actress to look flawless in an age where the camera intensifies every pore was extremely difficult. “I needed a tool that would help me apply and blend makeup perfectly. I know it couldn’t have any edges and I knew the foam needed to be somewhat damp to help give the texture of the make-up a more natural look.”
With the knowledge that HD was the future of television, Silva developed her first sketch of the egg-shaped sponge in 2002 and began using it on all her clients. When she began to see her hand-cut sponges popping up in other artists’ kits, she knew she was onto something.
Silva is quick to point out that the road from initial prototype to global success was a long and hard one: “Having the capital to get it off the ground, and then find even more capital for it to grow was the biggest challenge. It was a controlled growth because the creation of each and every beautyblender is so involved that it took time to scale the business and be able to keep up with the demand,” she says.
“Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Our shape and material is incomparable.”
But the innovation doesn’t stop there. Since launching the original beautyblender, she is constantly working on developing new tools to help women apply makeup. “As an artist, I know there are countless techniques that women struggle with and beautyblender is not just a sponge - it’s a collection of tools meant to simplify make -up application.”
And what does she say to the masses of imitators? “Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Our shape and material is incomparable and I respect that other brands want to try and enter their space with their version - but ours is the original and can’t be duplicated!”