Celebrity make-up artist Katie Jane Hughes was in Dublin recently while on tour with Dua Lipa, doing the pop star’s make-up in her inimitable style. Just a few weeks earlier, Hughes had hit one million followers on TikTok.
If you don’t know Hughes by name, you know her techniques. Your friends use them. You’ve watched videos inspired by them. Her teaching is so accessible, her knowledge so extensive, that her influence spreads far beyond her own channels.
A celebrated artist for many years, Hughes has painted the famous faces of Hailey Bieber, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Ashley Graham and many more. But it was the announcement of her own brand, KJH.Brand, two years ago that catapulted her into a new realm of influence.
In person, she’s striking. Her skin is smooth and glowing, and her make-up, unsurprisingly, is flawless. She’s also incredibly warm and friendly. A few minutes into our chat, I feel like we’ve known each other for years. She’s generous with her time and more so with her knowledge.
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“I feel like KJH.Brand is solving a bit of an education problem. I work with so many brands and they’re like, ‘Oh just show people how easy our product is to use.’ I’d think to myself, well it is easy to use for somebody that knows how – it’s not easy to use if they don’t know how, or if it’s never been shown by an aunt or a cousin or a relative or whoever. So, education had to be the foundation of the brand. I was adamant about that.”
One of Hughes’ most viral TikTok videos demonstrates “how to do skin well” – teaching you how to make full-coverage foundation look like real skin. It showcases one of her signature and now most loved techniques: “priming the brush”. She pumps foundation on to the back of her hand, works it into a fluffy foundation brush until the product is almost invisible on the bristles, and then begins applying. The effect is instant – like the foundation is lightly Photoshopping her skin in real time. To date the video has racked up more than 13 million views.
“I really just want to simplify beauty. But at the beginning, I almost want to overcomplicate it. Here’s what I mean by that. People will say to me, ‘I need a new bronzer. The one I have isn’t working.’ And I’ll say OK, what one are you using now, what do you like, what do you not like, what’s your skin type – are you dry? Because if you’re dry and you’re using a full-coverage matte bronzing cream then that’s not going to work.
“I want to help people to really think about the make-up they’re using – to figure out what they like, what they don’t, and what works for them. I don’t really like holding back information on tips and techniques – I don’t know why others do that. It makes no sense to me. Make-up should be easy and fun for everyone.”
The products Hughes has created for KJH.Brand are certainly fun. They’re also functional and innovative. The range is still small but growing: four multi-use make-up brushes, Soft Smudge Lip & Cheek sticks (available in five shades), Hyper Shine Lite Pigment pots (in four shades), and her personal favourite, Hyper Shine Serum. “It’s something that you can use with everything – you use it on your lips, you can use it at night as a balm, it’s essentially a massive mixing medium. And if you’re a ‘no make-up make-up’ person, and you don’t want any colour, it’s a gorgeous gloss for the cheeks,” she says.
“The goal with the products is to teach people how to play, to almost get their hands dirty when they’re doing their make-up – if you’re not manipulating products with others, mixing your blush and your highlighter, or your highlighter with your serum, or your blush with your serum, you’re not stretching the products as far as they can go.”
Her next launch is an eye and lip contour crayon, followed by a brow gel. “It’s really simple, not like a brow lamination; it’s not tinted, it’s simple but effective. You’ll love it.”
KJH.Brand now ships directly to Ireland.
This week I’m loving ... Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Blurred Matte SPF30
The latest addition to Laura Mercier’s line of tinted moisturisers is Tinted Moisturiser Blurred Matte SPF30 (€44 from Cult Beauty). It comes in 20 shades and is formulated to help reduce excess shine while providing a smooth, soft matte finish. The texture is creamy and consistent with the luxurious quality of the brand’s previous base products. It’s an excellent medium coverage option for combination or oily skin.
