There Is So Much Makeup
There is makeup everywhere you look—from Sephora and Ulta to Instagram reels to your own bathroom drawer. New launches arrive daily. Every product promises to be revolutionary. Every brand insists it has solved a problem that no one else could.
How are we supposed to make sense of it all? At what point does makeup stop serving us and start overwhelming us?
I have been doing makeup for 20 years. I started as an assistant to some of the industry’s most established artists, receiving my education on photo shoots, press tours, fashion shows, and red carpet events. The beauty industry was very different in 2006. It was smaller, more insular, and social media did not exist.
As an assistant, I could not afford an endless makeup kit, so every product had to earn its place.
Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Foundation was expensive at the time, and I had to be strategic about which shades I purchased. I carried a handful of core shades, a white mixer, and a few additional foundations from other brands. With roughly 10 to 15 bottles, I could create a match for virtually anyone's skin tone who sat in my chair.
Learning to mix foundations was not optional. It was a necessity.
I also relied heavily on the Make Up For Ever grease paints and a small collection of cream blushes. Looking back, one of the greatest skills I learned early in my career was how to do more with less.
Today, there are more beauty brands than I can name and more products than any one person could reasonably use in a lifetime. Even as a professional makeup artist, I occasionally walk through Sephora feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices.
The obvious question is: do we really need this much makeup?
Some of the innovation has been remarkable. Formulas are better than they have ever been. Shade ranges are more inclusive. Products for deeper skin tones, olive complexions, and people whose heritage falls outside the traditional Northern European beauty standard have improved dramatically.
That progress matters.
The best makeup artists I know are not collectors. They are editors.
They find what works and use it with intention.
For most of my career, I never imagined starting my own beauty brand.
SPATCH began with one small idea. After years of covering blemishes and discoloration, I wanted an invisible spot fix: a pressed powder color corrector with enough coverage to function as a concealer while still looking like skin.
Two years ago, I launched SPATCH and discovered that I genuinely enjoyed building a company.
The brand was completely self-funded and grew slowly, which in hindsight was a gift. It allowed us to build a real foundation before expanding. Today, we have a small team, a growing business, and placement with retailers I admire, including Nordstrom and Ulta Beauty online.
Most importantly, the philosophy has not changed.
When I launch a product, it has to fulfill a genuine need. It has to earn its place.
We have a new product launching later this summer that I have been developing for nearly two years, along with two additional products in development.
My hope is that we keep the innovation, inclusion, and excitement.
Every makeup artist has an edit: the products they trust, the formulas they reach for repeatedly, and the things that have earned permanent space in their kit.
I think consumers deserve that same clarity.
Buy less. Choose better.
Find products that work for you and use them with confidence.
And if a few of those products happen to be SPATCH, I would be honored to earn a place in your edit.
Best,
Quinn