Awake beauty - what you need to know about the skincare brand
In our new regular feature #TheBrand, Bazaar’s digital beauty director looks into an exciting and efficacious brand taking the beauty industry by storm. This month it’s Awake, a skincare brand reborn under the watch of cult cosmetics company Tarte.
What’s the story?
Inspired by Japanese beauty traditions, with a very current aesthetic for serious millennial appeal, Awake intends to make users look refreshed and well-rested. Who wouldn’t want that on their face as well as their feed?
Think cruelty-free staple skincare with a twist, and names you wish you’d thought of – like Ray of Bright (a glowy moisturiser) and Dew Drops (a hyaluronic shimmer serum). In addition, Awake has a couple of colour cosmetics designed to enhance that fresh-faced feel, namely the Eye Bright Liner and Vitamin C Lip Balm, available in three juicy shades.
For something so 2018, Awake’s not new. In fact, it was born over 17 years ago, but it’s only recently that the 2.0 version has landed, now as a sister company to Tarte cosmetics – an American brand (owned by Japanese cosmetics company Kosé) loved by beauty fans and editors.
Related Story
Why everyone’s buzzing about it
Over the past three years Tarte’s founder, Moureen Kelly, has been working on Awake’s comeback, redesigning the products and packaging. Given Tarte’s YouTube-approved product line-up, the digital beauty community were bound to be instantly interested. And the results – complete with Moureen's-magic dust – appear to be a successfully elevated version of Awake.
It taps into some very current trends. Firstly there’s the marketing; the packaging is as photogenic as Glossier’s but goes beyond millennial pink, and the messaging is inclusive with an age- and race-inclusive model casting. And secondly, the textures and formulas of the products reflect some of beauty's buzziest themes, such as the use of hemp powder in the Pore Down Tightening Concentrate, a silicone-free gel-serum.
The price point
Another plus is the price point, given in part that Awake sells direct to consumer (like Glossier). For the UK market the most expensive products are £33, and the cheapest just £14. Since brands like The Ordinary disrupted the beauty industry and made inexpensive skincare coveted and cool, the association with higher price determining better results is diminishing.
Who else endorses it
Awake has been very well received in the beauty press, with the likes of Allure dedicating features to it, and on social media with influencers and beauty bloggers sharing #shelfies and rave reviews.
The best buys
The Vitamin L-I-P Balm with C+E, £14, is an obvious first-try. Antioxidant-rich and petrolatum-free, it packs decent pigment while adding comfort to the lips.
If you have dryer skin and love an oil, the Firma Shot Antioxidant Concentrate, £33, is a 12-oil concentrated blend designed to plump the skin and reinforce its barrier.
The Eye Bright Liner, £14, does what it says on the tin. By way of an age-old make-up artist trick, use the nude liner in your waterlines to neutralise redness and make the whites of your eyes appear brighter.
Related Story
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qa3RqZyrq5KWx6Kt0WeaqKVfqrhwrsSarK2xX6i4qrrCmqmeZ5Fnf3h%2BkW5ucWeRrK6ssYybnJqtpK56s7HVopywZw%3D%3D