As someone who has spent a significant portion of her life seated in a makeup chair, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is more than qualified to dole out beauty advice—and the world is listening. 2018 saw the launch of Rose Inc., the supermodel’s own beauty website dedicated to sharing the tips and tricks she’s learned throughout her illustrious career, as well as her addition to clean beauty brand bareMinerals’ global ambassador team this past fall.
Even after walking prestigious catwalks and gracing dozens of covers, the former Victoria’s Secret angel regards her time working with hair and makeup artists most fondly. Her excitement about this process was noticed, too, as long-time colleagues boast about her skilful winged liner application or how she quelled the urge to bring her own brimming makeup bag to set. “One of the things I love about makeup is getting to sit down in the chair with another artist and being creative and transforming through the process,” she reveals.
Aside from the radical physical changes made possible by makeup, Huntington-Whiteley also relishes its internal transformational abilities: “Makeup for me is all about being creative. It’s about enhancing and having something that adds onto your confidence, so I’m always encouraging women to play around and not be so restricted by any ‘beauty rules’ we get told.”
This notion of self-acceptance is echoed in the English model and entrepreneur’s work with bareMinerals, where she joined Hailey Bieber and celebrity makeup artist Nikki DeRoest as Power of Good ambassadors in September 2018. Along with being a loyal patron of bareMinerals products (she cites the iconic Original Loose Powder Foundation as one of her essentials), Huntington-Whiteley also aligns herself with the brand’s philanthropic mission and commitment to unleashing women’s potential: “For me, the Power of Good means small acts of goodness throughout my day. I think we can all relate to when somebody has done something good for us, how that makes us feel, and how we then spread it—it’s like a domino effect.”
This chain reaction reached new heights with the launch of the Power of Good Fund. Starting in January 2019, 1 percent of bareMinerals net sales will go toward a number of charities in support of women’s education, mentorship, and entrepreneurialism, with plans to expand the initiative globally in 2020. The brand hosted a wellness retreat (its first-ever global event) at the picturesque Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England, to celebrate the launch, and made a donation to charity for every guest in attendance. Activities included meeting and mentoring young women from Access Aspiration, a London-based charity founded by Jenny Halpern Prince; a master class led by DeRoest and Huntington-Whiteley where attendees jotted down helpful beauty tips and witnessed the pair’s undeniable rapport; and a dinner amongst twinkling lights and relaxed conversation hosted by Huntington-Whiteley and CEO of Shiseido Americas Marc Rey.
Acts of kindness not only to others but also to oneself were paramount to the scenic retreat, with ample opportunities to unwind with a cup of a tea by a warm hearth or de-stress in a clawfoot tub overlooking the grounds. Huntington-Whiteley feels this kind of self-love is as crucial to her beauty routine as any product, sharing “My beauty philosophy is centred around the importance of taking care of yourself from the inside—looking after your skin first, and then having fun and being creative with colour afterwards.”
The supermodel also lists getting eight hours of sleep a night, following a decent diet (with wiggle room), and regular facials as integral to her beauty regimen, but places the greatest emphasis on self-care. As an ambassador for bareMinerals, she hopes to inspire confidence by providing knowledge that allows consumers to get comfortable with the products, and in turn lead them to create their own individualized makeup looks.
Through platforms such as Rose Inc. and her highly active Instagram page, Huntington-Whiteley is enjoying the increased channels of communication made possible by such media: “For me, it’s not about creating something and delivering it to my readers or to my consumers or to my followers; it’s about, What can I give you? What makes sense?” Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it’s meant to be shared.
