Monika Blunder Introduces Eponymous Makeup Line

30/11/2020 Beauty & Balance

When celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder was younger, her classmates used to make fun of her last name. Now, it’s going on a makeup line of her own making.

The artist is launching Monika Blunder Beauty with two products — a concealer-foundation hybrid named Blunder Cover, and corresponding Hybrid Face Brush — on the brand’s web site and neimanmarcus.com on Nov. 30 for $52 and $35, respectively. Blunder has more products slated for her lineup over the next 12 months, and industry sources estimate the line to reach $4 million in retail sales in its first year on the market.

“It’s a natural progression in my life to move in a different direction. It’s a perfect time for me in my life to have my own company and my own product. I’m hoping that one day, I could even pass this business down to my daughter,” Blunder said.

Blunder, whose following is built off of her no-makeup makeup ethos, expects Blunder Cover to be the brand’s hero product. “A ‘blunder’ is a mistake, and I put this spin on my last name because you’re covering any ‘blunders’ on your face. It’s really versatile and you can use it in many different ways. You can use it just on your eyes or in the T-zone, you can use it all over if you sheer it out with a brush,” Blunder said.

Blunder Cover is also cruelty-free, vegan and features botanicals inspired by Blunder’s native Austria. “Arnica and edelweiss were really heavily entrenched in my upbringing. I come from a home with parents who were big fans of natural living,” she said. “I call [arnica] a superhero ingredient because it’s really anti-inflammatory.”

View Gallery

Related Gallery

Black Friday Shoppers in New York City 2020

Next on the agenda for Monika Blunder Beauty is a shade expansion for Blunder Cover, adding five more shades to the current seven. In 2021, Blunder will also be launching a cream blush and a lip product. “[The pandemic has] actually been a really good time for me to work on the products because it gave me so much extra time,” Blunder said.

Part of Blunder’s clean approach stems from her ambitions to expand internationally. “My big dream is stores in Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria, where I’m from,” Blunder said. “Making compliant products is a more complicated process in Europe.” Sustainability is also a focus for the brand’s future, Blunder said, developing a recycling program. Blunder plans to donate 1 percent of revenues to an undisclosed charity.