ABOUT-FACE

ABOUT-FACE is a US makeup brand founded in 2021 by the singer Halsey, whose legal name is Ashley Frangipane [5]. A self-taught makeup artist, Halsey built the line as a vehicle for self-expression rather than a set of rules, and developed it with Dineh Mohajer and Jeanne Chavez, the team behind Smith & Cult and Hard Candy [5]. The name plays on the phrase "about-face," meaning a sudden and complete change of direction; the initials AF also echo the founder's own name [6].

The brand sits at an accessible price point and centres on colour cosmetics for the face, lips and eyes. It remains active in 2026, with a running e-commerce site, an Ulta retail partnership and live social channels.

About-face launched in January 2021. The two trade publications that covered the debut differ slightly on the timing: WWD records a launch date of January 25, 2021 [5], while Refinery29 reports the same launch date with a pre-sale opening earlier, on January 4, 2021 [6]. Both place the founding firmly in 2021.

Halsey is credited as creator and founder and is described as designing the products herself. According to the company, the line is built to "empower your inner artist," with formulas meant to hold up through heat, sweat and long days [3]. The development partnership with Mohajer and Chavez gave the new brand experienced product hands: the pair had previously founded the nail brand Smith & Cult and the colour brand Hard Candy.

The brand frames itself around individualism and the idea that "no one is just one thing" — that people are layered and complex, and that makeup should let them experiment rather than conform [3]. Its homepage tagline reads "break the rules, shake things up + redefine beauty on your own terms" [2]. Editorial coverage at launch picked up the same theme, describing the range as bold and versatile and aimed at a diverse community of creatives [6].

About-face positions itself as affordable. At launch its products were priced between roughly 17 and 32 US dollars, a band that places it in the accessible, mass-market tier rather than prestige beauty [5].

The line opened with around 40 products organised into three franchises: Light Lock, covering illuminating highlighters and lip gloss; Matte, spanning matte lip colours, lip pencils and high-pigment eyeshadow; and Shadowstick, a set of cream eyeshadow sticks [5]. Refinery29 singled out the brand's matte fluid eye paint and eyeshadow stick at launch, describing the eye paint as a highly pigmented, one-stroke eye cream [6]. The catalogue has since broadened across face, lip and eye categories, including foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, setting spray and brow products.

About-face describes all its products as vegan, cruelty-free and cleanly formulated, made without ingredients the company flags as potentially harmful [3]. No formal third-party certification is cited in the available sources, and early launch coverage did not mention vegan or cruelty-free claims, which the brand foregrounds on its own site [6].

At launch the brand sold directly to consumers through its own website and through an exclusive yearlong partnership with the beauty subscription service Ipsy [5]. Its retail footprint has since expanded; the company's own pages reference a partnership with the US retailer Ulta.

About-face remains active. As of 2026 it operates a working direct-to-consumer site with a current "New" collection and a shade-finder quiz, maintains its Ulta partnership, and runs active social accounts under the handle @aboutfacebeauty. The brand's primary market is the United States; it appears in some Nordic retailer listings, though there is no evidence of its own multi-region operations.