Sleek Makeup

Sleek Makeup is a British colour-cosmetics brand known for highly pigmented face, eye and lip products sold at drugstore prices. It was founded in East London by Dennis Tharratt, a beauty wholesaler who set out to fill a gap in the market for makeup suited to consumers of Afro-Caribbean heritage [9]. The brand later broadened its shade ranges to serve all skin tones and became one of the faster-growing colour-cosmetics names in the United Kingdom.

Sleek Makeup no longer operates as an independent company. It was acquired by Boots and later by Walgreens Boots Alliance, and today sits within the No7 Beauty Company portfolio [7][8]. Its standalone website redirects to Boots, though the brand remains commercially available across the UK and internationally.

According to two trade-press accounts in WWD, Sleek Makeup was founded in 1995 by Dennis Tharratt, a London-based beauty wholesaler who noticed that few pigmented products were made for some of his customers, particularly those of Afro-Caribbean heritage [9][10]. The brand grew out of that gap and later expanded to serve a wider range of skin tones.

The founding year is not settled across sources. WWD, citing Tharratt by name, dates the launch to 1995 [9]. Two later consultancy case studies instead give 1985, without naming a founder [12]. This article follows the WWD date because it is the more concrete, independently reported account; the 1985 figure remains an unresolved alternative.

Sleek Makeup began by selling through informal retailers before moving into mainstream chains, a shift that widened its reach in the UK high street. Over the following years it became associated with a handful of makeup trends. In 2009 the brand launched its Contour Kit, which WWD credits with helping bring contouring into the mass market [8]. In 2012 it followed with Major Matte, an early entry in the matte liquid-lipstick category [8].

The brand made its US debut in 2017. It launched online at Ulta Beauty in June with a set of hero palettes, then expanded into Ulta and Walgreens stores over the following weeks, with prices spanning roughly $5.99 to $15.99 [9][11]. Around the same time it ran an influencer-and-drag-performer campaign called "The GlowDown," part of a marketing platform titled "My Face. My Rules." [10]

Sleek Makeup passed through two acquisitions. WWD reports that Boots acquired the brand in 2006 [8]. It was then bought by Walgreens Boots Alliance, which the Boots UK newsroom records as completing on 10 December 2015, with the previous owner listed as Sleek Capital Limited [7]. Some third-party accounts compress this history, dating a single Boots acquisition to 2015; the two-step timeline here follows WWD and the Boots UK announcement [8][7].

Today the brand is held within the No7 Beauty Company, the Walgreens Boots Alliance division that also owns No7, Liz Earle Beauty Company, Soap & Glory, Botanics and Aromatherapy Associates. No7 Beauty Company describes Sleek Makeup as part of its "energetic supporting cast" of brands.

Sleek Makeup positions itself around inclusivity and self-expression, tied to its origins serving underrepresented women of colour. The company frames its purpose as the idea that "everyone has the right to be seen, heard and felt exactly how they choose to be," and describes makeup as "a powerful form of self-expression." In trade coverage of its US launch, the brand said it aimed to make current beauty trends accessible to all, with face, eye and lip products designed for every skin tone [11]. No7 Beauty Company separately characterises Sleek as an early champion of diversity that highlighted the under-representation of women of colour in the makeup industry.

The range centres on face, eye and lip colour. Recurring products include the i-Divine eyeshadow palettes, the Cream Contour Kit, the Solstice Highlighting Palette, Major Matte lip products and the Micro Fine Brow Pencil. According to the brand's own site, its highlighters and i-Divine eyeshadow palettes have gained a following for their pigment and affordability. Products are sold across multiple channels, including Boots, Amazon and ASOS.

Sleek Makeup is an acquired brand rather than an independent company. It is owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance through the No7 Beauty Company and continues to be sold across the UK and in a number of international markets. Its former standalone site now redirects to Boots, and the brand does not maintain an independent web presence or recent standalone press activity, a pattern typical of an acquired brand that remains on sale while integrated into a larger portfolio.