Too Faced

Too Faced is an American cosmetics company founded in 1998 by Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson [1]. Known for makeup with a playful attitude and a range that also extends into skincare, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of The Estée Lauder Companies since 2016 [2]. Its founders left the business in 2022, and the brand continues to trade under Estée Lauder ownership.

Blandino and Johnson met working at department-store beauty counters before starting the company. Blandino had worked for Estée Lauder, Armani and Chanel, and Johnson for Estée Lauder; that counter experience, they later said, showed them the effect makeup could have on the people they served and pushed them to start their own line [3]. Their stated ambition was to build a brand that broke the rules and brought a sense of fun back to cosmetics. The company was established in Orange County, California [4], with its head office recorded at an address in Irvine, in the same county [1].

The company's early years established it as a maker of colour cosmetics; according to one trade account, it was among the first to bring glitter eye shadow and lip plumpers to the mass beauty market [3]. In November 2016, The Estée Lauder Companies acquired Too Faced for 1.45 billion dollars, described at the time as the largest acquisition in Lauder's history [4][2]. Blandino and Johnson stayed on for several years afterward; their last day at the company was 30 June 2022 [4].

Too Faced is owned by The Estée Lauder Companies, which acquired it in 2016 [2]. Within that group it sits alongside brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda and Origins.

The company frames makeup as a form of empowerment and self-expression. On its own site it describes itself as "a serious makeup brand that knows how to have fun," and says its purpose is to help customers "be your best and dream beyond your imagination" with products it calls smart and innovative. Too Faced also states that it is cruelty-free, adding that "kindness is always a good look." It positions itself in the prestige tier and is sold across more than 30 countries [3].

The company's main output is colour makeup, together with a skincare range; its catalogue spans eye shadows, lipsticks, mascara and brushes [1]. Several products have become signatures for the brand, among them Better Than Sex Mascara, Born This Way Foundation, the Sweet Peach eye shadow collection and the Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer. Blandino has described Better Than Sex Mascara as owing its success to a "combination of cheekiness and efficacy" that "catapulted it into franchise status" [2]; it is widely cited in the beauty press as a cult-favourite mascara.

Too Faced remains active and trading, with an ongoing product range and retail presence, but as an acquired brand rather than an independent company. It has operated as a subsidiary of The Estée Lauder Companies since the 2016 sale [2], and both of its founders left in 2022 [4].