With more Grammys than fingers on her award-winning piano-playing hands, a Golden Globe and a casual Academy Award, it's safe to say Lady Gaga's work ethic can't be faulted. Add to that millions of fans (or Little Monsters as they like to be known) who hang on every word of her epic vocals and truth-telling lyrics, and devotedly recreate her fantastical, eccentric and often challenging ensembles, and you've got the correct formula for a globally successful make-up brand. Which of course, Gaga has nailed as well.
More than simply a make-up brand, Haus Labs is a celebration of creativity, self expression and artistry. Yes, there's an extended foundation shade range (a must-have for Gaga) and high performance pigments (we wouldn't expect anything less), but there's also a drive for innovation, skincare-based formulations and a new branch of Gaga's inclusive community.
Now, it's landing in the UK and bringing its make-up-meets-skincare-with-just-a-dash-of-disruption ethos with it. To celebrate its arrival, ELLE UK caught up with Lady Gaga herself to talk make-up as power, her go-to highlighter trick and why McQueen is a religion...
What does beauty mean to you?
'My relationship with beauty really started with my mum - just marvelling at her natural beauty and watching her wear make-up when I was a young girl. She used to always say to me, "It's important to take care of yourself." But she wasn't specific about make-up being the way to take care of yourself, or that you had to be glamorous or over the top.
'Beauty has been a self-care routine for me throughout the years. And that includes creativity and using my imagination - embracing both of those things are another way that I choose to love myself. They're also ways that I express myself; so I also use beauty as a way to speak.'
What’s your personal approach to make-up?
'My day to day approach to make-up honestly always changes. But what I will say is I no longer put make-up on my face that is not, at least by US standards, clean. Now I'm making make-up, beauty for me lies in the formulation. I'm really into the science behind what we're creating at Haus Labs, how we can make it better for your skin, as well as maintaining and improving upon the artistry experience.
'I'm very, very excited that Sephora took all 51 shades of the foundation. There's a white shade in there that's an artistry shade. So no matter what foundation you get, if you got the white one as well, you can always adjust it to make it lighter. I actually use it to highlight my skin - there's no glitter or mica in it so it just adds a hint of glow.'
'We have a tonne of products that are meant to just inspire your imagination. There's days where I'm slapping these paints all over my face, or I'm wearing our Atomic Shake Lip lacquer because I want that perfect patent leather mouth that doesn't transfer.'
Who's on your beauty disruptor moodboard?
'McQueen has been a religion for me. To be honest, and I'm genuinely not just saying this because we're launching in the UK, but I love UK fashion and make-up artists. We shot all the Chromatica Ball photography in Leeds and filmed it with Nick Knight in London. Nick Knight has been on my mood board since I was 20, Val Garland did my make-up for many years, Isabella Blow, Philip Treacy, Shaun Leane, I love the spirit of them all.'
You champion make-up as an art form that can push boundaries - why is that important to you?
'Make-up has the power to do whatever it is that each individual person needs it to do. It's hard for me to just say as a blanket statement that make-up change will change your life, it will not change everybody's life, but it will change some people's lives.
'I want Haus Labs to ask questions, you know how can we revolutionise? How can we change the way people think about make-up? Beauty isn't just about how you look, it's about how you feel. I like the idea that we can create things that we haven't even thought about yet.
'Artistry, science, and inclusivity. Those are the three things that I care about the most when it comes to my brand. Truthfully, whether you go into Sephora Westfield White City and buy or not buy, I want you to do whatever it is that makes you feel good.'
Lady Gaga's Haus Labs Edit
Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation
Haus Labs Bio-Radiant Gel-Powder Highlighter
Haus Labs Haus Labs PhD Hybrid Lip Oil
Talk us through your skincare routine...
'I really try to only put things on my skin and my face that are good for me. I have a very vigorous skincare routine, but that includes our foundation thats's supercharged with skincare ingredients including Arnica. I've used Arnica for years for chronic pain and inflammation.
'When we were formulating the foundation I quickly realised that we were going to have to break down some walls and push some boundaries in order to innovate. So we got into the lab and created fermented Arnica. It's 860% more potent than regular Arnica and reduces redness in the skin. It's just really skin-loving.'
Haus Labs launches exclusively in Sephora Westfield White City and on sephora.co.uk.
