EXCLUSIVE: Victoria Beckham, Augustinus Bader Join Forces on Clinically Backed Concealer

Two of beauty’s buzziest names are teaming up for a new category launch.

Victoria Beckham Beauty and Augustinus Bader are jointly debuting the Concealer Pen, marking both brands’ first forays into complexion. In addition to Augustinus Bader’s proprietary hero ingredient, TFC8, the concealer includes squalane, polyglutamic acid and a peptide to aid in wrinkle reduction. The product debuts Sept. 4 on Victoria Beckham Beauty’s website, and retails for $68.

Though the launch is new territory for Beckham, she said it was always in the cards.

“I use click pens under my eyes and around my nose, and I knew what I wanted wasn’t out there,” Beckham said. “I was going to do complexion when I first started the brand, and then I realized it wouldn’t satisfy me. My dream was to do complexion with meaningful science behind it.”

In the first half, concealers in the prestige market grew 5 percent, in line with makeup growth in the market, Circana reports.

In addition to TFC8, the pen has clinical backing: After four weeks, the product was proven to mitigate dark circles, undereye puffiness and hyperpigmentation.

“I remember having the conversation with Charles [Rosier, cofounder and chief executive officer of Augustinus Bader] about it a year ago,” Beckham said. “Other people have created concealers with skin care benefits, but this is benefits with a difference. It has TFC8 and no one has ever done that.”

“It’s a dual-use concept,” added Augustinus Bader. “It’s a combination of a concealer with healing technology. People use concealer to help avoid a problem, and this helps the repair process.”

The product involved many iterations and steps to completion. “Once we knew we were doing it with Bader, we had all these formats to play with. This one we thought we nailed, then we got to the shade matching part, which was an incredible effort,” said Katia Beauchamp, CEO of Victoria Beckham Beauty.

In turn, both brands agreed that the other held much-needed expertise to enter the category impactfully. “Victoria wanted to collaborate with what she considers best-in-class skin care,” Rosier said. “For us, color is not our specialty. Victoria has built a very strong team, and we benefit from their expertise.”

Bader previously dipped into color with tinted lip balms, cocreated with Sofia Coppola. “She had a very precise idea on color and came up with the benchmarks. We need to partner with an expert who has the capacity to say where we’re going. Of course, Victoria contributes her point of view, so it brings two fields of expertise together,” Rosier said.

In addition to Augustinus Bader, Victoria Beckham Beauty previously worked with aesthetician Melanie Grant on a cleansing system, as well as Robertet perfumer Jérôme Epinette on a trio of fragrances out last year.

“Bader and us also have different business models,” Beauchamp said. “We are almost entirely digital, and they are almost all wholesale.”

The concealer will roll out to 20 of Augustinus Bader’s Bluemercury doors, alongside the two brands’ primer-moisturizer hybrid, in Victoria Beckham Beauty’s first large brick-and-mortar push. “We’ll be testing what it’s like to be in there with Bader, and we’re looking at international as well,” Beauchamp said.

“Complexion naturally lends itself to offline. We’re doing everything to make it a really wonderful experience online, but we know offline is a critical aspect of trial in complexion,” Beauchamp continued, adding that the marketing directives came from Beckham.

“Our creative, led by Victoria’s vision, merges fashion and beauty,” Beauchamp said. “You also have the product, with videos of almost like an ASMR-style, where you hear the pen click and the ooze. Combined with the groundswell of thousands of people who will get to go and try it, those two aspects come together to create a strategy that feels different for Victoria Beckham.”

The varied pieces of Beckham’s business ecosystem are all performing well. As reported, the fashion and beauty businesses saw sales rise 52 percent in fiscal 2023 to 89.1 million pounds. Executives didn’t comment on sales, but industry sources anticipate the concealer will reach $10 million in sales before yearend.

“Everything is very honest, and I really have a point of view,” Beckham said. “My customer trusts me, she knows I want the best, and we don’t release anything until I believe it’s best-in-class. That is key.

“When we launched fragrances, we went from being a brand in fashion and beauty to being a house. Fragrance connects the two,” Beckham said. “It’s not a licensing deal, I own both, which is why they’re so connected. It’s looking at the past, present and future, and making sure we’re always offering the best-in-class with everything we put out there.”