Few industries understand the power of buzzwords quite like the beauty industry. In the early 2000s, no thesaurus (or alliteration) was spared when it came to branding mostly indistinguishable products: Bronzers delivered “silkening shimmer,” lip glosses promised “shine seduction.” Today, those descriptions have become slightly more substantial. Now companies have been forced to cater to the priorities of an increasingly conscientious consumer, ushering in promises of “clean beauty” and “sustainability.” Although, for one recently launched makeup brand, finding the right selling point has proved tough — how do you pick a lane when you’re dominating all of them?
Thankfully, it’s a good problem for Espressoh to have. The Italian, female-founded start-up is likely to wind up on the mood board of every major cosmetics corporation (if it hasn’t already). The company is committed to facilitating a new future for the beauty industry that caters to everyone, and we mean everyone. With a collection of universal shades and a paint-by-numbers approach, creator Chiara Cascella hopes to make makeup simple. As such, she was able to shimmy Espressoh into a niche brand based on simplicity.
“[I felt like] makeup was becoming more complex by the day. I just hoped to simplify it with products that are both easy to use and high quality,” Cascella says of Espressoh’s genesis. “I wanted to prove that you don’t need pro techniques and layers of makeup to make a bold statement.”
It was a much-needed perspective in an oversaturated product landscape. Between elaborate beauty tutorials with endless steps and each beauty brand’s promise that its product outstrips the rest, we’ve wound up with makeup bags overflowing with unnecessary items. There are the ineffective eyeliners, the lipsticks that never really suited us to begin with, and the mascaras that smudge no matter how light the application, all while we fall for empty promises of reinvented basics. It was during her tenure at L’Oréal that Cascella realized the immense loyalty consumers have to their favorite beauty brands: We keep buying what we like and, for the most part, still hold on to what we don’t need. Espressoh wants you to keep coming back, but only because you want to.
“[One goal] with universal makeup was foremost to make it easier for customers to purchase makeup online,” says Cascella. “We realized with innovative technologies we could bring genuinely inclusive colors to our community. [Our customers] say they finally feel at ease wearing bold colors, or can achieve glassy skin without spending hours behind their makeup.”
The “innovation” is the pH reagent formula, a texture that reacts with your skin’s own pH to create the flush natural to your visage. There’s a little caffeine in the mix too for an “extra boost” (this crops up across many of Espressoh’s products, giving context to the company’s name). “Universal shades” is a path so rarely ventured in the beauty industry because achieving full-scale inclusion is next to impossible. Those who’ve come before Espressoh made the term “universal” synonymous with lighter complexions, forever leaving darker tones to fall by the wayside. But Espressoh actually delivers on its promises.
When I first tried Espressoh blush, I watched as a clear, gel-like formula turned pink, perfectly mimicking the appearance of my flushed cheeks. I had the kind of sunburn only seen in surfer-girl movies, or the impossible post-run glow of one’s dreams. Better yet, it was light — and impressively dewy. It appeared I was wearing no makeup at all.
Equally impressive is Espressoh’s ABC concealer, which can be applied to all skin tones. The concept of a universal concealer seems laughable. Concealer is one of the most difficult products to match to skin: Too light of a shade blitzes blemishes or under-eyes into whitewashed oblivion, and too dark of a shade only draws more attention to imperfections. But not the ABC. Available in two all-encompassing shades, the concealer adapts to your skin with light, buildable color.
Espressoh’s concealer and blush are just two products of the brand’s core collection, which Cascella hopes will be considered the ultimate makeup starter kit for minimalists. The nine lipstick shades allow you to work your way from day to night, from deep reds and mochas to a range of nudes that actually acknowledge the complexity of various skin tones. The Intenso mascara comes in two similarly buildable shades that are both smudge- and flake-proof. Recently, Espressoh released the latest addition to its roster: the Hey Broh, a brow soap that provides all-day definition in one easily portable tube.
It frustrates Cascella that other brands try to sell “elusive and vague” concepts of clean beauty. Instead, Espressoh openly lists the ingredients in every product on its site, guaranteeing the safety of its customers by ensuring they’re completely void of any toxicity. Cascella claims Espressoh’s primary values consist of “transparency and honesty,” concepts she applies to every facet of the business. “These pillars,” she confirms, “are fundamental. [It comes down to] clear objectives and all the information.”
From formulas to packaging, all of Espressoh is produced in Italy. Whereas the beauty industry is notorious for its cavalier approach to the environment, Espressoh has reduced waste with reusable packaging as well as eliminating plastic from secondary-product encasements at the end of 2020. Their ABC concealer and eye palettes now arrive in FSC shipping carton boxes — the result of a partnership with an Italian college student whose graduation project was creating sustainable alternatives for packing.
This year, Espressoh is working on moving toward carbon neutrality. As such, each Espressoh offering contains double the amount of formula of other beauty brands (most brands in the U.S. contain around four grams per container, while Espressoh delivers nine). Not only does this cut both production and shipping in half, it maintains affordability for customers. Each initiative is the result of Cascella’s ongoing dialogue with her customers; each morsel of feedback serves to re-pivot her approach — a credit to the company’s agility.
“With Espressoh having grown a very active consumer base over these two years, my vision is evolving by listening to our community,” Cascella says. “Their observations are the core of our strategy.”
It’s this back-to-basics approach that allows Espressoh to best supply demand. There’s no fancy marketing strategy, no ambassadors hawking unattainable beauty via filters and Facetune. Any brand can blur and brighten with layers of product, but Espressoh has mastered the most difficult beauty feat of all: no-makeup makeup.
“I still see so many brands marketing the old way and overselling their products, but consumers nowadays just want the truth,” says Cascella. “We’re changing the approach to makeup.”
Beatrice Hazlehurst is a New Zealand–born writer covering culture, entertainment, and lifestyle for multiple outlets. She nomadically traverses both coasts, but currently you can find her by the beach in Southern California.
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