Guide Beauty opens up makeup application to all

22 Apr 2021 --- Precision makeup application is getting a full makeover, ensuring that exquisite artistry possible and easy for all.

Universally-designed tool innovators, Guide Beauty, won Allure’s coveted Beauty Breakthrough Award in 2020 for its Guide Eyeliner Duo — impressing editors with its beauty advancement. Senior journalist, Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe, caught up with Terri Bryant, founder of Guide Beauty to find out more about its innovative and patent-pending tool for all. 

Guide Beauty’s patent-pending wand design strives to reinvent how we apply eyeliner. New and novel, the tool stands out in the marketplace. Describing its Eyeliner Duo tool as “truly a new and innovative approach” for application of the much-loved makeup essential, Bryant explains the process to achieve its ingenuity was a comprehensive one. 

The indie brand, which launched in 2020, worked with a design team of human factors engineers who leveraged its research and observations of a wide range of user demographics, including individuals with physical limitations. The entire process included 2.5 years of research and development, just over 200 test users, 39 eyeliner submissions, and over 100 wand iterations. 

Click to EnlargeUnique and universal design

Applying eyeliner requires a high level of precision and refined motor skills. Many users find drawing a straight and even line across the eyelid challenging and time-consuming when using traditional tools and formulas. 

Guide Beauty developed its Eyeliner Duo’s innovative design to incorporate integrated stability points that offer users more control as well as ergonomic forms that are easier to hold and open. 

The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) was set up by the National Disability Authority (NDA) in 2007 under the Disability Act 2005. The universal design principles revolve around implementing designs and compositions that enable environments and tools to be “accessed, understood and used to their greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability,” the website states. 

By following the principles of universal design, Bryant reveals: “The Guide Eyeliner Duo makes it easier for anyone to create any beauty look, from the natural to dramatic.”

Stand-out application

Guide Beauty’s award-winning and patent-pending Eyeliner Duo tool comprises several unique features that distinguishes the beauty applicator in the marketplace. 

• The Applicator Tip

The applicator's flat, curved soft tip was designed to follow the natural shape of the eyelid.  The design allows the user to first rest and steady the wand against the cheek before tilting the curved applicator towards the eye to rest where the lashes meet the eyelid. Once the applicator is perfectly placed at the lash line, the precision applicator is designed to glide smoothly and evenly across the lid.

• The Handle

The wand’s elongated handle contains facets to allow for a comfortable, relaxed hold. The vertical design brings the arm closer to the body with multiple built-in stability points to rest on the user’s face and position their hand for maximum control.  

• The Material

Key to the user experience, Bryant explains the materials “had to be comfortable, easy to maintain, long-lasting and support the design.” 

The wand's precision tip applicator is soft and flexible, making application around the eye more comfortable. Simultaneously, the material supports and holds its unique, curved form to allow for control and application consistency. 

Guide Beauty specifies that the tool is also incredibly easy to maintain as no sharpening or shampooing is needed, and users can simply wipe clean after each use.

• The Guide Line

Custom-made is at the core of the indie brand’s innovative approach to makeup application. Guide Beauty custom-developed its Guide Line eyeliner formula alongside the wand while also envisioning its custom, universally-designed jar to make it easy to open and close.

“The formula is also uniquely pressed to enable the wand to pick up the perfect dose of color for application,” says Bryant. “It’s a winning combination for easy eye lining,” Bryant emphasizes.

Click to EnlargeAward-winning breakthrough tool 

To receive Allure’s coveted Beauty Breakthrough Award for its Guide Eyeliner Duo was an “absolute, ‘please pinch me’ moment,” Bryant excitedly shares. “It is an incredible feeling to know the industry experts embrace our product and our mission,” Bryant adds. 

When asked what the brand’s hopes and plans are for this year, Bryant enthuses: “Exciting things are happening in the Guide Lab!”. The indie name, which launched with products and techniques such as eyeliner, brow and mascara that create definition, will now turn to new designs. 

“Products that create definition are not only the most impactful but also tend to be the most challenging for the everyday makeup wearer.” Sharing the brand’s inspiration and priorities when emerging onto the market, Bryant says: “We wanted to tackle these challenging techniques first and offer a range of products that allows the user to wholly define the area around the eyes.”

In 2021, Guide Beauty will expand its color range and introduce innovations as it continues to focus “feature-by-feature to create a full Guide Beauty face,” Bryant confirms. 

By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffee, BPC Insights Senior Journalist