Interior decor, fashion and now beauty – no industry, it seems, is immune to the allure of greige. Consumer desire for a sophisticated colour palette has seen Elephant’s Breath – a mid-tone warm-based grey paint – retain its position as a Farrow & Ball bestseller for years.
Moreover, cultural bellwether Kim Kardashian has channelled her love for neutrals into her home, as well as her shapewear brand SKIMS.
And now Kardashian has extended this colour palette to her skin care line SKKN by KIM. The nine-piece brand, which launched in June, boasts sleek, minimalistic and refillable packaging in shades of grey, taupe and pale dusty-pink, for a pebble-like effect.
Kardashian isn’t the only celebrity beauty bigwig to embrace neutrals, however. Model Hailey Bieber’s Rhode brand, another skin care newcomer, launched with three skus packed in a soft-touch pale grey.
Fellow runway star Winnie Harlow’s Cay Skin, meanwhile, opted for nude hues, with warm orange-toned browns and beiges, and musician Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace brand finally launched this summer following months of hype. In line with the trend for earthy colours, Humanrace’s products boast a creamy-orange colourway.
And it is not just celebrities forging the way for neutral packaging that just begs to be touched.
RAAIE is a new New Zealand-based skin care player and the brainchild of Katey Mandy, who comes from a fashion and beauty marketing background. The formulas for the brand’s Morning Dew Vitamin C Serum and Yellow Moonbeam Retinal Elixir, which leverage on local botanical ingredients, are housed in smooth, opaque and refillable glass vessels that could easily be misidentified for sculptures, with Mandy herself describing the look as “clean, minimal and complementary to any decor”.