As far as makeup launches go these days, the typical trajectory a brand follows starts with complexion products first—a 40-plus shade range here, a highlighter there—before expanding into other categories like skincare and tools. So naturally, when you hear that beauty whisperer and longtime YouTuber Patrick Starr—known for his dramatic transformations and created makeup looks on Naomi Campbell, Kim Kardashian, Keke Palmer and more—is launching his first-ever makeup brand, you’re expecting a kitschy makeup palette or a bold array of lipsticks in the vein of his fellow makeup gurus. But an anomaly himself with a larger than life personality to match, Patrick Starrr has never been one to play by the books. So, for his new makeup brand One/Size, Starrr is tapping into an area that’s not as glamorous: makeup removal.
One/Size movement was spawned from a tweet Starrr posted in 2016 after an unsuccessful shopping experience that left him disappointed after failing to find clothing in his size at a popular retailer. “Sucks shopping plus size… Good thing makeup is a one size fits all😭🙌🏽❤️🌟,” he wrote, with “makeup is a one size fits all” becoming his signature tagline and premise of the inclusive beauty range he’d begin planning two years later.
Today, July 17, two years after its inception, One/Size arrives with just two products: makeup wipes and a makeup remover mist. “They’re thick. They’re juicy, like me,” Starrr says of the Go Off Juiciest makeup wipes over a Zoom call. The wipes are as large as a baby wipe and thick enough to remove a “full cake” better than the thinner and smaller wipes on the market. But as much as the debut of his Go Off collection was meant to help the beauty lovers streamline their makeup removal process by properly removing the “cake” with just one thick wipe, the collection also serves as a wink to Starrr’s old boss at a makeup counter he worked at back in 2012 who told the then-aspiring beauty guru that his makeup was “too much.”
“Too much? I’m very extra, I’ll admit it. But he asked me to remove my makeup and embarrassed me. I remember going home and being very sad that day because I was already battling my own insecurities. As a consumer, I couldn’t even walk into a department store and buy something for myself—it was always ‘I’m asking for a friend,’” he recalls.
Now, it’s his products people will be asking for in stores, including the collection’s other star, the Go Off Makeup Dissolving Mist. The mist—not to be mistaken for a setting spray—features a continuous spray that imparts an even coat without oversaturating your face and turns into a milky consistency when met with water. Each product, the wipes at $15 and the mist at $24, will be sold exclusively on onesize.com and sephora.com.
Below, Starrr talks about launching One/Size in reverse and the significance of the bold red packaging.
Are you wearing a “full cake” in quarantine?
I try my best to because when I’m looking at Patrick Starrr here, just bald and at home, it’s not cute. But, when I put on even a little bit of makeup, it just really boosts my confidence. I have a little pep in my step, and I want to post on stories more and I want to talk to my followers. Just putting on a little bit of makeup makes me have a sense of purpose during this time.
Why did you launch with makeup removal in mind first than complexion?
I’m a businessman at the end of the day. I want to work smarter and harder. So I was able to look at the beauty landscape and say, “How can I really step in and infiltrate? What am I mad at?” If you look at the beauty industry now, it’s skincare, skincare, skincare. Then, you see collab this, collab that. You know when you go to a friend’s party and you don’t know where to sit? That was me. Where can my fat ass sit? I decided I’m going to sit in the middle. I’m going to start the brand with a clean face so they can Go Off and then Go On with One/Size.
Starting backward was this unconventional way to strip down who we are so people could see our true beauty and then add in color as they pleased with other brands that they have at home and slowly build. But I wanted to gain trust and credibility through innovation, and our innovation is truly the Go Off collection.
Our wipes are eight inches because the girls love a good eight inches. [laughs] I wanted to give the kids something to remember me by and that is makeup removal. I was asked to remove my makeup at a makeup counter back in the days, and so it’s just so perfect to launch with this. I’ve done color in the past and I will in the future, you best believe. But I wanted to be somewhere different and to really gain trust. Because at the end of the day, for me as an influencer, these multi-million dollar brands have the money, right? But what you can’t buy is trust.
Why did you choose One/Size as the name of your brand?
One/Size is for those that have been unseen and unheard. I want people to see themselves in a brand that puts them first. When I was asked to remove my makeup at my job, I was hurt but I told myself I’m going to reclaim the story. As a big version of revenge and success, I’m going to launch my own damn makeup removers, okay? I say “okaaaaay” a lot and to me, “okay” means operating through kindness. So what happened to me at the store was so hurtful and hateful all at the same time. But now I want for people to see themselves in the brand, I want people to feel that there’s love and that we’re kind and there is no discrimination here. Through One/Size, I’m able to spread the love and kindness, and people can see their true beauty at the start, because I’m starting this brand off with no makeup.
What’s the significance of the red packaging?
Why red? Red is the color of love. Red is bold. Red is passion. As a Filipino-American, I’ve always celebrated and been in-tune with my culture, my identity as an LGBTQ+ person, and fell in love with the color red. The packaging is this red, shiny color because red is out there. Chrome is chic. This is literally me as a logo. I’m bold, but I’m also a sleek bitch. It’s just very in the mix and it’s very exciting, and hopefully people get to resonate with that. When you walk into the Sephora, I want to be the first brand you see. Can you imagine how that will look? Sephora’s black and white stripes, One/Size’s red? Also, I don’t want you to forget or lose your products. If you do, you’ll automatically see this bright red packaging.
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You’ve launched One/Size at such an important time when many people—especially those with deeper skin tones like myself—don’t feel as though makeup is one size fits all. How does this brand aim to help the beauty industry correct its shortcomings?
What’s crazy is when you think about creating a brand, many people move the trees down and bulldoze and are satisfied with having their own acre. But I thought of it the opposite. I said let me call all my friends for help and let’s work together and then make the beauty space an even bigger space for all us. In speaking to that, I have been able to look at my place in the industry as an influencer and with One/Size, we’re continuing to dismantle that ideology of what is beautiful. To understand my leverage in the beauty space, I quickly recognized my power and realized that I have something to say and they’re going to hear it whether they like it or not. Operating through kindness has always been something that I’ve done from the start. So I’ve made it a point to do so not just for One/Size products but behind the scenes with a sector of the brand called my CATS team—Creative Artist Team. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a fully diverse team that has their own point of views—rookies, makeup artists, etc. And so we’re here to continue that and make sure we continue to reshape the standards.
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