There’s a certain kind of buzz that doesn’t come from a press release, but from perfectly lit selfies on social media, mysteriously blurred beauty products and a focus on “signature glow” talk. And right now, Meghan Markle is giving off all the vibes of a woman quietly preparing to enter the beauty world. After the relaunch of her lifestyle brand, As Ever (formerly American Riviera Orchard), there are now more signs that she could be expanding beyond just her love for cooking. In March, she surprisingly even revealed some of her favourite beauty products and detailed her exact wedding day beauty look. So, is the Duchess of Sussex about to launch her own makeup line? Here are all the subtle clues she has dropped so far...
© Getty1) That one Instagram post at her dressing table (with suspiciously blurred products)
You may have missed it but last week, Meghan posted a reel with a quick snapshot of her sitting at her vanity applying lipstick in the mirror. The Duchess's brushes were on display plus the blur of unknown jars and tubes lined up. Whether the blur was intentional or just a result of focus, it conveniently covered up the makeup labels entirely. The fact that she let that moment be seen on social media? Classic beauty founder behaviour. Shielding future product competitors before dropping your own range just makes so much sense.
© @meghan2) Doing her own makeup… and publicly telling us
Recently, Meghan turned up in New York visibly doing her own glam. When you go from consistently letting a pro do your makeup to creating your own looks, it signals a huge shift. She’s showing off her own skills and how she crafts a makeup look. That’s exactly the kind of detail future founders reveal when they’re about to launch. If you look at successful beauty founders from Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez, they have always used social media as a tool to let fans into their own makeup routines, which in turn builds hype for their brands.
© WireImage3) A-List friends suddenly talking about ‘her signature look’
People in her circle (including makeup artists and stylists) have started talking a lot about Meghan’s “signature glow" in media interviews. During her surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week, her longtime makeup artist, Daniel Martin, revealed exactly how she created her own "juicy radiant look." This kind of repeated coding of a beauty look often helps to create a brand. Once people start associating a specific finish with your face, you’re halfway there. For example, with Hailey Bieber, people are drawn to her 'glazed' look, whereas with Rihanna, it's all about her bold glam and glossy lips. Through these examples, we've seen that beauty lovers will buy into a signature look if it's marketed correctly.
© Getty Images for Balenciaga4) Her lifestyle empire is already expanding - beauty is the obvious next lane
With As Ever setting the stage for a full lifestyle universe, entering beauty just feels like the clear next move. If we look back in history, Meghan has always aligned herself with wellness and that glow from within. It's obvious that her signature radiant yet bronzy look would be the focus of her potential brand.
Recently, Meghan took to the stage at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington D.C. During this telling conversation, the mother-of-two opened up about As Ever, and its potential expansion - and it sounds like she has big plans in mind. She noted that the goal is to "[leverage] her significant influence to build a successful, long-lasting business empire." If you’re already building a ‘world,’ which expands across lifestyle - beauty, wellness, and even eventually fashion, could also be part of that expansion.
With all of these rumoured signs, we think it's time to start saving our coins for the next stage of Meghan's lifestyle chapter: beauty world domination.
