Ben Bennett’s The Center has acquired Make Beauty and tapped former Violet Grey art director Carrie Barber to lead the revamp of the brand and assume the role of founder.
WHO: Ariana Mouyiaris, daughter of Mana Cosmetics founder Nikos Mouyiaris, launched Make Beauty in 2013. The line of minimalist range of skincare and makeup was sold at Barneys New York, Net-a-porter, Revolve, and Selfridges.
The Center was started by industry veteran Ben Bennett as an incubator and investor following his exit from Hatch Beauty in April of 2019.
WHY: The brand became available after Nikos Mouyiaris’ death in 2019. The brand had been manufactured by Mana Cosmetics, which was acquired by Traub Capital.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Ben and I have been friendly for a while, and last year we were talking about what brands we liked and projects we could collaborate on,” Carrie Barber said to WWD. “I mentioned one of my favorite brands was Make—it was one of the first brands to be very much like, universal, easy-to-use, no-makeup makeup skin-care and color. It was cool, graphic, and felt very fresh.”
“I’m very much thinking about accessibility and price point, and making products feel like something you actually need and not something you put out there because everyone else has one,” Barber said. “I hope the products can be very utilitarian and uncomplicated and I feel like modern skin care and makeup.”
DETAILS:
