Autumn inevitably pushes us towards neutrals and pared-back palettes. But this autumn, there’s one reason to go bolder and brighter. Halsey’s about-face, the colour-first makeup brand that’s all about bold pigment and no rules, has finally launched in the UK at Space NK at the end of August.
The brand’s identity is simple: saturated shades, playful textures, and makeup that looks just as good smudged on with your fingers as it does applied with a brush. It’s unapologetically loud, sometimes chaotic, but always fun.
If you’ve seen Halsey perform, you’ll recognise the mood, and it’s that same colour-crashing energy that you can find in the products. But before you pop into SpaceNK and get lost in a technicolour sea of products, here’s a rundown of what you’ll find, plus some favourites.
About about-face
about-face is the brainchild of Halsey, who has always treated makeup as part of her performance as much as her music and is used to doing her own looks before going on stage.
The brand launched in 2021 in the US and quickly built a following for its saturated colours and playful approach. There are no safe colour ranges and no perfect blending required – this is makeup that makes you want to experiment.
The range is vegan and high-pigment, with products that go straight on with a wand or applicator and can be tapped out with your fingers in seconds. They’re designed to make you look good without hours of effort. It’s makeup that feels instinctive, a little messy, and more fun than polished.
Our favourites: the eyeshadow family
The Matte Fluid Eye Paints have already reached cult status in the US, and it’s easy to see why: they glide very easily, and once they set, they don’t budge. One swipe gives you bold, opaque colour.
They’re available in 28 shades (£18), including neon pink, cobalt blue, or chartreuse if you’re aiming to make a statement. But there are also grounded tones – rust, khaki, mauve – that are considerably less adventurous but more wearable on the day-to-day. Crucially, they are all very pigmented so the pay-off is strong.
Smudge them with a fingertip for a soft wash or go sharp with a brush. The beauty is in how versatile and forgiving they are. They look good whether you’ve spent two minutes smudging them out with your finger or gone more intricate with a brush.
If you prefer some dimension (or a lot of it, actually!), the Holographic Eye Paints (£20) come in 10 shades. They catch light in a kaleidoscope shift – pink flipping to gold, green sliding into copper – giving you the boldness and brightness you need to turn a day look into evening.
Lastly, if glitter is more your language, the Fractal Glitter Eye Paints (£19, available 17 shades) deliver full sparkle. The mousse texture smooths on evenly and crucially, it does resist the fallout well, so the shimmer stays where you want it.
New to the UK too: the Smokestick (£20), a dual-ended stick-and-powder combo in six shades. It’s designed for effortless smokey eyes, so all you need to do is swipe the creamy stick side and tap on the powder.
Lashes, lines, and lids
The eye paints really deserve the spotlight, but about-face also has your typical backup dancers, from a gel eyeliner with a matte finish to a volumizing mascara, which promises intense volume, length, and lift without flaking or smudging.
For the face
The complexion line includes The Performer Foundation, which is available in a respectable 38 shades and costs £20 (reasonably priced, we would say). It’s meant to be a skin-first hybrid formula with cushiony texture that you can wear for up to 12 hours. To lock it in, there’s also the The Curtain Call Loose Powder, which uses talc alternatives and has a smooth, velvet-matte finish.
Lastly, the range includes bronzer sticks in seven shades, and fluid blushes in eight shades. It’s a buildable liquid formula that blends fairly well on the skin, so you can adjust it easily.
For the lips
Guess what? about-face also has everything you need to make your lip makeup dreams come true. And in line with other products from the brand, each of the lip products comes in various shades. Aside from the lip glosses, lip colours and pencils, there are also lip colour butters (the classic skincare-makeup hybrid – those glossy, hydrating balms with a pop of colour), and lip plumps for a fuller lip effect. These are butter-smooth with a matte finish, and have some skincare components like Bionic Tripeptides, which are known to improve collagen.
The key details
You can now shop over 200 about-face products at Space NK, with 139 in-store. That’s a huge selection – slightly overwhelming, really – but it does give us open access to Halsey’s makeup playground. These are all colour-rich, high-performance products that do make makeup less intimidating and more empowering. Our favourites are the fluid eye paints (particularly those punchy blues and greens) but you can shop the full collection here.
See also the best hair oils for glowing hair, the latest perfumes, and Kulfi’s launch in SpaceNK.