All opinions are my own.
Launched in September 2019, Lady Gaga’s cruelty-free beauty brand, Haus Laboratories (also known as Haus Labs), has built a reputation for its avant garde, unconventional, and creative approach to makeup. As Gaga herself says, Haus Laboratories is ‘not just another beauty brand. This is your glam, your expression, your artistry’.
Despite being a Gaga fan, I was initially quite hesitant to venture into the world of Haus Labs when it first hit the market. I basically couldn’t be less of a beauty guru if I tried; I rarely wear a lot of makeup and most of my beauty looks tend to be quite minimalist and natural. This is due to a bunch of different reasons. For one, I don’t have the patience or skill to do any kind of glamorous full-face look. I also suffer with eczema that, much to my chagrin, is very easily triggered by makeup so I tend to stick with the trusty basics as opposed to using my face as a creative canvas. I seriously can’t wear liquid eyeliner without my eyelids swelling to the point where they resemble golf balls!
After seeing Gaga’s products used by customers and beauty influencers on social media, I dismissed the brand as only being suitable for crazy, big, Gaga-esque statement looks. But just how wearable is Haus Laboratories for your average gal with sensitive skin and a complete lack of ability? Is it a range that lends itself easily to minimal and natural everyday looks? I tested Gaga’s Haus Labs to see if I could a build a simple, but still spooky classic look for my annual Halloween get-together (socially distanced, ofc).
Since Haus Labs has yet to release a foundation or contour kit, I had to turn to the trusty, old favourites. First, I used Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation in Nude as a base. I then applied Glossier’s Cloud Paint in ‘Dusk’ to my cheekbones, forehead and nose as a poor, halfhearted attempt at contour. To cover up my horrible dark circles that are half hereditary, half due to late-nights, I used Glossier’s Stretch Concealer in ‘G8’.
EYES
It’s worth prefacing this by saying that I don’t wear eye makeup EVER. Literally any product will irritate the hell out of my eyelids (sad reacts only) so if you want a full glimpse into the creative potential that Gaga’s beauty range offers, NikkiTutorials did an INSANE eye look using Haus Laboratories. But we’re keeping it basic today, right? Therefore, my lack of makeup prowess is entirely justified.
I took to Gaga’s rather lengthy titled eyeshadow palette, the Glam Room Palette No. 1: Fame, £33. It offers ten different matte, metallic and shimmery/sparkly shades which promise to be super easy to blend. Now, I’m no eye-shadow aficionado so I didn’t go crazy with trying to utilise every single shade in the palette. Instead, I applied a light coat of ‘Cameo’ which is the light terracotta, or as the website describes a ‘sheer golden pear’, shade all across my lid and going up to the brow bone. On the crease, I dabbed and half-attempted to blend in some of the ‘Contort’ shade which is a matte sienna.
One of the products that I was excited to try from Haus Labs was the Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner, £18. Because I only ever use eyeliner on my waterline, I have a great fondness of gel pencil eyeliner which I find not only is easier to apply than your standard Kohl eyeliner, but tends to stay on a lot longer.
The Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner boasts a 12-hour wear and is water, transfer and smudge proof – it’s like Gaga knows the way to my heart. I used the black shade called ‘Punk’ and applied it as I would any regular eyeliner to my waterline because I am incredibly basic, but I do love the ads for the gel pencil that show how you can use them to create fancy shapes and lines on your lid à la Ariana Grande in the ‘Rain on Me’ music video.
CHEEKS
As you can see, when it comes to blush I don’t hold back. Give me those rosy cheeks; I want to resemble a coy garden gnome.
I believe the Head Rush Blush + Highlighter Duo, £24 is a new addition to the Haus Laboratories’ range, and I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings about this product. I used the ‘Untamed / Intoxicate’ combo which consists of a warm coral peach blush with a peach and gold pearl highlighter.
Now, I rarely use matte blush as I am deathly loyal to my liquid blush from Glossier and while I am obsessed with how cute Gaga’s blush-highlighter duos are, it just didn’t give me that crimson glow I wanted. I did have to top it up with a quick dab of Cloud Paint from Glossier in the shades ‘Storm’ and ‘Haze’ just to make it pop in the photos.
That being said, the highlighter was really cute. I only applied a faint dab of it to my nose, brow bone and chin so it’s super subtle which I adore, but you can always layer it on if you want a more extreme shine.
LIPS
Now onto the pièce de résistance of this look. We’re revisiting that red lip classic thing that 2016/2017 Sam liked and was rarely seen without, but instead of using my long-time favourite red, the Burberry Lip Velvet Military Red No. 429, which I’ve been wearing since I was a young ‘un, we’re instead trying out Gaga’s Haus Laboratories Le Monster Matte Lip Crayon in the shade ‘1950’, £18.
Now, Haus Labs does offer the Rip Lip Liner, £15 in colours that compliment their matte lip crayons, but I didn’t use one and I honestly don’t think you need to. The benefit of using a crayon lipstick is that it you can guide the crayon/pencil-esque tip easily as you apply it and it sorts of doubles as lip liner in a way.
The formula for the Le Monster Matte Lip Crayon is quite creamy on application, but dries into a matte finish which supposedly won’t budge and is water-resistant. One of the best things about this product is that, much like the Burberry lipstick, it is buildable. You can go as subtle or as vibrant as you want with the colour and layer it on to get the exact level of the shade desired. ‘1950’ is quite an intense red so I didn’t need too many layers, but I’m sure you could lightly dab it on and blend as opposed to gliding it on if you wanted more of a subtle red.
On the whole, I’m quite impressed with Haus Laboratories. The products themselves are all very buildable which means they lend themselves to simple, minimalist everyday looks quite well. While I likely won’t revisit the Blush + Highlighter Duo or the Glam Room Eyeshadow Palette much at all, I think the Le Matte Lip Crayon and Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner may become firm favourites in my makeup bag.
Is it worth the money? It depends. I’d say Haus Labs is on par with Glossier for their slightly spenny prices, but as it’s still quite a new line with a limited range of products, it’s still a bit hit and miss for the price. However, I would say that the Le Matte Lip Crayon is a bargain!
The line is available through the Haus Laboratories site which incurs hefty shipping/customs fees for those abroad, but don’t fear, select products are also available on Amazon.
Leave a Reply