When it comes to makeup, Swedish makeup artist and influencer Linda Hallberg is not one to follow rules; she prefers to create her own. In her world, shockingly bold hues are heavily encouraged, as are touches of sparkling glitter, and lipsticks aren’t purely for adding color to the lips, but also your eyes and cheeks too.
Guided by her endless creativity and playful approach to beauty, the talented creative has been able to build a successful career—and amass a dedicated online following that’s almost a million people strong— with her colorful and highly experimental makeup looks. But it’s not just her stellar work that has captivated audiences, it’s also her outlook on makeup products too. After coming to the realization that you don’t need a large number of products to complete a makeup look, Hallberg was inspired to launch her own makeup brand, LH cosmetics, which features an array of award-winning multi-use, vegan makeup products.
While attending the Makeup Show Chicago last month, I had the pleasure of connecting with Hallberg to learn more about her journey into the beauty industry. Here, she chats about how she got started in the world of makeup, her passion for color, and what the future holds for her makeup brand.
The Tease: Tell me briefly about how you got your start working as a makeup artist in the industry.
Linda Hallberg: I’ve always been into art, colors, and shapes. I’ve been painting since I was little. I was never really into makeup as a way to make myself pretty, but more so to play pretend and transform myself into a character. I think that planted a seed in me to want to get into makeup later in life. And then when I went to makeup school, I just felt like there was something missing because everyone was so inside the box, thinking that a lipstick is just a lipstick and that a specific brush was only for one specific thing. I felt like the creativity wasn’t really there. Also, I didn’t really have much money at the time, so I used everything for everything. I wondered why people weren’t just using makeup as if they were just colors.
After a couple of years, I felt like I should create a makeup brand—one where colors are just colors so people can be free to play and be creative, because I felt like other brands didn’t really speak to me. So I created LH cosmetics and it actually started as a collaboration between a webshop called Bangerhead. During my work with them, I was like, ‘Why aren’t we just making this into a real brand?’ And they were like, ‘You know, it’s going to be tough, right?’ I was like, ‘How hard can it be?’ It was so hard and took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But it was fun and I’ve learned so much along the way. And it hasn’t been easy because there are so many rules and regulations for how you can use different pigments and ingredients on different parts of the face. Plus, the multi-use aspect is kind of tricky sometimes, especially if you’re a vegan brand. But we’re here and we just turned eight this year.
On your website, you share your belief that makeup has no rules. Can you expand more on your makeup philosophy?
Hallberg: For me, makeup is art and art has no rules. So I really want people to just be free and do whatever they want with makeup. And we’re not really there yet because I feel that makeup still has a stigma in so many countries. If you’re a guy, you can’t wear makeup. And even if I walk out wearing bold makeup in Stockholm, people will look at me and think that I’m weird. So it also depends on where you are in the world. But it’s getting more open and people are much more open-minded when it comes to makeup.
What’s your relationship with color, speaking of yourself, but also of your work with clients?
Hallberg: Most clients don’t want color because that’s the norm. But when I can and I’m allowed to do colorful makeup, I really love to play and show that all colors do go together. You just have to do it. And if you blend too much everything does just turn gray, so you have to blend, but you can’t blend too much. There is a fine line. But I love playing with colors and different textures. I just think it’s so much fun. And you don’t have to go full-on with color, you can just play a little bit with it too.
Where does the inspiration come from for you to create such innovative makeup looks?
Hallberg: I get a lot of inspiration from nature. I live close to the forest, so I like to be out in nature because there is so much color, shapes, and sounds there. It gives me so much inspiration, but also so do people and different places. If you just look for it you can see different color combinations everywhere. You just have to be open to it.
What’s your advice to other makeup artists who want to start being more adventurous with color in their work?
Hallberg: If you are nervous or feeling insecure about working with color, I think it’s always a good idea to try things out on yourself first to see if it works or not. If it works, you can do it on your clients. But I would tell everyone to not be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to color.
Going back to your brand LH cosmetics, could you share some of your best-selling products as well as some of your personal favorites?
Hallberg: So I have a few, with the first being our Crayons, because they are also multi-use so you can use them on your eyes, lips, and face. Our products are tested and safe to use on multiple areas of the face. But I love them because they are so versatile and smooth. Plus, they’re waterproof and smudge-proof. Then, of course, I love the Color Palette. It is my baby. I love to have it in my kit because you can do everything with it. It has the primary colors, the secondary colors, neutral, black, and white. So you can really create pretty much whatever you want, if you are open to it.
The Infinity Palette was the first product that we launched. I wanted to incorporate eight of the most common colors that I used when I was freelancing as a makeup artist, in the same palette. So I usually say that it has eight boring colors, but they’re the colors that you use the most. So that’s something that I use every day. I also have a product that is called Velvet Couture that is just a cream which you can use all over. You can use it as an eyeshadow primer, a cream eyeshadow, as a contour, a blush, and even on your lips.
How do you balance your own makeup artistry with running your own business?
Hallberg: It’s hard because I want to do a lot of things and I can’t do everything I want. So I have to pick and choose the jobs that I think I can grow as a makeup artist and as a person. And then I work three days at the office for the brand, and then I can do other things on the other two days. I am the makeup artist for the brand, so I do all the makeup for the models and I also do all the photography for the brand, too.
What advice do you have for other makeup artists who are looking to start their own makeup brand?
Hallberg: Prepare for it to be more work than you think. Also, work with people that love it as much as you do. It’s so important to have a team that you really like and love to be around. I would also say to believe in yourself. It’s every cliche, but it’s true. Believe in what you want to create and in your dreams, and have a great community around you. You need a team and maybe a mentor that can help you with things, because it is hard. But, having my own brand is also the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life.
In addition to being a makeup artist and brand founder, you are also an influencer. How do you feel about the way that social media is influencing and shaping beauty?
Hallberg: I feel like social media’s influence on beauty is both good and bad. I think it’s mostly good because you can find people that are the same as you. You can find a community if you feel a certain way or you feel like you have a certain style and want to find people like you, you can really do that, which was really difficult before social media. You can find tips and tricks online that you may miss out on if you’re not on social media. But I think it’s mostly a good thing because you can find inspiration so easily and people are often very nice as well.
What advice do you have for other makeup artists when it comes to showcasing their work on social media?
Hallberg: Just do it because everyone is on social media nowadays. If you aren’t on social media, I think it’s harder to get jobs—at least in Sweden. I don’t know about the U.S., but I think you have to be on social media and showcase your portfolio there so that people can notice your work.
Are there any current beauty trends that you are excited about or inspired by?
Hallberg: I don’t usually go for trends because I really like to do my own style. But for fall and winter, I love the darker shades. I love dark lips and eyes and monochrome looks with deep wine color. But in general, I love the festive season that we are in right now. I think it’s so much fun and people play around more with makeup. I love to see more glitter, and more color, and more everything. And I also love the more natural complexion where you can actually see the skin. It’s been a thing in Scandinavia for a long time but we are seeing it more and more across the rest of the world. I really love that you can see that skin is skin, because that’s also a thing.
What can we expect to see from you and LH cosmetics in the future?
Hallberg: We have some really exciting stuff coming out next year, but I can’t tell you about them because it’s a secret. I can tell you that we are planning to expand more. It would be nice to get into the U.S. and the physical stores here. That would be a great step for us.
Be sure to keep up with Hallberg’s incredible work by following @lindahallberg on Instagram. And for all things LH cosmetics, make sure to follow @lhcosmetics on Instagram.
