Fara Homidi’s product effort oozes optimism. From the lacquered clamshells that snap shut like sports cars to the dreamy chromatic blue caps, every detail feels like an act of faith in beauty itself. It is the optimism of taking time, of resisting churn, of insisting that make-up be artful, essential and lived-in.

Since the debut of her sky-blue lip compact last spring, Homidi has resisted speed. Instead, her namesake line has unfolded slowly – “slow beauty,” as she calls it – with every product designed from the ground up, tested on runways and released only when it reaches a kind of internal perfection.

“First and foremost, it’s an artistry-infused brand,” Homidi tells me. “It’s really design driven. All the packaging is custom designed. The formulations are built from the ground up. For me, it was about creating products I felt could be improved – things that were classics but could be pushed forward – or putting out innovation that didn’t exist.”

Today, the next chapter arrives: Soft Glass Lip Plumping Oil, a high-shine balm-in-oil designed to comfort, hydrate and lacquer the lips in a mirror-like finish. Two translucent shades – Pomme, a juicy red tint, and Tawny, a warm nude – offer what Homidi calls “bee-stung juiciness.”

“I love a super glassy, crystalline lip,” she says. “I want it to be super reflective. The problem has been that the ingredients to get you there mean it needs to be sticky and uncomfortable. I wanted to bridge the gap – something glossy and reflective but still comfortable, cushiony, a treatment that plumps over time.”

That phrase – over time – is key. Unlike traditional glosses that offer a quick sting, Soft Glass relies on bio-fermented oils, ginger root, amino acids, peptides, and liposoluble hyaluronic acid to work slowly, comfortably. “It’s sting-free,” she says. “It’s fortified with really high levels of amino acids, peptides and  hyaluronic acid that penetrates deeply and keeps hydration for a long time. It gives you your most plump lips.”

Soft Glass Lip Plumping Oil

It’s a new lip category within her line – which already counts lip liners and that lip compact – but more than that, it feels like a statement: luxury beauty needn’t hurt to dazzle.

Homidi’s products spend years in development – sometimes three or more – before reaching shelves. How does she know when a product is ready? “There are a bunch of tests I do,” she explains. “Everything needs to feel malleable and smudgeable, that you get to choose how much intensity or how light you want it. Products need to have a multi-purpose function. I take everything to my shoots and on runways, test them on models, and ask: ‘is this something you would wear? What’s missing? Undertones? Texture?’ Those conversations happen before anything is released.”

Her own experience plays a role, too. “I’m almost 45. I have fine lines around my eyes and lips. Nothing I put out is going to bleed or emphasise texture. Everything has to blur, smooth, be long-wearing, not weather.” It’s a kind of perfectionism, but one rooted in empathy.

Inclusivity in shade ranges has long been a talking point in beauty, but Homidi prefers the phrase “complexion considerate”. “Could you say any brand has a perfect shade for everyone? Even with 120 shades, you’d still miss somebody,” she says. “But you should feel that within my brand and product offering you were considered in the process.”

She points to the Essential Face Compact: 15 shades divided evenly across light, medium and deep ranges. “With other brands you see ten shades for light to medium and then three for darker skin. To me, that’s not complexion considerate. That feels like they had to go there, so they gave you a little something. Consumers are keyed into that.”

The same logic applies to lips. “With my lip compacts, Nude 1 and Nude 2 consider how a nude looks on deeper skin tones, and Red 1 and Red 2 consider how a red looks on deeper skin tones. Those are details that matter.”

Homidi’s philosophy is rooted in her own story. She emigrated from Afghanistan to the US as a child; her mother was a beautician, her father a chemist. “At some point I realised I was literally doing both my parents’ careers in one,” she says. “My father always said, when you’re ready, you should create your own brand, work with formulations, figure out what you want to do. At the time I thought, okay, Dad, sure. But that little voice stayed with me.”

Years spent mixing multiple products backstage to create one usable texture or shade only reinforced the need. “I’d think, if I could make my own, it would be one and done. That voice in my head kept coming back.” Now, her line feels like the natural convergence of her parents’ disciplines – chemistry and beauty – translated into objects of modern design.

If the products are designed with obsessive detail, their aesthetic embraces imperfection. They are “smudgeable, blurry, malleable,” designed to live with the wearer rather than dictate.

“I wanted to offer something that has an aesthetic and design but is still utilitarian,” she says. “It’s not precious, not adorned with gold or pearls. You want to take it with you. You use it how you want, how it makes you feel good, just emphasising your features.”

Slow beauty isn’t just about product development – it extends to sustainability. “Our lip pencils use FSC certified wood, aluminium caps and a metal sharpener,” she says. “It’s easier and cheaper to use plastic, but we went the extra mile. Is anything perfect? No. But with the technology available, we try to do better.”

Ingredients are scrutinised with the same rigour. “If it’s palm oil derived, it’s certified so they’re replanting. If it’s mica, it’s responsibly sourced. I vet every ingredient, research it, and make sure we can stand behind it.”

The effort is immense, but Homidi insists it’s worth it. “By the time you get it, we’ve spent so much time considering everything, making sure we did the best we can.”

Running a brand has meant a crash course in business. “You cannot wrap your brain around how many little things there are: warehousing, margins, hiring, regulations, state taxes. The learning curve is you are as good as your team. Team, team, team.”

Her team of seven is almost entirely women. “The only male is my husband, and he’s an honorary male,” she laughs. “It’s not that I won’t work with men, but I have a synergy with women. We understand each other, we can multitask like crazy. When you’re in the trenches, you want an amazing woman by your side.”

In 2024, the Business of Fashion award for Creative Execution recognised her singular approach. For someone long behind the scenes – leading trends quietly through runway and editorial work – the acknowledgment mattered. “I’m not the biggest in-front-of-camera personality,” she says. “So being recognised by both the fashion and beauty industry in that way was huge. It meant so much.”

The next step is global. “We launched in the UK recently and it’s going really well. We’re partnering with a big retailer in the autumn. My head is at bringing the brand to more of a global place.”

But no matter how far it expands, the ethos won’t change. “Because we’re slow beauty, when we have a new launch people are hungry. We’re not throwing 10 billion things at them. When something comes out, it’s a rage.”

Photography by Zoe Ghertner.

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