If you're anything like us, then you love finding out about the past experience and backgrounds behind your favourite brands. That's why we were so excited when we had the opportunity to interview Rupert Kingston, the founder of delilah cosmetics, a luxury boutique British brand, that are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, and are shaking up the beauty industry and we are utterly obsessed with it.

Rupert began his remarkable career as a make-up artist over 20 years ago, during which time he has worked in film, television and fashion, from making up top models to stars of the television and music business. Over the years, Rupert has developed his knowledge and skills for creating stunning looks but his real passion is always making these looks easy and wearable for all women of all age. Having worked with the likes of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Dawn French; Rupert is someone we can all be sure to learn a thing or two from.

The Best Things In Life Are Cruelty-Free

If you love gorgeous glowing skin, then you will love delilah and its signature glow routine. With their effortless and uncomplicated approach to all things make-up, it's not hard to understand why delilah is easy to love. Not only that, their iconic delilah Pure Light Liquid Radiance was recently raved about by the influential journalist India Knight in The Times!

This interview is packed full of insight into his personal story, the founding of his company, and what goes into crafting his beautiful and luxurious products. Get ready to be inspired!

Lovely to meet you, Rupert! So, how did your career in the beauty industry start out? What made you initially begin delilah?

I started my career over 25 years ago as a makeup artist (before being a makeup artist was a thing!) I was lucky enough to work all over the world in film, television and fashion. I started to work with brands on product concepts and eventually began working as a Creative Director overseeing brand concepts and product launches. I have worked with some of the biggest beauty brands and helped develop small independent brands too. It was this experience that helped us spot a gap in the market for delilah.

Our favourite product at Dermacare Direct has to be the Intense Day-To-Night Buildable Volumising Mascara. So, what is your favourite delilah product?

That’s easy, it is our Under Wear Foundation Primer, I even use it on men! It is the perfect way to prepare skin for makeup. I am forever converting customers to using our primer every day. The texture is beautiful, almost like a jellified serum that just melts into the skin, then the skin feels velvety and silky without a trace of stickiness. The skin looks and feels smoother, the makeup applies more easily and most importantly last longer.

Congratulations on becoming 100% vegan and cruelty-free! How have you managed to do this without compromising on your formulas?

Thank you! To be completely truthful it is not as hard as you might think. There are some great plant-based waxes that behave just like Beeswax. Red colour pigments are often made from Cochineal (crushed Beetles!) and these red pigments are used a lot to create brown tones. It took some time to source new mineral-based pigments that gave the same tone. It can be a drawn out process of formulating, testing and re-formulating until you get it right. The real work was re-designing all of our makeup brushes as they used to be with animal fibres. The new super-soft Taklon fibres are amazing, completely cruelty free and so easy to look after.

Of course, we absolutely love delilah. But, what makes your brand stand out from the rest in the industry?

I think there are a few elements, firstly I suppose it is the way it is presented. We always get so many comments on the way the brand looks, customers just love the way it is packaged. I would also say that customers are really intrigued by boutique brands, especially British ones. We are so proud to be certified. Finally, I would say that, unlike so many brands we have not inundated delilah with too much colour, we wanted to make the range simple and easy to understand. That has really resonated with our customers.

What is one makeup tip that all of our readers could benefit from?

Ok, the biggest mistake people make is not using enough products and applying them too heavily. Makeup artists know that by using just a few more products and carefully layering them, the effect will be transformative. For example, instead of slathering on too much of your foundation, try applying a little less and touching up with concealer. Don’t just use bronzer on the cheeks, add dimension by adding a subtle illuminator and a pop of blush, and instead of 10 coats of mascara, try adding a fine black line at the root of the lash and carefully fanning that lashes out with just a few fine coats of mascara.

Finally... can you tell us what is next for delilah!?

Keep creating beautiful products? We are really best known for complexion products like primers, foundations and illuminators. We have a brand new product launching in this category soon and we can’t wait for your customers to try it. Long term plans are to focus more on sustainability. We already work closely with the FCS and World Land Trust when we are sourcing paper, cardboard and even the wooden handle for our brushes. Now we are looking at initiatives to reduce plastic in our packaging and cut down waste during production.

It was an absolute pleasure speaking to Rupert and we hope that you enjoyed reading it too. delilah cosmetics is a brand that not only understands the science of beauty but also knows how to create beautiful products with an emphasis on performance and wearability. Want to try delilah cosmetics for yourself? Head over to our website now and see for yourself why this collection has been such a huge success.

If you need some more help, feel free to ask us! All products recommended above are available to purchase at Dermacare Direct and we can help with our expert advice and top tips making online product shopping stress-free. You can contact us by live chat, email via [email protected], or pick up the phone now and call us on phone number 0116 251 4848 to speak directly with a friendly advisor.