Inside Gucci Westman's Approach to Beauty

“I’m Gucci Westman, I’ve been a makeup artist for the last 30 years and I’m the founder of Westman Atelier. I’ve spent most of my career working across editorial, runway, and celebrity makeup. I have always focused on creating beautiful, alive-looking skin. It has become one of my signatures. I grew up in Sweden, and I have been a lifelong vegetarian. That experience gave me a strong foundation in healthy living, simplicity and craftsmanship. I think it still influences everything I do today.

I moved to Paris when I was 23 to attend makeup school. I learned how to do makeup using sticks – they’re fast, easy to layer and won’t interfere with other makeup. Sticks are now an integral part of our brand language. From there, I moved to LA and started working in movie makeup. Eventually, I found my way to NY and have the incredible Grace Coddington to thank, as I had the chance to do some of the most iconic Vogue covers and spreads over the last 20 years. 

Later, I became the Global Artistic Director for Lancôme, which was an incredible chapter in my career. It gave me a much deeper understanding of product development and what it really takes to create beauty products at scale. I loved working with the labs and innovating, but it also made me realise there was an opportunity for something different in the market. I asked myself, why can’t I find something that’s luxury in terms of the presentation and performance, but that also has the ingredient focus? I wanted our products to actually work and deliver on their promise – to be truly efficacious.

In 2018, my husband David and I launched Westman Atelier. I wanted (and still want) to create a system that makes it incredibly easy to create beautiful skin and enhance, not transform.” 

“For me, it’s about effortless, healthy skin and modern simplicity. Everything we create has to feel intuitive, high-performing, and spark joy on your vanity. We want products to be beautiful, but because of how they perform you find yourself reaching for them again and again. They also have to have a meaningful impact on the skin long after you wash them off. The marriage of luxury presentation, high-performance, and efficacious ingredients is the essence of Westman Atelier’s core values.” 

“A lot of devices! I am currently loving beauty tools that combine light therapy and gentle vibration and that are just perfect for unwinding after a long day on set or travelling. You will also always find my favourite Westman Atelier trio: the Skin Activator, Eye Activator and Suprême C. These are the only 3 items you need – they are incredibly potent, yet gentle.

I am also very into gummies and supplements. Some of my favourites for sleeping better are from Juna, and I also take ones for metabolic support.”

“Baby Cheeks Blush Stick in Petal, Lit Up Highlight Stick in Nectar, and Face Trace Stick in both Coco and Biscuit are always at arms reach.

I am currently obsessing over HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick. I have already gone through 3 tubes! It is everything I want in a lip balm – sheer, hydrating, and incredibly comfortable. It’s so pillowy and nourishing.

I also can’t stop using Sun Tone Bronzing Crème. The secret to an authentic bronze is dimension. By layering two tones, you mimic how the sun hits skin for a result that looks incredibly real.”

“It usually starts from a real need, something I feel is missing in my own kit or in my own life. I don’t want to create a lot of products, just the right ones. A curated suite for the complexion. After that, it is a long (sometimes too long) process. We create everything in house – our formulas, our packaging. We always say the details aren’t the details, they are the design.

I may go through 5+ packaging iterations and 20+ formula iterations, but it is always worth it. When we were working on launching the brand labs would say to us “oh you don’t need to add that much of that active. If you only add 1% you can market it.” For us, it is never about cutting corners, costs, or marketing language. My dream formulas, from a performance perspective, are nothing without providing meaningful benefits to your skin.

We always add actives at the highest levels to produce real skin results. Delivering on what we promise is extremely important to me. We only launch something when it feels truly exceptional.”

“We will always remain centred on conscious luxury. I think we have earned the right to expand further beyond colour, while staying rooted in our high-performance, skin-first ethos.

David (my husband and co-founder) always says building a brand is like building a house brick by brick. I am not interested in chasing virality and trends. I want to stay true to myself. I don’t doubt myself – I don’t second-guess as I get older. I feel more strongly than ever this brand has a proposition that there is an appetite for.

I know there are a lot of women like myself who want to look a little like a better version of themselves with very little effort. And they want to also experience some form of joy while doing it. All while creating better skin along the way”