The beauty industry veteran who redefined skin-forward makeup.
Written by LAURA REGENSDORF
Laney Crowell was a fashion news assistant at Lucky when she found her nirvana. “Getting to walk into the beauty closet and touch and play and feel,” she recalls, “it just felt like a wonderland.” She spent years at Estée Lauder and helmed a conversation-shifting beauty blog—all of which led to the 2019 launch of Saie, her breakaway clean makeup brand. The name (pronounced say) nods to the lingua franca of cosmetics, but more so, the founder says, it reflects the open line of communication with Saie’s audience: “You say it, we create it.”
Crowell’s approach to makeup goes beyond do-no-harm ingredient vetting. The innovative formulas notably draw from the skin care playbook—the humectant glycerin and brightening licorice root extract are in regular rotation—which illustrates the founder’s broader sense of well-being. Saie is a member of 1% for the Planet and has led multibrand initiatives in support of reproductive justice. “Speaking for people who don't have a voice—and for me, the planet falls under those who don't have a voice—is all a very important part of the equation of being beautiful,” she says.
As for her own routine, Crowell is a discerning minimalist, an aesthetic picked up during her middle school years in Paris, when her mother was posted there in the Foreign Service. That sense of chic underpins the new Saie launch: a cherry-red shade of Dew Blush, called Cherie, available only at Violet. "The red is so classic,” she says. Find it and Crowell’s other essentials in her impeccably edited BAG.
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“This is, hands down, my favorite face mask on the market. When traveling, I never leave home without a handful of them to do before bed when I get back to the hotel.”
“Our new shade with VG is so chic. Like all Saie products, not only does it look good, it’s good for your skin and packed with nourishing, noncomedogenic ingredients. I love to use the double brush to apply it to my cheeks.”
“My hair drinks this product up! Mara sent it to me when it launched, and I use it not just on my thick, straight hair but also my daughters’ fine curly hair, too. It’s the perfect hair product, in my opinion.”
“A category disrupter for good reason—there’s just nothing else like it. The formula is so lightweight and gives a youthful, lit-from-within look. You can wear it all over (I call it my forever first step), mix it in with your tinted moisturizer, or use it as a spot highlighter on your cheekbones. It’s even stunning on the body. Personally I use every shade, but Sunglow has a special place in my heart.”
“Randi, the founder of Nécessaire, is such a favorite of mine. She’s so thoughtful about our planet and every ingredient that goes into her formulas. I especially love this scent because it transforms my shower into a spa.”
