In Bloom
With
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Supermodel, mother, entrepreneur, and now beauty mogul – it’s fair to say the force of nature that is ROSIE HUNTINGTON-WHITELEY is thriving. Following the debut of her own skincare and makeup collection, and ahead of the arrival of her second child, she shares how motherhood has changed her with ALICE CASELY-HAYFORD – and reveals why she’s expanding her Rose Inc empire one strategic move at a time
“Christmas is here in the UK this year,” Rosie Huntington-Whiteley tells me happily. “I’m excited to be with my family. It will be very cozy because I’m going to be nesting. It will be quiet… well, as quiet as a Christmas can be with the Statham bunch.”
It’s been a busy time for the supermodel and entrepreneur, who relocated from LA to London with her family (four-year-old son Jack and her partner of nearly 13 years, actor Jason Statham) during the pandemic and, more recently, launched her own beauty brand while pregnant with their second child. It’s unsurprising, then, that she’s looking forward to some R&R in her new home for the holiday season.
Launched in September 2021, Rose Inc beauty products were a natural expansion of the editorial platform she founded in 2018. Created to provide an inclusive space, where Huntington-Whiteley could share her love of beauty and all the knowledge that she has acquired in the makeup chair throughout her prolific modeling career, the platform was an instant success.
With a highly engaged Instagram following of almost 14 million, plus a legion of loyal fans who have followed her every step and collaboration since her Marks & Spencer partnership began almost 10 years ago, Huntington-Whiteley’s Rose Inc brand has blossomed into an authentic, multi-faceted representation of the luxe, minimalist aesthetic she embodies. Whether it’s an Insta post of a perfectly put-together tonal outfit – typically featuring Totême, The Row, Bottega Veneta and Wardrobe.NYC – or a peek into her elegant bathroom and beauty cabinet via the Rose Inc YouTube channel, Huntington-Whiteley is the personification of pared-back chic.
“I’m pretty well versed on what works for my audience – what they want to see from me and what they don’t,” Huntington-Whiteley explains, from the serene cream living room of her home.
“I remember getting off the phone and being so fed up with my life being at the MERCY of [other] people’s decisions. It was in that moment that I thought, if I want to make stuff HAPPEN, I have to be really PROACTIVE”
In an industry that is saturated with countless beauty lines, the business founder was determined that her own creation would cut through the noise. “I knew very early on, before I even started working on the products, that if I was going to launch a brand, it had to stand for something beyond just pretty packaging, pretty colors and swatches,” she says. “It really had to have something that made it unique, so that’s part of the reason I ended up partnering with Amyris, the biotech company that manufactures the products. They gave me a unique perspective and education into ingredients that are sustainably sourced,” she says.
“We chose to launch with both skin and makeup products because I felt that those go in conjunction with one another. As somebody who has struggled with acne breakouts my entire adult life and rarely wakes up without at least two zits, having products that were based on ingredients that were clinically proven was really important to me. Everything is noncomedogenic – makeup products that are effortless and easy to use, but are also going to give you these instant results.”
“There are lots of great WOMEN I feel I could pick up the phone [to] and pick their brain should I need to. I would love to think that people would feel OPEN to picking up the phone to me one day. MENTORSHIP is such a beautiful thing”
Huntington-Whiteley speaks confidently about the minute details, affirming her involvement in every layer of the business. And, of course, with a face as stunning as hers – spots and all – she is the perfect advert for the brand. “One day I can be in a board meeting, the next day I can be in a financial meeting,” she asserts. “As the chief creative officer, it’s all about being involved in those aspects as well; [in] casting, community, our influencer strategy, PR strategy… We had such a strong community before we launched products and so I definitely feel very connected to [that], and excited to lean in to it more over the coming months and years.”
At just 34, Huntington-Whiteley’s burgeoning empire has been years in the making. Despite huge success in modeling, she always had her eyes on a bigger prize. She recalls her frustrations aged 19 at not being the master of her own destiny: “I remember picking up the phone to my agent, checking every day what options had come in. And I remember getting off the phone and being so fed up with my life being at the mercy of [other] people’s decisions. It was in that moment that I thought, if I want to make stuff happen, I have to be really proactive.”
And she certainly was. Prior to Rose Inc, there were continuous but considered brand partnerships with the likes of Hourglass, Paige and Shu Uemura. She credits part of her success to the network of brilliant women she has grown up around, from her mother to the industry leaders she has worked with. “I’ve been really fortunate over the years to work with a lot of female founders and be able to witness the way they work… I’ve been quite collaborative in the way that I’ve partnered with brands, and that’s always been important to me… I wanted to learn because I knew I was wanting to do my own thing,” she explains.
“There are lots of great women I feel I could pick up the phone [to] and pick their brain should I need to. I would love to think that people would feel open to picking up the phone to me one day. Mentorship is such a beautiful thing.”
In terms of her professional inspiration, Elle Macpherson is an exemplar. “[She] was the supermodel who pivoted a successful career into successful businesses and really executed them well. They felt really authentic. [We] have connected over the years and she’s wonderful.”
Rose Inc first landed not long after the birth of Huntington-Whiteley’s son in 2017. She is candid about the challenges of early motherhood. “For a period after I had my first son, there was a real shift in identity, and a sort of mourning of the loss of your old life, and who you were… I just remember feeling like the rug was pulled out from underneath me,” she says. “I’d had all these years of being really independent, being able to come and go as I wished, being self-employed to a degree, calling the shots, and then suddenly having [something] that really anchored me to home life,” she shares.
“If you’re someone that, like me, attach[ed] a lot of identity to my physicality and the way that I felt and looked, it really took me a long time to come around, but I think once I stepped into the role, embraced it, everything sort of relaxed a little bit. I did start to feel this new sense of life. And now, in my thirties, my confidence is so much [greater] and my ability to make decisions and not second-guess myself is stronger. I genuinely feel like my life is much more well-rounded.”
Alongside the confidence that experience and time has afforded her, her partner, Jason, is her pillar of strength and support. “We’re definitely both ambitious and excited for life… Jay is my greatest protector,” Huntington-Whiteley enthuses. “I hope he would say the same for me with him… He has been a great mentor for me with work and navigating the industries. He’s renowned for being a tough businessman. As someone who’s probably a little bit softer by nature myself, he’s given me a lot of support to make those tough decisions… And he’s really given me the wings to fly in that sense.”
“For a period after I had my first son, there was a real shift in IDENTITY, and a sort of mourning of the loss of who you were… But once I stepped into the role, EMBRACED it, everything sort of relaxed a little bit. I did start to feel this new sense of LIFE”
The couple also has a shared love of art and interiors. “He’s the real visionary in this family, and his taste and aesthetic are second to none. People are so surprised because that’s not what they expect. Really, when it comes to furniture and architecture, I have learnt so much from him.” In addition to their new family home in the UK, Huntington-Whiteley has bought herself a townhouse to do up, which has become a recent passion project. “I’m renovating, which is exciting because property and interiors are [things] I’m getting more excited about now.”
When asked if we might see her take her exquisite eye for luxury minimalism into homeware, Huntington-Whiteley is coy but insists that beauty is her focus. For now.
Instead, we move on to discuss cultural changes in the industry across her career. “There’s no doubt that there’s always going to be work to do. But I do think the industry has had to make big, big shifts… I think for a long time, there was a lot of heel-dragging. Fashion people had a specific point of view and a specific look… It is exciting to see that shift and to think where we’ll be in another five years’ time, 10 years’ time, by listening to the consumer.”
In a job that demands so much of one’s time, personal life and physical appearance, self-care is essential. “For a while now, taking a long, hot shower or watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm at the end of the day [has been] my way of unwinding,” Huntington-Whiteley shares.“But Jay and I are at a place where we are really asking ourselves what it is that we want to create for our family outside of the day-to-day running of a household and work. For me, nature is where I find myself most restored… That’s something I really want to achieve for my family in the near future – our own little slice of nature, and animals and all of those things around us… I think that will give a nice balance to the rest of our lifestyle. I’m excited to start creating that. That’s one of the great things about being back here in the UK as well.”
With the imminent arrival of their second child, the new year will also bring new additions to Rose Inc. “This morning, I’ve been putting on things to try and products for new launches. I get really excited, like anybody else, when they find a new product that makes a big difference in their routine. The product development is really exciting… We wanted to launch the brand with a less-is-more approach. Instead of launching 50 pieces of makeup at once, we wanted to introduce things in a regular cadence, really allowing ourselves time to get things right.” And get it right she will.
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