Inside ONE/SIZE with Patrick Starrr, performance that fits all

ONE/SIZE started with a dressing room disappointment and a fileable phrase. Patrick Starrr turned makeup is a one size fits all into a performance brand for every brand of beauty, from a remover first launch to a setting spray with real sell through. We talk wear time, shade logic and why glam should last.

In February 2016 Patrick Starrr walked out of a clothing store that had promised plus sizes and stocked none in his size. He posted that shopping frustration online, then filed a trademark on the sentence that answered it.

That decision is the whole brand in miniature. Starrr was a working makeup artist and a beauty community figure who had been told to wipe his makeup off on a retail floor. He knew what it felt like to be edited out. Makeup, unlike that store rack, did not stop three sizes short. Four years later that line became the tagline on mirrored red packaging.

What ONE/SIZE is now is a performance color brand built around long wear claims and wide casting. The hero is On Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray, sold as waterproof, transferproof, smudgeproof and sweatproof for 16 hours. The second anchor is Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder, sold with up to 24 hour shine control. The stated formula brief is clinically validated wear for all skin types, tones, ages and genders.

What others miss is the order of operations. Starrr launched in July 2020 with GO OFF, a Makeup Dissolving Mist and remover wipes. Start with removal, on his own terms, then build the beat that stays put. Gloss Report likes founders who can talk undertone and doors in the same sentence. Starrr talks belonging and reorder with the same fluency.

Your February 2016 post came after a store said it carried plus sizes and had nothing in your size, and you answered that makeup is a one size fits all, then filed the trademark. What did that week teach you about who beauty was leaving out.

Unlike clothing, makeup is one-size-fits-all. I filed a trademark, but little did I know that four years later it would become our tagline. I got a trademark, I owned it, and I started blasting it everywhere. As a gay, plus size kid growing up in Orlando, I had not seen the opportunities I envisioned for myself. That shopping trip just named it plainly.

ONE/SIZE stands for the unseen and unheard. I happen to make and develop extraordinary makeup with larger-than-life performances. With being an influencer comes privilege, status, and access. I am building a brand and using the opportunity to create something for people who have not been seen or heard. One Size beauty is for the unseen and the unheard, and we represent every brand of beauty.

You launched in July 2020 with GO OFF, a Makeup Dissolving Mist and remover wipes, instead of leading with color. Why start a makeup brand with removal, after being asked as a retail associate to take your makeup off.

Years ago I was working on a retail floor and a manager told me my makeup was inappropriate for me as a man and asked me to remove it. Starting with GO OFF let me reclaim that moment. We start with no makeup on our own terms. Then we build whatever beat you want, full glam or soft, and it stays because you chose it.

Makeup is no different than what you wear and what you eat, it is a matter of taste. For me as a founder, specifically as an influencer founder, it is less about vanity and it is more about sanity. It is all about championing your inner beauty and who you want to be. That first drop set the contract. We will not tell you to wipe it off. We will give you the best remover when you decide the night is over.

Your 2019 collaboration with MAC caught the attention of your future partners and Sephora, and by April 2021 ONE/SIZE was headed to Sephora doors in America and Southeast Asia first. What did that year teach you about turning views into sell through.

That MAC year showed us that artistry could move product when the shade thinking and the demo were right. Partners started to pay attention because the audience was not just watching, they were buying and repurchasing. Going into Sephora meant learning doors, assortments and education at speed.

I want to make sure that everyone can see a little bit of themselves in the brand. The mirrored pack was part of that idea. You literally see yourself in it. On floor, that only works if the staff can shade match fast and explain payoff, finish and wear time in one sentence. Being self-aware and owning who you are is the most powerful thing. In retail that means knowing what you do well and staffing for it.

On Til Dawn is your number one icon, a fine aerosol mist sold as waterproof, transferproof, smudgeproof and sweatproof for 16 hours. What was the wear brief, and how should an artist use it so it still looks right at hour eight.

The brief was performance. Lock the glam, keep the finish matte, do not let sweat or transfer rewrite the face. The On Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray uses green tea extract and witch hazel to create a matte finish that lasts for up to 16 hours. We wanted insurance for long days, weddings, shifts, stage lights, summer in the South.

Mist over finished makeup to lock in glam, two to three even passes in a T and X motion, eyes closed, mouth closed, let it set without fanning. For very oily skin, I prime with control, set lightly with powder, then seal. Do not over spray. That is what causes spotting. People need to love you where you are at, rather than love you for who you could be. And that goes for any family, any friend, any work relationship. The same applies to skin. Prep for the skin you have that day.

Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder promises up to 24 hour shine control and instant blur, in Translucent and Ultra Pink. Who is each shade really for, and where does the range still stop short.

Translucent is the workhorse. It sets under eyes and across the face to blur texture and control shine without adding visible color on many tones, though very deep skin still needs a light hand and a proper press and dust off. Ultra Pink is brighter under the eye, it wakes up the area and photographs well when used sparingly.

To be direct, two shades is a tight range for a product sold for every brand of beauty. Loose blurring powders live or die on undertone and depth, meaning the pink or yellow cast that sits under the surface, and on whether deeper tones get ash or flashback. I will call this good but narrow. Translucent plus one pink leaves out deeper smoothing shades and a true banana or peach corrector set. A shade extension in two to three deeper blurring tones would make it sell harder.

ONE/SIZE stands for the unseen and unheard.

Patrick Starrr

You formulate as clinically validated for all skin types, tones, ages and genders, with witch hazel, green tea extract, hyaluronic acid and lime pearl extract in the mix. How do you balance heavy performance with skin comfort across that wide brief.

We start with the end wear claim and work backward. If it must hold through sweat and oil, we need oil control. If it must suit dry or mature skin, we need comfort and care so it does not look chalky at hour six. The brand states its products are clinically validated and intentionally formulated for everyone.

Witch hazel and green tea do the shine and pore appearance work, hyaluronic acid supports hydration and lime pearl extract helps the surface look smoother and brighter. Set under eyes and face to blur and control shine, but prep matters. Moisturize to your skin type, prime where you run hot, powder where you crease. Performance makeup should feel like support, not a mask. Makeup is a ONE/SIZE fits all, but routine still needs tuning.

Mirrored red packaging is your signature, and you have said you want everyone to see a little of themselves in the brand. How does that idea survive on a crowded shelf and in a kit.

I want to make sure that everyone can see a little bit of themselves in the brand. The mirror makes it literal. On shelf, red reads fast. In a kit, the mirror is useful for touch ups when you cannot find a mirror. It photographs, which helps creators demo payoff and finish honestly.

The risk is fingerprints and glare, yes, and we watch returns and restock notes for that. But the bigger point holds. If you grew up not seeing yourself in campaigns or shade ranges, a pack that reflects you back is a small daily correction. ONE/SIZE fits all is not only copy. It is a reminder to the team when we pick models, shades and language.

In October 2022 you geared up for a first celebrity collaboration with Disney and Mickey Mouse. What did play teach you about limits, dupes and waitlists, and what would you not repeat.

Play taught us that joy sells when the performance is still serious. People will line up for a waitlist when the collectible is cute, but they only restock when the formula earns it. A dupe conversation starts when the price or the shade logic feels off, not when fans are having fun.

I would rather champion inner beauty and self expression than chase vanity trends. I would rather formulate for every skin type, tone, age and gender than for a narrow customer. I would rather practice boundaries and say no than accept a small compromise. No gender, age, race or size exclusion in who makeup is for. No beef driven creator culture in my circle. Those rules keep collaborations clean.

You often say makeup is a matter of taste and that owning who you are is the most powerful thing. For the reader who swatches before buying and keeps the receipt for anything sold as universal, what should they buy first and how should they test it.

Start with the lock and the blur. On Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray, Full Size 34 dollars and Travel Size 18 dollars, and Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder, Translucent or Ultra Pink in Full Size 36 dollars and Travel Size 19 dollars. They show the brand thesis fastest. Powder where you shine, spray to seal, wear it through a normal long day.

Test like an artist. Swatch powder along the jaw in daylight, check for ash or pink cast after ten minutes. Wear spray over your usual base and check transfer on a collar, shine at midday, and finish at night. Makeup is no different than what you wear and what you eat, it is a matter of taste. If matte 16 hour wear is not your taste, try less powder and one lighter pass. The goal is choice that holds.

Closing note from the desk

What stays with us is the discipline inside the maximalism. Starrr talks about unseen people and larger than life performance in the same breath, and the assortment backs it up with two workhorses that solve a real problem, glam that slips by noon. We appreciate a founder who can name the trademark filing and the misting technique without changing register.

ONE/SIZE set out to make makeup that fits all, for every brand of beauty. The honest read is that the wear story is strong and the shade story still has room to grow. Add deeper blurring options, keep the 16 hour promise honest, and the belonging line reads as plan, not slogan.

Product spotlight

On 'Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray costs 34 dollars for Full Size and 18 dollars for Travel Size. It is a fine aerosol mist that sets finished makeup with a matte finish and resists water, transfer, smudging and sweat for up to 16 hours. Mist two to three passes over the full beat and let set untouched.

Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder costs 36 dollars for Full Size in Translucent or Ultra Pink and 19 dollars for Travel Size. It is an award winning loose powder that blurs texture and controls shine for up to 24 hours. Press lightly under eyes and over oily zones, dust off excess, then seal with spray.