Edward Bess: Prince of Makeup

At the age of 22, you might expect an aspiring cosmetics entrepreneur to be working the makeup counter at Bergdorf Goodman, not running a fledgling beauty line that sells exclusively at the department store—but that's exactly the profile of Edward Bess, the young man behind the eponymous cosmetics brand.

The South Carolina-born Bess moved to New York to study theater at the Professional Performance Arts School, but beauty was always in the cards. As Bess says, "Once I realized I wanted to influence women, I decided to design my brand and launch [it] when I was 20 years old. I suppose I did not waste time in realizing my vision." Part of that vision was to go directly to Bergdorf's. "Bergdorf's has long been my favorite store—it was my dream to have my brand there. My first product launch was the Lip Wardrobe, and this remains our best seller."

Lip wardrobe, Bess explains, is a suite of lipstick and lip glosses that enhance the pout—each is fig-scented and colors range from nudes to deep reds. A similarly concise story is sold for the eyes with the Private Eye kit, which serves up eye shadow and mascara in the must-have smoky shades. Of his equally to-the-point packaging, Bess explains, "I am quite minimal myself as is my packaging. I sought a balance between modernity and timelessness."

Bess' legions of socialite and editor fans are grateful for the simplicity and are helping the budding talent with an unofficial word-of-mouth campaign. Many speak in hushed tones of their "obsession" with the brand—and the man. The slight Bess is getting high ratings for his own special man/boy beauty, to which he blushingly replies, "while flattered, I'd say the product definitely gets top billing!"

www.edwardbess.com

—Jason Campbell