Ms. Westman and Mr. Neville began their relationship in 2002. “I thought he was cute and cool, and we went bowling and I won,” she said. “A lot has happened since then.” They have three children, Dashel, Gray and Petal, and after moving out of an apartment they leased in the Langham on the Upper West Side earlier in the pandemic, they now live full time in what was once their weekend home in Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Sephora began carrying Westman Atelier in 2021. It was a modest rollout with products available online and in a few Sephora locations. The brand is now carried at 136 locations in North America, according to Alison Hahn, the senior vice president of merchandising, makeup and fragrance at Sephora.
The development process was exacting. “I wasted nine months trying to do an organic line,” Ms. Westman said. “But I wanted the performance. I needed science, I love science, I wanted to be known for innovation. Labs would show us the muddiest, crappiest, like, poop-brown clean formulas, and I’d say, ‘I don’t want natural, I want modern.’”
The $68 Vital Skincare Complexion Drops, a sheer skin tint, took about four years to develop. Her brief, she said, was, “I want something light but rich with a supple glide onto the skin that is cushiony and bouncy and easy and not too liquid and not too matte.”
In recent months, it has been rumored that Westman Atelier — which has raised funding from Prelude Growth Partners — may be a target for a beauty conglomerate. “Acquisition is flattering, isn’t it?” Ms. Westman said. “It’s fun to be courted a little bit — like, you must be doing things right.”
She and Mr. Neville said that they had a five-year plan that includes eyewear, but for now Ms. Westman is happy to be embarking on skin.
“We have another skin product in the works, and then you’ll never need anything else again,” Ms. Westman said. She pursed her lips. “Except you’ll need a cleanser. We’ll do that, too.”
