Now, she’s launched her own eponymous label, featuring a capsule collection of instant cult classics, based on her wealth of knowledge of professional make-up.
“This is the first time I’ve done something unequivocally to please me,” Ruby tells us. “I’ve really done it to bring joy and a smile to my face and I hope it resonates with everyone.”
She follows the launch of her magnetic brush set and nail kit with a third item from her collection, a stylish porcelain brush holder, which comes in two sizes and can be used for storing makeup brushes or, simply, displayed as an ornament.
“It can hold all your other brushes or you can put a tea light in it or jewellery,” explains Ruby, MilliOnAir’s beauty editor. “It’s a little drop of joy. I’ve always been interested in design and how things look, but they also need to have a function; a purpose.”
Ruby’s brush set is a case in point. It has three different heads, which can be used for powder or cream textures, eyeshadows or concealers, and cleverly click together, thanks to built-in magnets. They’re all synthetic, making them extra hygienic, and 100% cruelty-free.
“As an artist, I need specific brushes, but as a woman I don’t need the 100 or so that I’ve got for my work. You need three or four good ones and this one is multi-purpose,” she says. “It’s really practical for travelling or an evening out.”
The crystal nail file and cuticle pusher, which come in a neon recyclable plastic case to add an element of fun, are also in line with Ruby’s ethos of less is more. “Again, it’s very functional but looks good,” she says. “Everyone knows how fussy I am about nails. I’m not a nail technician but I still have to do manicures on shoots – I did one the other day. These nail files are from the Czech Republic and do a really good job without being tough or abrasive.”
“People trust me,” she adds. “I’ve made [my products] as fool-proof as I can.”
That trust is based on more than 25 years as a leading figure in the cosmetics industry, earning her an MBE from the Queen in 2007 – 33 years after emigrating to Britain from Nigeria with her Bangladeshi parents at the age of 13. Her client list includes the likes of the Duchess of Sussex, Cindy Crawford and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. She’s worked with designers such as John Galliano and Ghost, inspired looks for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and launched products or acted as adviser for brands including Estee Lauder, Clinique and Revlon.
In 1998, she joined forces with Millie Kendall to establish the award-winning Ruby & Millie make-up brand pioneering affordable luxury cosmetics, which the pair ran successfully for 13 years. “We were ahead of our time,” she reflects. “We were like the Charlotte Tilbury of our time. It was before social media and before people used terms like diversity and inclusivity. We were disruptive without using those labels and busted a lot of doors. It was a fantastic brand.”
Had she considered launching another make-up range herself? “I didn’t think it was the right time for me to do that; I’d done it 20 years ago [with Ruby & Millie]. I’m not here to topple Charlotte Tilbury or Pat McGrath from their perches. I wanted my little range to be ‘as well as’ – not ‘instead of’. I am supportive of them. Nobody buys something from just one brand. We all have our favourites and there’s always that sense of delight to try something else.”
“As an artist, I need specific brushes, but as a woman I don’t need the 100 or so that I’ve got for my work. You need three or four good ones and this one is multi-purpose,” she says. “It’s really practical for travelling or an evening out.”
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s one of Britain’s pre-eminent make-up artists, Ruby Hammer is accustomed to working “back of house” on launches for other beauty brands, from Aveda to L’Occitane