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Dec 31, 2023

Meet the Woman Behind the Rolls

By Janelle Okwodu All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. It’s 1 p.m.

By Janelle Okwodu

All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

It’s 1 p.m. on a Tuesday, and thousands of people are obsessively refreshing Beautylish. The San Francisco–based niche beauty site just introduced a new must-have, the Niji brush, an oversize powder brush with a red lacquer handle and plush goat hair that retails for $85. Designed for bronzer, it promises to apply product smoothly and evenly, but a sun-kissed glow isn’t the sole reason the Niji sold out in less than an hour. The latest launch from cult-beauty brand Sonia G, founded by beauty blogger Sonia Garabatos Gilmour, is as much a practical tool as a collector’s item. Gilmour’s elegantly designed creations have struck a chord with online beauty communities and fans of fude, the traditional Japanese art of brush making that has its roots in calligraphy.

Sonia Garabatos

Scroll through YouTube, Reddit, or TikTok, and you’ll find impassioned reviewers of the line sharing their thoughts on every brush and its potential uses, complete with commentary on the fluffiness of the bristles, dimensions of the handles, and even the origins of the wood used. Sonia G’s customers are dedicated, but their attention to detail mirrors that of the brand’s creator, whose journey from blogger and collector to successful entrepreneur has been filled with surprises. “It still feels surreal to me because I didn’t plan anything,” shared Gilmour from Geneva. “I didn’t start the blog with the vision of having my brand; it was a combination of events, discussions, and having the right people around supporting and encouraging me.”

Even if she didn’t foray into business, Gilmour’s blog Sweet Makeup Temptations would be an accomplishment unto itself. It’s a definitive resource for anyone looking to educate themselves about makeup brushes, detailing the brands and products that matter and providing a comprehensive overview of shapes and materials. After launching in 2012, it quickly drew a community of passionate brush fans. “I noticed that many makeup enthusiasts had the same issue as me. They needed guidance and help to get the brushes that better suited their needs, but there was no one with an extensive collection who could do those comparisons or reviews,” says Gilmour. “A lot of the available reviews about brushes sounded too commercial or geared towards sales and profit and were not reflecting an honest opinion. English is not my first language [and] my photography skills were terrible, but the blog brought together a lot of brush lovers from around the world who just wanted to discover fude, and this is something I could help with.”

A glimpse at Gilmour's expansive brush collection

When it came to beauty, Gilmour was a late bloomer. In her teens and twenties, sensitive skin prevented her from wearing makeup full time. Still, she enjoyed the artistry behind beauty and the special occasions when she could wear cosmetics. By chance, she met a makeup artist in who gifted her with a sample of special Laura Mercier’s repair cream, created especially for those with the most reactive skin; it allowed her finally wear the products she’d been fascinated with. “I had seen doctors and spent so much money on treatments and products trying to solve my skin issues, but nothing had ever worked [so] I was thrilled,” she explains. “That was when I started to play with makeup, and I had so much to catch up on!”

It was during this time that she began to educate herself about brushes. At first, her goal was to upgrade her skills, but things escalated quickly. “I was purchasing the high-end makeup brushes that were easily available at the beauty counters here in Switzerland or brushes I picked up during my travels, and I noticed that the handmade brushes were far superior, especially those from Japan,” she says. “Colleagues and friends started to compliment me on my makeup—which no one had ever done before. I hadn’t changed anything except for the brushes I was using, so I was intrigued.” Working with the softer brushes taught her to appreciate the ritual of makeup application. “I was taking my time, enjoying the process even more, and that would reflect on the results,” says Gilmour. “At some point, I realized that with the same skills, with the same products and same techniques, using better brushes made quite a difference.”

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Once she had that realization, Gilmour threw herself into research, learning everything she could about brush-making traditions in Kumano, Japan, the prefecture famed for its brush making and the international capital of the art form. Her personal collection expanded to more than a thousand brushes. She regularly traveled to Japan and visited the region. While there, she developed relationships with the people behind the scenes. “My interest skyrocketed once I met them, they are extraordinary people,” says Gilmour of the brush artisans. “They remind me of my grandfather who used to make many things by hand, and I felt honored to have the opportunity to meet them and to spend so much time with them. Some of the pieces that I design are then handmade by artisans who are 80 years old, and seeing them at work is captivating.”

The Fusion Series

Before starting her own line, Gilmour began working as a consultant helping to bring the iconic brush lines global. “For a while, I was helping others to establish their business with regards to fude, guiding and answering so many questions,” she says. “It didn’t occur to me that I could even do this until the manufacturers started to say that they wished they could one day work with me for my own brand.” Gilmour's encyclopedic knowledge was part of what caught the interest of Beautylish CEO Nils Johnson. Already in contact with Gilmour through their shared interest in fude, he saw the potential of translating her expertise into a product line. “She’s the brush expert and has such a specific point of view,” says Johnson. “It’s based on personal experience; she’s tried every brush and has strong opinions on what she’s looking for. She’s also meticulous and approaches brush making the way a luxury house approaches couture. When you’re ordering a couture gown, you don’t get it overnight, but you know that when it arrives, you have the best of the best.”

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The influence of Gilmour's friend and family helped to push her towards entrepreneurship, but so did the wealth of ideas she had percolating. As an avid brush collector, she knew what was missing in the market. “There were so many brushes that I wished existed, but I couldn’t find them, so I thought I could start by filling in those blanks,” she says. “The shapes and brushes were a bit different [so] we were targeting an audience of collectors.” To that end, they focused on keeping things luxurious, opting for materials like Yakusugi wood harvested from thousand year old cedar trees and utilizing premium grades of hair like Saikoho goat and blue squirrel. Of course, finery has its benefits for both customers and creators. “I felt the artisans would enjoy creating tools without having to cut costs at every corner,” says Gilmour. “I wanted to make this jump with intention and [create products] that combine luxury with functionality, using the best components and taking risks with designs.”

The limited edition Cranes Over Mt. Fuji brush holder

Such risk-taking designs came with a learning curve. “[Some] of my designs weren’t technically feasible because handmade manufacturing comes with a lot of technical limitations compared to a machine-made process,” says Gilmour. “I had to wait two years before we could even start working on them, and today some of those projects are still awaiting technical feasibility. Making something by hand requires consistency which is particularly challenging when the parts or components come from different providers. We also must work on a small scale, which makes the acquisition of the parts extremely expensive.”

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All of this means that demand often outweighs the supply. As Gilmour creates each launch in small batches that sell out quickly, her fans can find themselves waiting months for the next restock. The details that make her tools unique—glossy ombré lacquer, curved metal ferrules, and those downy soft hairs—aren’t easy to come by. “The demand has increased quite a lot, but Kumano is a small town, and work by skilled artisans is not something that can be scaled on request,” says Gilmour. “Our lifestyles have gotten us accustomed to immediacy, to never wait for what we want to purchase, but this is something where every individual piece requires time. Handmade fude will always remain limited in stock and take extra time, and that’s especially true within my line. The handles alone can take extra days and weeks because they have to be sanded in a particular way, and each layer of lacquer needs time to be dried.”

Gilmour at the Fude Matsuri festival in Kumano, Japan

Gilmour focuses on making tools that are worth the wait, and her latest releases have hinged on merging all those traditional techniques with innovative new ones. Take the Fusion series collection, which centers on brushes for cream and liquid products. Makeup artists and novices alike tend to avoid using the expensive and delicate natural hair fude brushes for emollient products. It’s one thing to shake powder off of a brush, another to deal with the residue that a foundation or cream blush leaves behind. Gilmour wanted to change all that, creating foundation and concealer application tools good enough to make you put down the Beauty Blender. “Foundation brushes are among the most difficult because the results are often specific to the product, person, and the result they aim to achieve,” says Gilmour, who found a solution by blending natural and synthetic hairs instead of relying on a single material. “It was challenging to design something that would work across a wide range of products, but I’m happy I took my time because the feedback has been incredible.”

While she couldn’t have imagined her journey from blogger to businesswoman, Gilmour is thankful she and her brand have been able to maintain the sense of community she found all those years ago online. “When the artisans tell me that they’re excited to wake up in the morning to work on the pieces we create, it’s the most incredible feeling, one that makes me so emotional,” she says. “Whether it’s the artisans or the beauty community, the most exciting part of this entire journey has been being able to meet and work with so many people who share my passion. I always wish to retain that direct and personal connection with my customers and followers.”

Sonia G. Fusion Series

Beautylish

Sonia G. Niji Pro

Beautylish

Sonia G. Pro Eye Set

Beautylish

Sonia G. Face Pro

Beautylish

Sonia G. Walnut Brush Holder

Beautylish

Sonia G. Pro Face & Pro Eye Set Bundle

Beautylish

Sonia G. Together Towel

Beautylish

Sonia G. Worker Fan

Beautylish