CITYist

David Bowie. Courtney Love. Marilyn Manson. Musicians and bold makeup choices go together like mascara and eyeliner. But no one has ever wed the two as perfectly as Sara Strand, the founder of POP Beauty cosmetics and indie rock diva.

The London-raised but now California-based singer, best known for her rock and jazz fusion stylings, began her musical career at the age of 12, and gained early exposure to the magical world of stage makeup. Strand says, “I got into it and I really learned the fun of makeup. Being on stage means you have so much freedom to play with the colors.” However, at 16 when she began applying makeup for designers and print outlets — from Vivienne Westwood shows to Vogue shoots — she found that “there was a gap in the market for something affordable but good quality. And if you wanted fun colors they were hard to find.” And thus, the concept of POP was born.

While she may headline on stage, Strand isn’t entirely a solo act in the beauty business. She has the support of her older sisters, Sofia and Petra, who are also involved in the industry. About ten years ago, Petra founded Pixi, a brand of makeup for women hoping to achieve a natural look (which some might consider the polar opposite of POP). Together, they even seem to have convinced their mother to start wearing some makeup, though Sara confides that her mother’s disinclination towards cosmetics might have been what made them seem so fascinating to her as a teen. These days, Strand notes that her sisters continue to provide valuable advice: “we crack open a bottle of wine and brainstorm.”

Today, Strand hopes that her cosmetics line allows all women to add a pop of color to their daily makeup routine. She shies away from traditional grays and browns, and instead favors the kind of wild neon shades (bright blue! hot pink! radioactive lime green!) that you would associate more with a glam rockstar than with your typical suburban mom. That doesn’t mean that you should run from the spotlight, though. Sara says she loves seeing older people wearing her line, and that it’s actually a great pick for more mature consumers. “As you get a bit older you need some more color. When you’re young you still have quite a bit of color — rosy cheeks and lips, for instance . . . sometimes I think people are scared of going too far. It’s not about mixing the colors together and looking like a clown. Adding a bit of POP can make you look more awake and vibrant at any age,” she says.

And just like great music, her line translates well in any country. Strand was born in Sweden, where she notes that makeup tends to be very natural. She found London to have more of an experimental makeup culture — sometimes featuring fun and funky styles — though not nearly as supportive as Los Angeles, where Strand remarks that “mothers will go out shopping with their daughters to buy them their first cosmetics kit.” POP is also incredibly popular in the Middle East, where traditional garb means that women often try to draw attention to their eyes.

Today, Strand notes that one of her favorite styles for every woman — everywhere — is smoky eyes. “It’s very classic, and if you try it with a bit of color it can look amazing. Try it with a navy blue or moss green. It’s going to look more fresh and upbeat.” Certainly, anyone focused on their eyes will appreciate POP’s newest project: a collection of wildly different artificial eyelashes.  POP is launching its own lash bar in stores, drawing over-the-top inspiration from performers like Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick (though not Tammie Fay Baker) as well as incorporating more natural styles, perhaps for those who don’t want to take too much attention away from their striking eye shadow.

And where is POP going in the future? Strand says, “I just hope we’ll be able to continue to make really fun and edgy and great products. It’s exciting because it’s a non-stagnant sort of thing. We started out with no primers or bases or anything and now we’re a line. We have everything!” Indeed they do, but, as with any great endeavor, there’s always a little bit more to be done. And when Strand reaches this goal, we can count on a world where everyone’s makeup looks fabulous and rockstar worthy.

What is Los Angeles’s…

Best restaurant? The tasting kitchen in Venice, Venice, Nobu in Malibue, Ciccones in Hollywood, Moonshadow in Malibu, The Seventh Ray Inn in Topanga Canyon, The Ivy in Santa Monica and Grand Central Market Food Hall for a quick bite.

Best bar/club? The Tea Room, Playhouse, The Frolic Room, The Troubadour, The Viper Room, The Whisky, The Sky Bar, The Library Bar, Spaceland, Red Lion, Arsenal, The Hotel Cafe, Redwood, the bar in the Biltmore Hotel for cocktails, beer gardens on the Venice boardwalk, The Echo Bar, and Bar 107.
Best boutique? Fred Segal, vintage shopping in Venice/Santa Monica, Principessa, strolling around The Grove, The Way We Wore, What Goes Around Comes Around (space 15/20), Agent Provocateur, Amoeba Music and Mystic Journey Book Shop.

Best gallery? MOCA, The Getty, Noho Gallery, La Luz de Jesus, downtown LA art walk and DF2 gallery.

Best hotel? The Biltmore, Chateau Marmont, the Mosaic, Hotel London and Viceroy.

Best-kept secret? Venice canals, downtown barhopping, Oysters at the Hollywood Sunday farmers market, the Hollywood Bowl (not really a secret, I know…) and Korean spas in Korea town.