Chloë Grace Moretz and Rina Sawayama Are Hacking the Beauty Industry With GODMODE

Unlike other makeup lines that dwell on the understated and mundane, GODMODE, a new brand co-founded by Chloë Grace Moretz and Rina Sawayama, is all about bringing a fresh and fun perspective to the beauty world.

Drawing inspiration from gaming culture, GODMODE emphasizes playing and exploring above all else and prides itself on being a genre-defying beauty brand — one that encourages women to become their authentic selves at the intersection of beauty, gaming, music and fashion.

The brand's ethos of merging beauty with technology is especially evident in its futuristic products — the "Genesis" collection boasts an ethereal duo-chrome highlighter balm, high-impact lip pencils and light-bending multidimensional lip glosses. But at its core, GODMODE is so much more than just products — it's an entire world, one Sawayama says can only be accessed by "activating your GODMODE."

As longtime gamers themselves, Moretz and Sawayama are not only the brand's founders, they are creative collaborators and fantasy characters in the GODMODE universe.

Ahead, we speak with them about their fondest gaming memories and their hope to build community through the brand.

Your brand merges beauty with tech — what does that look like in practice?

Sawayama: Across my creative practice, I have often explored themes like fantasy and science fiction -- alternate realities that take technology to bring them to life. While using technology, it's always been important to me to convey a deeper message to connect to relevant themes in my work including love, community and identity. The idea of community is central to the merging of beauty and technology. So, whether I am expressing myself through music or video, or in this case, in the GODMODE, I hope to create a sense of community by welcoming everybody into this world we're creating.

Moretz: With GODMODE, we want to push the boundaries of what makeup is and keep it playful. Gaming is a way to escape the lulls of everyday life. It's something I do that is exciting, customizable and creative. With GODMODE, we want you to play with it, do things that are out of the box with it — it may say "eyeliner" but use it in different ways! That is something that beauty brands have strayed away from. A lot of brands have gotten more and more serious and we just want to keep things attainable and fun.

What can you tell us about your personal connections to gaming? How did gaming first pique your interest?

Sawayama: Gaming has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember – it offered a sense of fantasy, a creative escape and I learned an appreciation for the incredible soundtracks. Since then, alongside playing games from Final Fantasy to Horizon to Two Points Museum, I have been appointed an ambassador to PlayStation. In GODMODE, I brought my own avatar to life — a character called "Rani," a fearless leader who will emerge more as the GODMODE story evolves.

Moretz: It was something that I started at a very young age. I grew up with four brothers and they all played video games, so I grew up with a PlayStation controller in my hand. It was a way for me to, regardless of my height or age, be able to beat the older or bigger guys in the room. I think that is something really exciting about gaming -- your personal stature doesn't matter. You can kick everybody's butt effectively.

How has your personal connection to gaming and online worlds inspired this collection?

Sawayama: It's funny you ask, because I’m actually very rarely online! My approach to beauty and inspiration behind this collection has always been about pushing boundaries and creating unique characters, so being able to bring this boldness and experimental energy into a brand that celebrates these values at its core, is something that I’m excited to venture into.

Moretz: Ultimately, GODMODE converges the things I love the most: beauty, gaming, music and fashion. It's a new universe that allows you to enter, create your avatar and become who you want to become. You can apply it in wildly futuristic ways, or keep it simple and just use our products as they are. We want people to enjoy the universe we've been creating. 

GODMODE'S "Genesis" collection ranges from $19 – $39 USD and drop one is available to purchase on the brand's website.

For more beauty news, check out our coverage of Rhode's new Glazing Mist campaign featuring Harris Dickinson.

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