DRUNK in LOVE

A decade on and Drunk Elephant is just getting started. Syed Zulfadhli catches up with the brand’s founder, Tiffany Masterson, at its immersive House of Drunk showcase in Paris.

- Syed Zulfadhli

I am with Drunk Elephant founder, Tiffany Masterson, in a luxurious suite at The Peninsula Paris for this interview. The chilly weather prompts Masterson to sip warm lemon water from a teacup as we exchange initial pleasantries. This intimate affair is a far cry from the brand’s annual House of Drunk party, an energy-fuelled event that had taken place two evenings earlier at Pavillon Rive Gauche. House of Drunk Paris was Masterson’s way of making a comeback after the annual event took a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. And sure enough, this return hit all the high notes with the event’s hashtag garnering 2.7 million views on TikTok in just a month. This moment in Paris— parties, macarons, skincare and all—brought to mind how far the brand has come since its humble beginnings almost 10 years ago.

From stay-at-home-mum to beauty entrepreneur

It all began when Houston-based Masterson searched for an effective solution to address her skin-related issues. The quest was futile as formulas available on the market then were almost always laced with unnecessary ingredients that further aggravated her skin woes. She didn’t understand why until she began working for a skincare brand, thus sparking her interest in skincare ingredients and formulations. “Besides asking for recommendations, customers were also complaining about their skin issues,” she shares. “I was curious to know what the root causes were, so I asked them what products they were using.”