Beauty Ritual: HBFace Founder Haley On Grief, Resilience & Starting Again

For HBFace founder Haley Bogaert, beauty has never been about perfection—it’s about presence. In the wake of unimaginable loss, Haley discovered that small, consistent rituals—like a simplified makeup routine—could offer grounding, confidence, and a sense of control when everything else felt uncertain. As Blue Monday shines a light on mental health and resilience, we sat down with Haley to talk about the philosophy behind HBFace, the power of Resilient Beauty, and how everyday routines can become a quiet form of self-support. —Noa Nichol

HBFace was born from an incredibly personal chapter in your life. How did your experience with grief and loss shape not only the brand—but your understanding of beauty itself?

Grief completely rewired how I understood beauty. Before loss, beauty felt external — how something looked, how polished or put-together it appeared. After, it became much quieter and much deeper. Beauty became about presence. About care. About doing something gentle for yourself when everything feels heavy.

HBFace was shaped in that space. It’s rooted in the belief that beauty doesn’t need to perform or distract, it can simply support you. I started to see beauty as something resilient: something that can exist alongside sadness, exhaustion, and vulnerability, rather than in spite of it.

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You’ve spoken about makeup becoming a daily ritual rather than an escape. Why do you think small routines can feel so grounding during periods of emotional upheaval?

When everything feels out of control, small routines give you something solid to hold onto. They don’t ask you to feel better, they just ask you to show up for a few minutes.

For me, applying makeup wasn’t about transformation. It was about consistency. About saying, “I’m still here.” Even on days when grief felt overwhelming, that small ritual anchored me back into my body and the present moment. It became less about how I looked and more about the act of care itself.

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The concept of Resilient Beauty is central to HBFace. How do you define resilience today, and how does that definition show up in your services and philosophy?

Resilience isn’t about pushing through or bouncing back, it’s about adapting with softness. It’s about meeting yourself where you are and choosing care over perfection.

At HBFace, we have simplified services, intentional touch, and an environment that feels calm and unrushed. We don’t believe beauty should demand energy you don’t have. It should give something back.

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Brow services and simplified routines are a core focus for HBFace. Why was it important for you to strip beauty back to something more accessible and intentional?

During grief, even simple decisions can feel overwhelming. I wanted HBFace to remove that pressure. Brows are foundational. They frame the face, create balance, and restore a sense of structure without requiring daily effort.

Stripping beauty back wasn’t about doing less for the sake of minimalism, it was about doing what actually matters. Intentional beauty respects people’s time, emotional capacity, and real lives.

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As Blue Monday approaches and mental-health conversations resurface, what do you wish more people understood about how beauty rituals can support—not replace—emotional well-being?

Beauty rituals aren’t a solution, they’re a support. They don’t fix grief, anxiety, or depression, and they shouldn’t be positioned that way. But they can be a moment of pause. A moment of grounding. A reminder of self-worth when it’s hard to access.

I wish more people understood that it’s okay to lean on small comforts,  as long as we don’t expect them to do the emotional work for us. Beauty can walk alongside healing, not replace it.

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HBFace proudly supports CAMH. How does giving back to mental-health care connect to your own healing journey and the community you’re building around the brand?

Supporting CAMH is deeply personal for me. Mental health isn’t an abstract issue — it’s something I’ve lived through, and something so many people silently carry. Giving back feels like a way to honour that journey and extend care beyond the chair.

HBFace isn’t just about individual experiences, it’s about community. Supporting mental-health care is part of building something that feels responsible, grounded, and genuinely human.

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Many people feel pressure to “bounce back” or stay productive while grieving. What advice would you give to someone who’s simply trying to get through one hard day at a time?

You don’t need to bounce back. You don’t need to be productive. You just need to get through hour by hour. 

Grief isn’t linear, and there’s no timeline for feeling “normal” again. If all you can do today is show up for one small moment, that’s enough. Be gentle with yourself. Progress doesn’t always look like movement; sometimes it looks like rest.

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Looking ahead to the future of HBFace, how do you hope clients feel when they walk away from your chair—and what does success look like for you beyond growth?

I hope clients leave feeling lighter. Not just more polished, but more seen. More at ease. Like they were cared for without being rushed or judged.

Success for me isn’t just growth or expansion. It’s depth. It’s knowing HBFace remains a place where people feel safe, grounded, and supported,  especially on days when they need it most.