Victoria Beckham’s new Netflix documentary has offered a glimpse behind the exterior of one of fashion and beauty’s most watched figures.
The three episode documentary reflects on the evolution of Beckham’s career, from life as Posh Spice in her Spice Girls era to building her namesake fashion and beauty empire.
Beckham’s beauty and fashion business reported a 26% increase in revenue in 2024 to £112.7m – marking the company’s fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
While much of the documentary delves into Beckham’s personal life, some of the most revealing moments come when she discusses her deep-rooted connection to beauty and expanding into the category.
Victoria Beckham Beauty launched in 2019 and has become synonymous with sleek designs and performance-led products.
The beauty brand has grown from three products to a full line of colour cosmetics, skin care and fragrance, including collaborations with luxury skin giant Augustinus Bader and celebrity facialist Melanie Grant.
In the documentary, Beckham is shown testing make-up formulations at home with Chief Product Officer Angela Neal, showing her hands-on approach to the business.
She is seen scrutinising a make-up brush case, insisting they make changes that are more “considered” and less “generic” – a thought process that captures the brand’s ethos.
This approach has paid off too, with the brand going from strength-to-strength and building a growing fan base.
For example, Fashion Designer Donatella Versace, who stars in the documentary, asks the crew if they like her make-up, and said: “It’s Victoria Beckham”.
Before Victoria Beckham Beauty
Beckham’s fascination with cosmetics came long before her first taste of fame.
“I have been make-up obsessed since I was very, very little,” she admitted on screen.
“Every day I would go into school and they would send me straight to the bathroom to take off my make-up.”
She also reflected on how make-up gave her a new level of confidence in herself.
“I had such problematic skin, I remember times when I would not even have the confidence to look someone in the eye,” said Beckham.
“I suppose I used it as a mask.”
Reflecting on the early days of her career being Posh Spice, Beckham recalls how she gravitated towards make-up and styling more than her peers, growing her love for beauty and fashion.
“Pretty early on we were working with great stylists, amazing make-up artists, and I learned so much,” she said.
“The other girls were not really into fashion.
“That left a really nice budget for me.”
That early experimentation evolved into an obsession with the finer details.
“Since before I can remember I was collecting products that I liked, products that had been discontinued, little samples of lipsticks that make-up artists had mixed for me because we could not find the perfect colour,” she said.
“And now, with my beauty business, I can obsess over everything.”
No room to fail in the future
For Beckham, the drive to achieve with her beauty and fashion empire is deeply rooted in her early experiences of fame and loss.
“I feel an enormous amount of pressure to achieve because I know what it is like to have something one day and then lose it all the next,” she revealed.
“We [the Spice Girls] were like a tornado and then all of a sudden… it stopped.”