For decades, celebrities have lent their faces and fame to the beauty industry and its campaigns, bestowing allure, kudos and cachet on products that they didn’t create.
But recent years have seen this landscape shift. Across the board from beauty and skincare to food, drink, fashion and more, no longer content with playing muse, A-listers are embracing the more demanding role of founder and entrepreneur.
And in beauty, at least, this isn’t just about small-scale vanity projects. With the global beauty market now surpassing $600 billion, this savvy, ambitious lot presumably want a slice of the pie.
But founding a brand – beauty or otherwise – isn’t a quick, easy or surefire path to success. For all the intrigue, and indeed the eye-rolling, that can accompany a celebrity brand launch, converting fame into a sustainable, credible enterprise with integrity and longevity is a complex business.
And with cautionary tales such as the quiet decline of Kate Moss’s wellness brand, Cosmoss already emerging, there is a steady but constant reminder that while celebrity opens doors and gets you off the ground — staying in orbit requires very serious investment, strategic planning and insider know-how, alongside ruthless maintenance.
Here are the celebrity beauty brands and hero products that I think truly deliver …
Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs rebranded in 2022, with a high-performance, clean ethos earning instant respect from artists and editors.
Its Triclone Skin Tech Medium Coverage Foundation (£42, sephora.co.uk) comes in 51 shades, is infused with skincare ingredients such as fermented arnica to calm redness, and regularly goes viral on TikTok. Having tested it for the first time recently, I can happily confirm that it’s not just hype. Glowy, luminous and delivering beautifully buildable coverage, this brilliant base is anything but gimmicky.
Victoria Beckham Beauty
Victoria Beckham Beauty by Victoria Beckham
Founded in 2019, Victoria Beckham Beauty blends clean ingredients with luxurious, elegant design and flawless formulations, winning widespread favour with makeup artists, celebrities and beauty editors since launch.
Its hero Satin Kjal liners (£30, victoriabeckhambeauty.com), are famous with good reason, delivering creamy, effortless glide and smudge proof all-day wear. I’m also rather taken with the chic and sexy Vast Lash Mascara, £32 which was recommended by a makeup artist friend and delivers great lift, oomph and drama in only a couple of passes.
Rare Beauty
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez founded Rare Beauty to help break down unrealistic beauty standards, as well as to shape conversations around beauty and its relationship with mental health. One per cent of all sales go towards increasing mental health resources through its Rare Impact Fund.
Formulas are dermatologically tested, skincare first and suitable for sensitive types, boasting modern pigments and textures that pack a real punch, blend seamlessly and stay put. My picks? The Soft Pinch Bouncy Blush which delivers a beautifully buildable, featherlight fresh-from-outdoors flush, (£26, sephora.co.uk). If you haven’t tried the newly launched Rare eau de parfum (£71 for 50ml, sephora.co.uk) it’s a decadent and cosy treat that’s well worth a spritz.
Rhode
After entering the market in 2022 Hayley Bieber and her flawless skin rapidly captured Gen Z’s minimalist ethos and attention, along with that of e.l.f. Beauty, who acquired Rhode in a deal said to be worth up to $1 billion last year. Sure Bieber has star power aplenty but these products deserve their smash hit status.
My pick? The Peptide Glazing Fluid, (£32, rhodeskin.com) which harnesses peptides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid to create Bieber’s famous glazed skin finish. Applied to even the thirstiest, most dehydrated skin it lends instant bounce and glow.
Fenty Beauty
Ri-Ri’s Fenty Beauty disrupted the beauty industry in 2017 when it revealed its Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Foundation, debuting a 40-wide shade range, which has since expanded to 53.
The launch not only caused hours-long queues around the block when it finally landed at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, but more importantly forced legacy beauty brands to raise their game by expanding shade ranges almost overnight.
Try the impeccable Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer, (£19, cultbeauty.co.uk) which delivers serious shine, but is also infused with ginger root oil, pepper fruit and shea butter extracts to lock in moisture. I’m also partial to the Cherry Dub Body Cherry Dub Triple Action AHA Body Scrub, (£29, harveynichols.com) which makes light work of smoothing and refining limbs with fruit acids, AHAs and granulated sugar.
Humanrace
Humanrace by Pharrell Williams
Championing sustainability, education, efficacy and the importance of ritual to enhance wellness, the impossibly stylish and refill-focused Humanrace launched in 2020, selling out in 24 hours flat. Considering Williams’ famously ageless complexion and the fact that it was developed in collaboration with his longtime dermatologist, the highly respected Elena Jones, this was perhaps unsurprising.
Its hero — and firm favourite of mine — is the Rice Powder Cleanser (£33, cultbeauty.co.uk) which combines rice particles, fruit acid and kaolin clay and, when mixed with water, transforms to a beautifully frothy, skin refining polish that leaves complexions instantly smoother and brighter.
