Celebrity beauty brands are just cop outs for rich people to get richer
Why would Serena Williams, Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson and Gwen Stefani be interested in the beauty industry?
The impact of celebrity beauty brands is more profound than you think, especially as an influence on the beauty industry.
Fenty Beauty smashed the industry with the much-needed extended shade range. Rare Beauty’s dedication to mental health felt like a breath of fresh air. About-Face Beauty’s experimental looks made us fall in love with make-up again.
Every year, more celebrities dip their toes into the beauty world, but the saturation of these releases now doesn’t feel authentic. Why is every celebrity interested in this business endeavour?
It’s hard to see the beauty industry without celebrity brands now. Some have a great brand story that shows their story that ties themselves to the industry.
Recently, Beyonce’s Cecred Haircare told the brand story of the celebrity reminiscing about “sweeping hair” at her mother’s hair salon as a child, hinting at Beyonce’s personal touch with the industry.
Other celebrity brands feel like they come out of nowhere (hello Brad Pitt), which raises the question: Are celebrities exploiting their influence?
The short answer is yes. Long answer? Celebrity businesses can ensure their success by already having a dedicated fandom to buy every product launch, rather than from the bottom up like many brands. Is this approach unethical due to capitalising on their fans?
It’s a tale as old as time. Rich people doing rich people things.
Consumers aren’t stupid. They see the saturation and are tired. You can pay thousands of dollars in marketing and PR, but you can’t buy a connection to your community.
We’re seeing celebrities releasing makeup purely because they’ve sat in a makeup chair and learned tips from makeup artists over time. It’s not convincing and the legitimacy of the brand and the celebrity gets questioned.
are celebrity-owned beauty brands now overshadowing smaller brands?
An oversaturation of celebrity beauty brands can leave out smaller skincare businesses with an authentic and extreme passion for the beauty industry.
It’s not a controversial take that a rich person can lose their sense of the everyday world, including the target audience they’re trying to reach. Even if that’s not the case, it’s unlikely that they’re hands-on with the decision-making or the production process.
It can feel claustrophobic when another celebrity announces a new brand because there are no original ideas, and they are unaware of how the beauty industry needs to grow. It’s the same products, with the same brand story. Innovation is no longer a pillar and is decreasing brand diversity.
Celebrities already have the money to make the business a success, but for many smaller businesses, it’s harder to become successful. Many beauty companies have closed since the pandemic and it’s not lost on me that it feels like brands are being pushed out.
how celebrity beauty brands CAN work
A celebrity beauty brand can work depending on if they support the current beauty industry and help out the community (Fenty Beauty/Rare Beauty etc.)
Celebrity beauty brands can spread awareness of real issues in the industry to their large audience. Celebrities can spread awareness of conditions that may not be well-known to the general public.
Another way they become successful? By spinning your brand into a lifestyle. An aesthetic (See Hailey Beiber’s it-girl Glossier adjacent brand Rhode Beauty).
There are ways to do it well. But, we need to be honest with ourselves. Not all celebrities will be here for the right reasons, and that’s a truth we need to hold them accountable for.
how to find out if a celebrity beauty brand is worth the hype:
When a brand releases a product, don’t believe the initial hype. I’ll purposely wait until the social media PR/advertisement rounds settle down to hear everyone’s perspectives once they’ve finished the product.
Sometimes, the aura and the excitement of having your favourite celebrity’s brand can alter how you look at the product. You WANT it to be good. You WANT it to be worth your money. Because it’s also the reputation of the celebrity and yourself at stake. So, if that’s the case - be patient.
The beauty industry belongs to everyone. It’s not something to gatekeep, nor should the amount of work celebrities put into their brands be discredited.
However, ignoring the community that the beauty industry has developed and using celebrity status to make more money isn’t sufficient. The beauty industry isn’t just a business venture for more money, it’s a community of people who build themselves to be the best they can be.