Peak celebrity-backed beauty
From Selena Gomez to Beyoncé and Pharrell to Brad Pitt, more than 50 celebrities and influencers launched make-up, skincare, and hair care brands between 2020 and 2023 – and Rihanna’s Fenty hair launch might be the most hyped yet. Celebrity beauty brands have become the new norm, with the drivers behind these launches rooted in the shift towards deeper parasocial dynamics between idols and their fans. Like celebrity-backed booze or even peak restaurant merch, these beauty lines have allowed people to take fandom beyond the internet and into stores.
With beauty and skincare fanatics increasingly focused on ingredients and knowledge over star power, proving that your brand can deliver what people want and feel is missing in the market is key. “A lot of these celebrity skincare labels are just marketing or storytelling,” Barbara Paldus, a scientist, engineer, and founder of Codex Labs, told Vogue Business. “Many are especially geared towards emotional selling rather than fact-based science.” This potential parasocial play means more people are wising up and choosing to put their money into brands they believe have true value. As such, it’s important for celebrity beauty labels to feel authentic for audiences seeking to save money, spend wisely, and be more selective about what products they use. Of the celebrity brands building authenticity among their audiences, Serena Williams’ Wyn Beauty stands out. The line taps into a desire to have beauty products ‘made to move in’, offering functional-first make-up made with smudge, sweat, and feather-resistant formulas.
