Have We Reached the Peak of Celebrity Beauty Mogul? Alicia KeysMillie Bobby Brown, Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Jessica Alba, Kate MossSelena Gomez, Harry StylesCindy Crawford, Drew Barrymore, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Pharrell Williams – these are just a few superstars who own skin care or cosmetics companies.
Sure, some crash and burn — see Jessica Simpson’s edible cosmetics range — but some are available from high-end retailers like Harvey Nichols and make their makers millions.
Most of Rihanna’s $1.4 billion fortune comes from her company Fenty Beauty, not from her music. in 2018, Britney Spears reportedly earns $50 million a year from her fragrance ranges.
But not everyone is here for it. The news that Brad Pitt is about to launch a skincare line, the dazzlingly expensive Le Domaine, is the last straw for a group of beauty insiders.
In an open letter to the Hollywood star, six entrepreneurs accused Pitt and other celebrities of exploiting their fame to monetize what they believe to be substandard, unoriginal or unnecessary products that undermine the beauty industry.
The letter is written and signed by Winnie Awa, founder of haircare platform Carra, Molly Hart, founder of lipstick brand Highr, Samantha Freedman, co-founder of beauty marketplace Elth, Jasmin Thomas, founder of skincare brand Ohana, and Megan Felton and Ksenia Eytan, co- founders of skincare destination Lionne.
It describes the group’s frustration at the prevalence of inexperienced famous people launching moderately effective brands in a saturated market and squeezing newcomers out. It also calls on Pitt and others to invest in existing brands rather than compete.
“There is a huge lack of expertise and passion,” says Felton of Le Domaine. ‘The ‘health expert’ is in fact a wine connoisseur, not a chemist or skin care expert. Pitt himself admits he’s not a big skincare user and often refuses in interviews to walk journalists through his current routine or every product in the range. So why launch a series?’
“The sad thing is that Brad has gotten an incredible amount of press,” Freedman says. “He has taken the shelf space that so many thousands of brands have competed for. This means that smaller brands are pushed out even if their formulations are better.”
The group behind the letter insists it’s not a general mockery of all celebrity products and there are those who argue that celebrities have just as much right as we all have to do as they please.
“We’re big fans of Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty,” says Thomas. “I also love Rihanna’s Fenty range. But each of these series came from a place of authenticity. They launched a market that they knew, lived and breathed.’
But Freedman says that when it comes to things like Le Domaine, do we really need what she calls another ‘pointless brand’?
“Do they bring anything new?” she says. “If we all stayed in our jobs, we wouldn’t grow as people, I understand that, but with Brad’s power, he could have spent his money and profile on a smaller brand, giving them a great platform that they deserve so hard. ‘
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