Celebrities keep launching beauty brands but don’t address existing issues, expert argues

In Vogue’s March issue, Scarlett Johansson explained that the launch of her skincare brand, Outset, was the result of her desire to “create and represent a brand that stays true to herself.” The lineup consists of six “Essentials” built around Johansson’s “own beauty rituals” and “the success she’s had treating breakouts [and] Dryness.”

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“I wanted it to feel like something that’s always there,” Johansson said.

In a way, The Outset, which markets itself as a “minimalist” and “clean” approach to beauty, has always been there — because it’s certainly not the first of its kind.

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“We’ve reached the pinnacle of celebrity beauty branding,” beauty reporter Jessica DeFino told In The Know. “With every launch, we see more and more people rolling their eyes and saying, ‘We don’t need this, we don’t want this, nobody asked for it.'”

In the last year alone, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Halsey, Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly, Ariana Grande, Naomi Osaka, Toni Braxton, and Ellen DeGeneres announced they were entering the beauty space. In addition to these launches, celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, and Rihanna have added more products to their existing lines.

“I think it really all comes down to money and control,” DeFino added. “I think celebrities are realizing that being the face of an already established brand isn’t as financially rewarding as it could be.”

Johansson, for example, was previously the face of L’Oréal Paris and Dolce & Gabbana’s One fragrance collection.

These days, the launch of a celebrity beauty brand will almost always get the green light. The global cosmetics market was valued at US$300 billion in 2020. Since then, the skincare category has grown the fastest, valued at $145 billion globally. The ugly side of this growth is that more than 120 billion units of plastic packaging are produced annually — most of which isn’t truly recyclable.

The story goes on

Clean Beauty also has a problem with misinformation. More and more people are looking for products that use “clean” in the description, but what that actually means isn’t always clear. The message about what makes a beauty product “clean” is not regulated.

DeFino argued that it would be more sustainable and ethical for Johansson to use the money she puts into its startup to fund research and improvement for already established brands, rather than just expanding the overly saturated market.

“I think a lot of prominent brands have really great intentions behind them,” DeFino said. “There are already existing cosmetics companies that are addressing many of the issues [celebrities] want to address. …And you can support those brands or be part of those brands and not necessarily launch a new product.”

Two examples DeFino gave were Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace line, which uses braille on its packaging, and Machine Gun Kelly’s foray into nail polish.

“How incredible it would be if [Williams] took all his influence, all his power, all his money he put into this brand and he found a way to make accessible packaging more user friendly within the industry and spread this technology everywhere? She asked.

Kelly created UN/DN LAQR Nail Polish because he wanted to create a line “that didn’t fit the age and gender norms of traditional nail brands.” Humanrace is also advertised as genderless.

“To launch something and say, ‘This is for men,’ or enforce the dichotomy – you could work with any existing brand that caters primarily to women and expand their existing audience to cater to men, too.” said DeFino. “That would be a more effective way to be gender specific.”

Despite the good intentions of some celebrities, their beauty lines still contribute to important issues in beauty – especially sustainability.

The problem is not only beauty packaging, but also the ingredients. Palm oil, one of the most commonly used ingredients in beauty products, is in such high demand that it has led to extensive cultivation that has led to deforestation, wildlife extinction and climate change.

Palm oil in beauty products goes by a number of names, so it’s not always obvious. For example, The Outset’s moisturizer contains cetyl palmitate, which is listed in its ingredients – a palm oil derivative.

Non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels and metals are also used in the manufacture of beauty products. Disposable items like sheet masks and blotting paper contribute to unsustainable waste.

“The most sustainable thing you can do is not create another brand,” DeFino explained. “It just amazes me that people are launching these brand new brands, introducing brand new plastic bottles into the environment and formulas that each contain 20 to 50 ingredients.”

Just because DeFino argues against celebrity beauty brands doesn’t mean she’s anti-beauty. For consumers who are caught up in the emotional side of beauty — because beauty is inherently emotional — DeFino argues that there is certainly a middle ground where you can take care of yourself without overdoing it when buying products.

“Beauty can be self-expression. It can be a tool of empowerment, but I think we’re leaning a little too heavily on those arguments to allow us to kind of get used to beauty standards,” she said. “Beauty products today are mostly used as a means of consumerism, conformity and complacency [rather] as self-portrayal or empowerment. So just be gentle with yourself.”

Jessica DeFino recommends further reading on beauty and the environment:

Clean: The New Science of Skin by James Hamblin

Dick by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Subscribe to Jessica DeFino’s beauty newsletter here.

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The post ‘We don’t need this, we don’t want this’: Celebrities keep launching beauty brands but don’t address existing problems, expert arguments appeared first on In The Know.

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