Dominique Petruzzi
Research expert covering Cosmetics, Personal Care, Health & Hygiene industries.
Get in touch with us nowFrom fragrances to skincare
Elizabeth Taylor changed the “celebrity beauty business” by being the first superstar to release a series of perfumes. The fragrance segment is where it all started: especially since the early 2000s, a great number of celebrities have released their own perfumes and worked with household names in the cosmetics industry, for example, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and more recently, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande. However, there was recently a shift towards more complete beauty lines, that include make-up and skincare products, some of which went viral on social media platforms and are now on top of consumers' beauty shopping lists. One of the most impactful launches in the beauty industry happened in 2017, when singer Rihanna launched her own cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty, and forever changed the trajectory of the beauty industry. Fenty Beauty offered around 40 shades of foundation and suddenly became one of the most inclusive beauty brands worldwide, starting the conversation on inclusivity in the cosmetics world. Since then, Fenty Beauty has become one of the most successful brands launched by a celebrity, and in the following years, many other big names tried to follow in her footsteps.The leading celebrity beauty brands
In 2022, Fenty Beauty was the leading celebrity brand with a revenue of about 477 million British pounds. Other brands mentioned in the ranking were Kylie Cosmetics, r.e.m beauty, and Rare Beauty.In the next year, Kylie Cosmetics ranked first as the most-followed celebrity beauty brand on Instagram, whereas Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez was the most googled worldwide, followed by Fenty Beauty and Florence by Mills. Moreover, Fenty Beauty was recently included in a ranking of the leading beauty brands worldwide based on Media Impact Value, a figure that skyrocketed soon after Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance alongside Google searches for the brand, which experienced a growth of over 800 percent. The impact of Fenty Beauty is undeniable, but the same cannot be said about every celebrity beauty brand, as sometimes controversies arise.
How many is too many?
Not every beauty brand is here to stay, especially in a highly competitive market. The increasing number of celebrity beauty brands has not always been welcomed with open arms, with beauty companies -and not only them- speaking up against this phenomenon and some celebrities profiting from a market they have no knowledge about, as well as against the unsustainable aspect of having so many "unnecessary" brands.Moreover, some consumers think they are too expensive or do not trust that celebrities actually use their own products. Some celebrity beauty brands launched recently are already no longer active, and the interest in them is mostly limited to younger generations. At the same time, it is undeniable that celebrity beauty brands are recording incredible results, both in terms of sales and popularity, and it seems that especially Gen Z would not mind seeing more celebrities launch their own beauty brand.
