Known for his eccentric, gender-bending dress sense, it seems only natural that Harry Styles has announced the launch of his own unisex makeup and beauty brand called Pleasing. Described as a ‘life brand’, Pleasing’s debut products include an illuminating serum, a two-in-one eye gel and matte lip-oil pen and four nail polish colours.
Offering a beauty collection that is truly a reflection of today’s boundary-busting, climate conscious generation, the chart-topping singer’s gender neutral products are vegan and cruelty-free, while their packaging is made from recycled and recyclable materials.
Available officially on November 29 and currently open for pre-orders, the collection launch will certainly be ‘pleasing’ to Styles’ devoted fanbase. Fresh off the heels of Ariana Grande’s R.E.M beauty launch last week, the One Direction alum joins an influx of musicians, entertainers and celebrities infusing the beauty industry with their own star-power backed make-up brands.
Why are celebs jumping on the cosmetics brand trend?
While celebrity-built beauty brands have been around for years, with Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics line and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty paving the way, the last two years have seen a tsunami of new celebrity beauty launches from the likes of Selena Gomez, Halsey, and Jennifer Lopez.
Why the sudden collective interest in venturing into the cosmetics business? Part of the answer may lie in the fact that entertainers were in the market for new creative outlets after a global pandemic shut down concerts, events and productions.
For instance, Harry Styles told Dazed that Pleasing was born out of a fun project during lockdown to create nail polish inspired by colours of wallpaper and flowers.
As evidenced by the rise of celebrity appointments to creative director roles, stars are increasingly seeking more involvement in the products they endorse. Plus, these showbiz professionals spend more hours per day in make-up chairs than most, so it’s not a completely outlandish idea that they might dip their toe in the beauty world.
The most probable reason, however, is that entering the highly lucrative beauty industry with an already built-in fan following is a solid recipe for profit. So the real question is, why wouldn’t they want to start a make-up brand?
From the OGs to the most anticipated upcoming launches and everything in between, keep scrolling for our favourite celebrity makeup brands that have come out so far.
Kylie Cosmetics – Kylie Jenner
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Originally named Kylie Lip Kits, Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics business was founded in 2014 with a liquid lipstick and lip liner, but eventually grew to include blushes, highlighters, bronzers, brow tools and eyeliners. While it led to Jenner’s controversial designation by Forbes as youngest ‘self-made’ billionaire ever, few can deny the wide appeal and success of this beauty empire.
Fenty Beauty – Rihanna
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Launching in 2017 and revolutionising makeup industry standards with its skin tone-inclusive collection of foundation in 40 shades, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty needs little introduction. While the success of the brand has led to its branching out into skincare and fragrance products, fans continue to flock to the makeup line which encourages users to take risks and be boldly different.
Rare Beauty – Selena Gomez
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Created with the mission of championing self-acceptance and mental health, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty offers face, lip and eye makeup products that celebrate individuality and redefine what it means to be beautiful. In line with its ethos, the brand aims to raise USD $100 million over the next 10 years to put towards providing access to mental health services.
R.E.M Beauty – Ariana Grande
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This newly dropped makeup collection from songstress Ariana Grande features lip glosses, lipsticks, highlighters, eyeshadow palettes, liquid liners and false eyelashes, all in futuristic, sci-fi themed packaging. Named ‘Chapter 1- ultraviolet’, the line up constitutes only the first set of releases from Grande’s new brand, R.E.M Beauty, which will likely continue to delight fans with more Ariana-inspired beauty products.
JLo Beauty – Jennifer Lopez
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During the launch of her JLo Beauty brand, Jennifer Lopez earned herself some ridicule from sceptics when she revealed that her secret to aging well was her family’s skincare tradition of using olive oil, rather than Botox. Nevertheless, the ingredient is the main star of the beauty line up thanks to the brand’s proprietary JLO Beauty® Olive Complex, which promises to slow aging by hydrating and plumping the skin.
Haus Laboratories – Lady Gaga
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Partnering with Amazon, Lady Gaga formed Haus Laboratories in the hopes of helping others find the ability to reinvent and transform themselves through makeup the way she did with her stage persona. Recently, the brand dropped an Italian glam inspired line in conjunction with the artist’s House of Gucci film release.
About-Face – Halsey
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Launched earlier this year, pop artist Halsey’s makeup brand About-Face debuted with a whopping 40 products across 10 categories. These included lip glosses and lipsticks, highlighters and powders, eye pencils and eye paints in a range of striking colours and textures. Described as multidimensional makeup for everyone, the range was designed for wearers to celebrate all the forms and facets of their own self-expression.
Honest Beauty – Jessica Alba
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One of the earliest celebrity-built brands in the game, Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company was launched in 2012 to provide baby products free from petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances. In 2015, Honest Beauty was opened with the same attitude towards clean products, with makeup made from only natural, organic and non-toxic ingredients that are safe and ethically sourced.
Florence by Mills – Millie Bobby Brown
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Having shot to fame after starring as Eleven on Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown sought to shake up the makeup scene in 2019 with her new clean beauty brand, Florence by Mills. Geared towards her fellow Gen Z and teen crowd, the brand offers youthful, fun make-up and skincare products are all about ‘defining beauty on our own terms’.
Photos: Pleasing
