One minute I’m on TikTok watching a Hailey Bieber GRWM video. Seconds later, an Instagram post pops up on my phone about much-loved sustainable beauty brand Ren closing down.
Cries of “what will I do without the Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Toner?” echoed around the GLAMOUR office as the team heard the news.
Personally, I’ll mourn the loss of the Atlantic Kelp And Microalgae Anti-Fatigue Bath Oil with its heavenly scent of rosemary, geranium and cypress that came in the first-ever bottle made from reclaimed ocean plastic. It made ripples when it first launched in 2017.
But maybe in today’s beauty climate, ripples aren’t enough. You need a million social followers, waiting with baited breath for your next launch, which got me thinking… Although a viral celebrity video and the loss of a 25 year-old sustainable brand aren’t directly related, is the all-consuming impact of celebrity beauty brands starting to feel very Black Mirror?
Celebrity beauty brands are catnip for Gen Z
Kylie Jenner set the stage for a celebrity beauty boom with her lip kits in 2015. Now every drop from Hailey’s Rhode range reaches fever pitch. The same can be said about Cécred by Beyoncé, Fenty by Rihanna, Selena Gomez‘s brand Rare, or our current obsession – SZA Beauty.
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And it’s not hard to see why. “Celebrity beauty brands are commanding more attention in the mainstream beauty space than heritage brands,” says Lisa Payne, head of beauty at trend forecaster Stylus, adding that sustainable brands like REN “can’t keep up with the trends in the way that Rhode or Rare Beauty have.”
Celebrity beauty brands are also like catnip for Gen Z. This is a generation seeking community – and fan culture automatically gives you membership to a like-minded, ready-made beauty tribe. “Celebrity brands come with built-in buzz, social proof and emotional pull,” says Chelsea Mtada, a senior strategist at global PR firm the SEEN Group. “They speak to identity, trend, belonging and cultural relevance. In comparison, many sustainable brands are still leading with values, which just isn’t enough anymore.”
Better still, these celebrities create content around their own products on Instagram and TikTok. You’re no longer just engaging with Rihanna from the back row of a stadium – you’re centre stage as she promises that if you can’t find a match to your skin tone among her 50 shades of Fenty foundation, she’ll create one. Just. For. You.
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