There was a time when the celebrity makeup line was a novel concept. Who can forget when 18-year-old Kylie Jenner sent forth Kylie Lip Kits into the world back in 2014, causing a stampede of teenage girls scrambling to get their hands on them and crashing the website in the process. But now it’s hard to name a celebrity who doesn’t have a makeup or skincare line – from Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop to Ariana Grande’s REM Beauty to Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills, everyone seems to have a stake in the makeup game. Some have proven to be more successful than others (think Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty compared to TikToker Addison Rae’s Item Beauty), but are any worth the hype?
With so many celebrity makeup lines saturating the market, some are bound to be better than others. Certain viral products spring to mind, from Selena Gomez’s hyper-pigmented Soft Pinch liquid blush that supposedly needs just one drop to do the trick, to Fenty’s bestselling Poutsicle Hydrating Lip Stain. However, there are some brands which seem to rely less on the products themselves and more on their namesake’s celebrity status and virality to tote their goods – I wonder if we’re really meant to believe that we can achieve Nepo-baby-turned-businesswoman Hailey Bieber’s effortlessly glowing and flawlessly clear ‘glazed donut’ skin by spending our money on her line Rhode Skin. I’m not saying that celebrity makeup brands aren’t good quality – many products manage to compete with some of the biggest brands for attention on TikTok. And surely the longevity of brands like Kylie Cosmetics wouldn’t be attainable if the quality was less than decent. But it’s hard to believe that so many brands being churned out by so many celebrities at such speed can all really be worth the cash.
So, should celebrities just stop launching makeup brands altogether?
I would argue that they should. We’ve come to a point where it seems that celebrities are seemingly launching any random product line that they can think of. And it’s not just makeup lines – celebrities will stick their name on anything that can sell. Take Kim Kardashian – from her shapewear line Skims to KKW Beauty to private equity firm SKKY (yes, you read that right), there doesn’t seem to be an industry left that Kim hasn’t taken a stab at.
Maybe we should respect the entrepreneurship – and the audacity. If you’re a celebrity, and you know you have fans willing to splash their cash on anything you associate yourself with, why not earn yourself a pretty penny. I’m sure it’s very tempting to slap your name on a collaboration or brand and collect the profits. If fans are willing to buy, then why not cater to them – after all, the celebrity makeup line is the latest form of merchandise for fans to represent their love for their favourite celeb. I just wonder who will be next to dip their toe in the beauty and skincare game.
But the question of morals must be asked – as fans of these celebrities, is it really fair to expect us to spend all our money on brands that they probably have very little to do with on a day-to-day basis? Of course, fans want to support their favourite celebs and idols, but don’t they feel a little bad rinsing followers of their hard-earned money in what could be seen as no more than a quick cash grab? You’re telling me that Oscar-nominated actress Scarlet Johansson really needs to launch her own skincare line? It all just feels a little corporate, and, one might dare to say, exploitative.
Maybe these celebrities really do have good intentions – perhaps they just want to share their love for makeup with their fans. But enough is enough. For the sake of makeup users and fans everywhere, please: no more celebrity makeup lines.
Image Credit: “Madrid” by claudia.schillinger is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.