Celebrity Makeup Brands Which Ones are Worth the Hype

Selena Gomez, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande. What do they all have in common? These celebrities have all created their own makeup brands piggybacking off their personal brands. Many of these brands have been accused of being cash grabs whilst others have garnered lots of hype and are praised for their innovation. Here we will evaluate a few of these makeup brands to help you decide which products are worth the hype.

Why are we obsessed? 

Celebrities are brands in themselves. If we trust and like the celebrity, we will trust the brands they associate themselves with. We develop parasocial relationships with celebrities whereby we invest time and money into our relationship with them despite them not knowing we exist. We have never met Hailey Bieber or Kylie Jenner but because we see them so much in the media we feel like we know them and can trust what they stand for. Recently there has been a huge influx of celebrities taking advantage of this and creating beauty brand after beauty brand. 

 Another reason we buy these products is our pursuit of our ideal self. When a product is attached to a celebrity we admire we often think their qualities will be passed on to us when we consume the product. If you want to be kind and unique you think of Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty. If you want to be edgy and cool you think of Lady Gaga and Haus Beauty. If you want to be a ‘Clean Girl’ you think of Hailey Bieber and Rhode Beauty. The problem with this association is that these products often don’t live up to our expectations, after all these are celebrities and not cosmetic scientists. So how do we know if a product is good or if it is just the branding we have fallen for? Here is a guide to the most popular makeup brands and which ones make good quality products. 

PR disasters and poor quality 

Our trust in these celebrities is a huge asset for gaining sales. On the other hand, when this trust is broken through poor quality and messy PR campaigns fans feel let down. 

If you rely on one person to represent the brand and they slip up in their promotional content, they can destroy the brand’s entire reputation. For example, Milly Bobby Brown damaged her brand, Florence by Mills, when she was accused of pretending to use her products in a TikTok video. James Charles created an eyeshadow palette, ‘Create Paint’, which was later revealed to contain harmful ingredients by America’s Food and Drug Corporation. Kim Kardashian has been accused of misleading customers with her beauty brand SKKN. Kim constantly urges that her perfect skin is a result of her skincare line alone and not a combination of good genetics, various dermatological procedures, and plastic surgeries. Her skincare is also criticized for its extortionate pricing with one skincare set amounting to $600. 

Trending brands 

To justify another new makeup brand it has to offer customers something new or it is in danger of becoming another generic makeup brand with a famous face slapped on. Whether that is accessibility, quality, affordability, innovative products, or beautiful design, the brand has to offer something new to the industry. Most celebrity makeup brands fall into this category however there are a few notable gems that stand out. These products and brands are so strong that they can arguably stand on their own without celebrity endorsement. Here are some beauty brands that are actually worth your money and the hype. 

Rare beauty 

Rare Beauty has established itself as an innovative brand with its products and packaging. The blushes, highlighters, and lipsticks are extremely high quality and pigmented meaning just a tiny dot of product goes a long way. The packaging is where Rare Beauty goes beyond as it has accessible packaging. Selena Gomez openly discusses her struggles with her chronic illness Lupus which can cause her hands to become painful and numb so the accessibility is inspired by her own experience. This marks Rare Beauty as a genuine brand with a purpose as it directly relates to Selena and aims to solve a gap in the beauty industry. Selena has gone far beyond being a celebrity face of the brand, she embodies what they stand for. 

FENTY 

Rhianna’s brand FENTY has been a key force in getting the beauty industry to make foundations more inclusive. With fifty different shades instead of your typical twenty Rhianna has made people of all skin tones and shades feel included in the beauty industry. Since FENTY’s launch other makeup brands have aspired to create the same level of inclusivity as she has set the new industry standard for shade ranges. 

Kylie Cosmetics

It would be impossible to write about celebrity makeup without mentioning Kylie cosmetics. Arguably the first widely known celebrity makeup brand, Kylie Cosmetics has established itself as an iconic makeup line. Kylie Jenner was the face of the 2016 makeup trend of heavy contour, lipstick, and colorful eyeshadow. She cleverly used her association with makeup to create her own line. Kylie Beauty is also cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free, paraben, and sulfate-free with an emphasis on healthy skin. Kylie embodies her brand by engaging with her audience regularly and creating engaging content for them using the products. The brand is genuine because the association of Kylie with makeup existed before the Kylie cosmetics brand, it is not just her brand it is her passion. 

Do your research

As always, it is good to research products before you buy, especially if you are buying without testing products first. Clever marketing can easily disguise poor products so it is important to separate the two. Make sure you love the products and not just the famous face associated with them.  What does everyone else think about the product? Is it worth the money? Seek out honest reviews, and look at their ingredients and their values. The celebrity beauty brand trend is here to stay but only the brands that pair innovative products with genuine passion will stand the test of time. Choose wisely, and you might just find a gem worth the hype.