What’s in a name? And what is it about celebs that make us take an interest in what they’re wearing, what they’re doing, who they’re seeing?
READ MORE: Selena Gomez Wants To Challenge Conversations Around Beauty
The celebrity cachet of pop idols, in particular, has led to everything from mere curiosity to innocuous fandom, parasocial (one-sided) relationships and, at the extreme, stalker obsession—spawning legions of memorabilia and other products they can attach their names (and faces) to.
In the sphere of beauty, that translated into a celebrity fragrance boom in the early to mid-2000s – a simple, low-involvement way for artistes to increase visibility when they’re between albums.
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This expanded over the years to include makeup and skincare fronted or endorsed by the big names in the industry (think Blackpink’s Jennie and Hera and Lisa and M.A.C) – turning into what’s surely a lucrative side hustle for those at the top of their game.
Gen Z pop star Billie Eilish recently announced she is launching a vegan perfume line, while Ariana Grande and Hailey Bieber are dropping R.E.M Beauty and Rhode Skincare respectively.
READ MORE: Can Celebrities And Influencers Really Own The Beauty Scene?
These days though, it’s not all about business and keeping their names in the public’s consciousness. Increasingly, we’re seeing pop stars harness their star power for good, launching their own beauty brands – with a full line of skincare, makeup and body-care products to boot – that champion causes close to their hearts.
Selena Gomez launched Rare Beauty as a means to challenge the prevailing unrealistic standards of beauty.
One could argue that these pop stars are simply capitalising on their fame to sell us more things. But you could also look at it from another angle: These are people who are keenly aware of how wide their reach is and, because of their own ordeals in life, are using their celebrity to effect the changes they want to see, so others don’t have to experience what they did.
That they’re doing it through beauty just adds to the equation, for they could very well raise another’s self-worth along the way. And that’s never a bad thing.
Ahead, we look at how three superstars are walking the talk when it comes to their holistic approach to celebrity beauty brands.