I’m sure there was a period when I was enthralled with celebrity beauty companies. But now that they’re literally everywhere, I can’t help but grumble whenever I see a new one. Everyone and their mother decided to jump on the beauty-brand bandwagon once Rihanna released Fenty Beauty in 2017.
Keeping up with the industry in such a busy sector may be intimidating, but I try not to evaluate a beauty business by its creator (emphasis on try). So, to help you figure out which celeb goods are actually, you know, excellent, I went ahead and selected my favourite items from the 15 finest celebrity beauty businesses out there, ranging from an inky-black eyeliner to a moisturising balm that serves as a highlighter. Here’s what you should spend your money on:
Celebrities have been associated with beauty for as long as photos of them have been reproduced. Famous actors and musicians, the original influencers, have contributed their faces (and hair and bodies) to many marketing campaigns for beauty companies, and they continue to do so to this day, frequently as exceptionally well-compensated “brand ambassadors.” However, it appears that being a beauty-brand spokesman is no longer enough for some of the most aesthetically conscious and ambitious celebs. We live in the age of celebrity beauty brands.
These are the celebs who presently have successful beauty companies. Each one’s star goods demonstrate that a celebrity’s name on the label isn’t a valid reason to try — or not try — them because these lines have undergone much study, science, and consideration.
All goods featured on Allure have been hand-picked by our editors. However, if you purchase something via one of our shopping links, we may receive an affiliate commission.
Rihanna: Fenty Beauty & Fenty Skin
We’d say Fenty Beauty was the celebrity beauty brand to end all celebrity beauty companies, but it appears to be the one that truly started it all. Rihanna’s cosmetics line, which debuted in September 2017, provided both celebrity and non-celebrity beauty firms with new standards to aspire to, such as substantially bigger foundation colour ranges than we’d gotten accustomed to. While the world awaited Rihanna’s new music, she chose to expand her aesthetic empire by launching Fenty Skin, an inclusive skin-care product that encourages everyone and everyone to glow like its creator.
Gabi Thorne, an Allure editorial assistant, became a total lip gloss convert. “My lips always stay moisturised while wearing Gloss Bomb because of the shea butter in the recipe, and the formula doesn’t leave lips sticky or tacky like other glosses,” she adds of the Readers’ Choice Award winner.
Jennifer Lopez: J.Lo Beauty
Jennifer Lopez was putting her name on fragrances over 20 years before the introduction of JLo Beauty, so the only surprise about the superstar’s foray into skin care is how long it took. We’ve all been wondering what the heck we could do to age more like Lopez (read: a bit less, presumably) for at least a decade, right? But now that we can incorporate some of her enchantment into our daily lives, there’s no turning back. How could we possibly? She’s worked too hard in all she does to not keep it up. “We went through a hundred rounds of product development to get everything perfect,” she told Allure in December 2020, when the brand debuted.
star product Because of this, we believe she’d need nothing less than a highly powerful cleanser, That Hit Single ($38), to properly remove it. “It has a lovely, lovely feel,” she adds of the gel formula.
Alicia Keys: Keys SoulCare
It’s a stretch to call Keys Soulcare a beauty brand. Yes, its primary goods are skin-care products, and yes, it’s part of the E.L.F. family, but there’s something more to what Alicia Keys has in store for her 2020 debut. Specifically, the ritual. “What I’ve learnt is that I need to be able to have space for myself—just a few minutes,” Keys told Allure. “It doesn’t have to be for a long time; only a few minutes to genuinely care for the outside and inside.”
The Be Luminous Exfoliator ($22) is a favourite among Allure editors, including beauty assistant Michella Oré, who appreciates what it does (and doesn’t do) for her sensitive skin. “Thanks to the oats and mung beans, this recipe is incredibly mild,” she adds. “It’s not an exaggeration to say my face appeared instantaneously smoother and glowier after I used it.”
Selena Gomez: Rare Beauty
The Be Luminous Exfoliator ($22) is a favourite among Allure editors, including beauty assistant Michella Oré, who appreciates what it does (and doesn’t do) for her sensitive skin. “Thanks to the oats and mung beans, this recipe is incredibly mild,” she adds. “It’s not an exaggeration to say my face appeared instantaneously smoother and glowier after I used it.”
Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty
Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty is just one branch of Jessica Alba’s Honest company, but—and this will surprise almost no one—our it’s favourite. The collection of makeup and skin care would be irresistible on its own, but add in the chic packaging, thoughtfully curated options, and the fact that the brand’s mission is “putting people’s health and wellness first, thinking of the planet, applying more conscious business practices, and all that we do [in] diversity and inclusion,” as Alba told Allure, and Honest Beauty becomes an obvious irresistible brand to include in your routine.
Luminizing Glow Powder ($20) has been around since Honest Beauty’s inception in 2015, and for good reason: “The barely there pigment enhances natural colour (and glow), and the shimmer is super subtle, so you can swipe all over without fear of looking like a disco ball,” writes Allure contributor Lindsay Colameo.
Drew Barrymore: Flower Beauty
Of course, one of the world’s most likeable people would end up creating such a popular beauty company. Drew Barrymore, Hollywood celebrity and worldwide imaginary best friend, gave us Flower Beauty in 2013 and has simply kept giving with a range of inexpensive and charming cosmetics that express her infectiously happy and completely relatable emotions. The product of the year: Flower Beauty’s flower pots ($10 each) have an unmistakably lovely quality about them. If we were to pinpoint it, we’d say it’s the fact that these Best of Beauty-winning powder blushes appear even better on your cheeks than they do in their sculpted compacts.
Gabrielle Union: Flawless
Gabrielle Union is faultless in every way, but she chose to bestow the descriptor on her hair-care product. The curly-centric line was designed in collaboration with acclaimed hairdresser Larry Sims, who knows a thing or two (thousand) about treating and styling coils, braids, wigs, and more. “We were committed to creating the optimal balance of high-quality, affordable products for all sorts of textured hair to promote flawless beauty through choice and variety,” Union said in a statement announcing the relaunch of the brand. Union’s gorgeous and very outspoken daughter, Kaavia, loves Flawless’ Hydrating Co-Wash Cleansing Hair Conditioner ($10) on her wash days.
Lady Gaga: Haus Laboratories
Even though we’d developed celebrity-beauty-brand weariness by 2019, nothing could dampen our anticipation for Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated Haus Laboratories. But, while the cosmetics line helps Gaga achieve her frequently daring looks, she didn’t design it for the primary aim of allowing followers to imitate her. “We want you to see yourself at Haus Laboratories,” she told Allure. “When you look in the mirror, we want you to say to yourself, ‘That’s the you I love.’ ‘I’m madly in love with that individual.’ I don’t want others to feel obligated to look like me.” Nicola Dall’Assen, Allure news editor, is a major lover of the Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner ($18), and not simply because every hue in its spectrum goes with everything.
Halsey: About-Face
To say that 2021 was a pivotal year for Halsey would be an understatement. She began the year by introducing About-Face, a vibrant new beauty brand that immediately pleased everyone who tried it, in addition to giving birth to a gorgeous baby in July. “Makeup has always been my go-to source of expression,” the singer says on the cover of the August 2021 issue of Allure. “Makeup allows me to play a different persona throughout the day.”
Dall’Assen claims that the application technique for the About-Face Shadowsticks ($21 apiece) is nearly as enjoyable as the colors and ensuing appearance.
Millie Bobby Brown: Florence by Mills
Millie Bobby Brown has followers of all ages owing to her portrayal as Eleven on Stranger Things, but her cosmetics company, Florence by Mills—named after both her grandmother and her own nickname—has been a particular hit with her peers. However, Brown does not want anybody to assume that the cosmetics and skin-care line is exclusive to Gen-Z and younger people. “I don’t want people to feel like they’re being overwhelmed with an adolescent beauty brand when they look at it,” she told Allure shortly after its September 2019 launch. “That isn’t who we are.” We wish to appear sophisticated. Of course, it’s a difficult balance to strike since young people love to embrace their youth, but I also want it to be authentic.
What’s My Line, the star product? ($14) Eyeliner comes in the precise five colours that each liner addict prefers: black and brown for daily looks; white for lightening the waterline and creating graphic pops; and light blue and lavender for days when you just can’t get enough colour.
Hayley Williams: Good Dye Young
Some celebrity cosmetic companies appear to be a waste of money, while others, like Hayley Williams’ Good Dye Young, feel fated. In 2016, the lead singer of Paramore, who is known nearly as much for her colourful hair colours as she is for her wonderful voice, founded the hair-dye firm with beauty specialist and good friend Brian O’Connor. It quickly grabbed the hearts and hair follicles of people who are tired of brown and blonde tones and want to take matters into their own hands. The product of the year: Dall’Assen raves about Good Dye Young Semi-Permanent Hair Color ($19), which she used to get pink. “This is by far the best direct-deposit hair dye I’ve ever used,” she comments.
