If you're feeling like it's groundhog day with the number of celebrity makeup line launches, you're not alone. A quick browse in the beauty communities on Reddit or Instagram will reflect the "meh" mentality when it comes to stars rolling out their own beauty line.
It makes sense why celebrities are launching lines left, right and centre - fragrances and the like have always been BIG sellers for popstars (Britney Spears' Curious, hello! Or even better, Jessica Simpson's Dessert line - was it all edible? The whipped cream body lotion!), but for me it's the fact that we know better now.
Social media has made it seamless to find out what artist is doing makeup for what star for a performance or red carpet moment - it only takes a few clicks to see the products that were actually used on the celeb vs what brand they are the face of (and sure, some of them really do stick to their brand image and make sure that certain mascaras or lipsticks are used). We can be sure that when they go makeup shopping, they are getting whatever product their MUAs recommend or whatever they like (no matter the cost).
When it comes to maintaining camera-ready skin, we also know all the tricks - it might be a low-dose of Accutane for stars who can't afford to have breakouts, all sorts of threads, filler and anti-wrinkle injections (that's before you even look at the procedures under the knife). No shade here, but the fact is we KNOW that J Lo hasn't just used olive oil to maintain her glowy complexion - so when she comes out with some $58 USD pots of cream and touts it as her secret to perfect skin it's like - come on, now.
I'm realistic about it also, I'm aware that there is a market for products "designed" by stars - and it will sell regardless, and not everyone is going to dedicate years to product development to create something really different or absolutely authentic to their own routine.
Halsey's line about-face launched recently (available now for pre-sale), and although the products themselves don't jump out at me as must-haves, the story behind the brand feels genuine. Here's where Halsey gets it right:
1) She's known for doing her own makeup for appearances, performances and shoots - she wants to be in control of her own look, and therefore she knows the feel of products as a consumer, not just at the hands of a super-skilled makeup artist.
2) The line is all vegan and cruelty-free (yay!) - for celebrities, cruelty-free should be a bare-minimum for products.
3) The products are reasonably-priced and her catch cry is 'have fun!' - in this sense, the products fit the bill. You've got a blend of sheen-inducing highlighters, powders and glosses and some matte products for more graphic looks, bold lips etc. There is probably something here for everyone, with some cool makeup pouches thrown in.
The line doesn't take itself too seriously, so you feel as if you could toss a few of these products into your routine and play with them, try something new, and not feel as if you're putting on a whole new face.
If you're purchasing a beauty line by a celebrity, over so many fantastic brands and products on the market, you want to feel like you're getting something that represents that artist, their spirit, their personality - Fenty Beauty really set the bar high for innovative celebrity-led brands, so I look forward to what the rest of 2021 brings.