Back in the day, launching an eponymous fragrance was proof that a celebrity had hit superstar status. Nowadays, one could posit that you’re only a real A-lister when you’ve founded your own entire beauty, skincare or wellness brand. With the global beauty industry worth an estimated US$511 billion, it’s unsurprising that so many celebrities are keen to get involved. Take a closer look at some of the most successful celebrity beauty stories. 

RIHANNA’S FENTY BEAUTY 

Photo: Fenty Beauty

Singer, actress, fashion designer and beauty entrepreneur – is there no end to Rihanna’s talents? The Bajan multi-hyphenate launched her cosmetics company Fenty Beauty in 2017, with a mantra of “Beauty for All”. It swiftly achieved massive success, with Forbes valuing the brand at US$2.8 billion. 

“I created Fenty Beauty because I wanted to make a beauty brand that is inclusive for people everywhere,” explains Rihanna. “I want everyone to feel beautiful, recognised and empowered, no matter their ethnicity, culture, skin tone or style.” The brand’s signature Pro Filt’r Foundation and Concealer perfectly showcase this dedication to inclusivity with an all-encompassing range of 50 shades, ensuring that even traditionally hard-to-match skin tones are represented. 

Having struggled with skincare as a teenager, Rihanna expanded the brand to include approachable multitasking skincare products in 2020, explaining, “Fenty Skin is everything I wish I had back then.”

HARRY STYLES’S PLEASING 

Photo: Pleasing

Say hello to the latest celebrity to turn their hand to beauty – singer Harry Styles, with his first business venture, Pleasing. Styles has long been known for his love of flamboyant gender-fluid fashion, so it’s only fitting that the brand’s calling card is a range of pearlescent nail polishes inspired by the singer’s oft-worn pearl necklaces. Also included in Pleasing’s first drop are The Pleasing Pen, a two-in-one eye and lip serum, and The Pearlescent Illuminating Serum, a moisturising make-up primer. 

“When we decided Pleasing would make beauty products, I wanted to be sure they were something I would use,” says Styles. “I didn’t want to make products to mask people. I wanted to highlight them and make them feel beautiful.” 

KYLIE JENNER’S KYLIE BABY 

Photo: Kylie Baby

No celebrity beauty discussion is complete without Kylie Jenner, whose trademark Lip Kits became a phenomenon upon their debut in 2015, with initial product launches selling out in minutes. The brand quickly grew to span more make-up with Kylie Cosmetics, then skincare with Kylie Skin, before joining forces with industry powerhouse Coty to pave the way for global expansion. 

Having become a mother in recent years, Jenner’s next idea was to create clean, safe, gentle baby-care products – and thus Kylie Baby was born in 2021, with all formulations proudly vegan, hypoallergenic, paediatrician-tested and tear-free. “When my daughter was born, I wanted to make sure I was putting gentle, high-tolerance products on her skin,” explains Jenner. “Kylie Baby was my way of creating products that I could develop from the ground up to be exactly what I wanted for my babies, so that you can have our tried-and-tested formula favourites for yours.” 

PHARRELL WILLIAMS’S HUMANRACE 

Photo: Humanrace

Music mogul Pharrell Williams made a splash in the skincare sphere in 2020 when he launched the vegan, gender-neutral range Humanrace, developed in collaboration with long-time friend and dermatologist Elena Jones. “Humanrace doesn’t differentiate by race or gender,” explains Williams, “We’re creating for humans. We are all born in the same skin and Humanrace celebrates this.” 

The initial skincare collection – which, of course, sold out within hours upon launch – comprises a simple three-step daily routine of Rice Powder Cleanser, Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator and Humidifying Cream. Two body care bars – Reenergizing Whiteclay for cleansing and Energy Channeling Charcoal for exfoliating – were recently added to the line-up. 

Working together to prepare, repair and protect skin, Humanrace’s carefully curated collection is designed to create the ideal foundation for lasting skin health without any unnecessary steps. Sustainability is also a focus, with refillable products and packaging that uses more than 50-percent recycled materials.

CHARLENE CHOI’S ENFANTSKIN 

Photo: Enfantskin

It’s not only Hollywood’s finest getting in on the beauty game; several Asia-based stars have also launched brands in recent years, including Hong Kong’s very own Charlene Choi. The actress and singer founded Enfantskin in 2018 with a vision of promoting the concept of “timeless beauty”, with products created to combat the effects of ageing on skin. 

“Ageing, along with the pressures of everyday life and constant exposure to UV rays, slows down our metabolism and diminishes our ability to retain and restore our skin’s moisture and collagen,” explains Choi. Enfantskin’s range has been designed to deliver what Choi describes as “newborn skin”, with signatures like the highly concentrated Vitamin C Serum Moisturising Mask, B5 Hydra Booster and Active Renewal Bio Mask all helping to reduce collagen loss, encourage cell turnover, and intensively repair and regenerate skin cells. 

MIRANDA KERR’S KORA ORGANICS 

Photo: Kora Organics

Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr is something of a veteran in the celebrity beauty scene. She launched her award-winning KORA Organics range in 2009 after being disappointed at the lack of organic skincare options at the time. “I built this company from the ground up – with my own money, my own ideas – out of my passion and desire to develop really powerful, healthy, certified products that I didn’t see available,” says Kerr. “After all, healthy skin is the most beautiful skin.” 

All KORA Organics products feature highly active certified organic natural ingredients and are free from unnecessary chemicals and toxins. Every item contains noni extract, an Australian superfruit that Kerr has used since her grandmother introduced it to her as a youngster. Kerr’s holistic approach to beauty also means that each product is filtered through rose quartz crystals during manufacturing to infuse them with “the vibration of love”. 

ELLE MACPHERSON’S WELLECO 

Photo: Welleco

Nicknamed “The Body”, it’s no surprise that Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson has long had a passion for nutrition – which eventually led to the creation of her own wholefood supplements line WelleCo in 2014. 

Developed in collaboration with naturopathic nutritionist Simoné Laubscher, these all-natural, plant-based elixirs come in easily absorbable powder form. They’re loaded with different blends of Chinese medicinal herbs, amino acid-packed proteins, alkalising super greens and digestive enzymes to boost nutrition, maintain pH balance, optimise body performance and support a healthy metabolism. 

“I realised that wellness liberates people’s ability to live the lives they’ve longed for,” says Macpherson. ”How a person chooses to live their life is their own responsibility, but it’s our responsibility at WelleCo to provide them the best possible support, awareness and wellness solutions that enable them to grow into the very best version of themselves. Being well, feeling great and living life enhances the greater good of our entire world.”