Hairy lipsticks, shady YouTubers, and the brand that changed make-up forever. Celebs have dabbled
in the beauty world for years, but maybe not everyone should get into the make-up scene.
"The last thing the world needs is another beauty brand. But that's too bad."
A Lady Gaga-owned cosmetic line had the potential to be iconic, but it was a controversial flop.
Haus Laboratories came onto the scene in 2019 and was exclusively sold on Amazon.
The line then made its way over to Sephora, which seemed like an undeserved level up for the brand.
Most reviewers find the brand's offerings to be drugstore-quality makeup sold at a
high-end price. Many complained about the products' durability,
noting that it didn't feel as though they were getting the product that matched the price tag. If
the move to Sephora doesn't work out, perhaps Haus Laboratories will find a happy home elsewhere.
It's safe to say that everyone knows Jeffree Star's name — just not for the right reasons.
Let's put it out there now: His makeup brand is pretty decent in quality, but
its owner's bad reputation has a tendency to cancel that out. From racial slurs to throwing
tantrums any time he gets the slightest critique, not to mention the countless apology videos,
Star is a controversial figure in the makeup world — and it's starting to catch up with him.
A prime example of this karma occurred after the beauty guru mocked Kat Von D
and Too Faced for having their products in stores like Marshalls. He posted a tweet saying,
"CAN'T RELATE. AT. ALL."
Just a couple of years later,
his products found their way onto the shelves of the exact same discount stores.
Jeffree's still a businessman at heart, and he's branched out into skincare, pet toys,
and, weirdest of all, yak meat.
Kat Von D is another brand that's been surrounded by controversy due to its founder.
Her lipstick shade "Underage Red" garnered serious criticism.
Defending the shade's name in a Facebook post, she said,
"It is an unapologetic, bold red. [...] So,
NO. I refuse to sacrifice my integrity and creative freedom.
NO. I will not be pulling 'Underage Red' from my collection. And NO. This is not an apology."
There have also been several rumors declaring her to be an anti-Semite.
She responded by referencing her Latino heritage as a reason she can't be anti-semitic.
A common response to that statement: How do the two correlate? One user tweeted,
"Kat Von D telling her audience she's Latina
as support for why she's not anti-semitic is laughable."
However, ever since Kat Von D stepped down and the company rebranded to KVD Vegan Beauty,
the brand's been doing a lot better. From the looks of the brand's website,
"Underage Red" is nowhere to be found.
"Oh my god, I'm back. I didn't breathe that whole time. Oh my god, you guys."
Ariana Grande's makeup looks have evolved over the years, always highlighting her eyes with
new styles and graphic liners. It only made sense that, if she were to drop a makeup line,
it would have a primary focus on eye-related products. And that's just what she did.
R.E.M Beauty debuted its first collection or "drop" in 2021,
which did primarily focus on products for the eyes. In an interview with Allure, Grande said,
"I feel like you can emote more with your eyes than you can articulate sometimes."
This isn't Grande's first time in the beauty world, as she has a successful fragrance
line exclusively sold at Ulta Beauty. R.E.M Beauty is actually pretty nice,
but it has not been out long enough to have an expansive collection for people to review.
All we can do is wait and see what R.E.M Beauty has in store.
Jennifer Lopez has been serving looks since she was Jenny from the block.
The 52-year-old triple threat has never looked a day over 30, and that's probably
because she's investing a lot of time, money, and effort into herself — and her skincare.
With a face like that, it's only normal that people are dying to know her secrets and tricks.
This gave JLo the perfect opportunity to cash in on a rather profitable market.
This leads us to JLo Beauty.
"I felt like almost an obligation to, like,
put it in a bottle and say, 'OK, this is what I do with my skin.'"
Rather than makeup, JLo Beauty focuses on skincare with masks,
creams, and facial cleansers. The crazy part is that the base of this line is something
you could find in your kitchen: olive oil. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Lopez said,
"It's a family tradition and beauty secret passed
down from her grandmother and mother for healthy and shiny hair, skin, and nails."
This doesn't mean you should go around pouring olive oil on your face,
but if you want JLo's signature glow, then give her brand a try.
Let's face it, Kylie Jenner paved the way for modern-day celebrity makeup lines in the age of
social media. It all started with a lip kit and a dream, and is now a $1 billion beauty empire.
While Kylie Cosmetics is a revered brand, that doesn't mean it's flawless.
Most recently, it seems that Kylie's been recycling looks, using the same
colors and palettes and just putting them in different packaging. One Twitter user tweeted,
"Is it really necessary to release new makeup collections
EVERY year for EVERY holiday? at this point ur selling the same colors in new packaging.
so wasteful. [...] I see the same thing recycled every holiday."
Honestly, they aren't wrong. Several of Kylie's palettes tend to look the same. At the point where
you're basically getting the same product, it seems like consumers are just wasting their money.
If you're a fan of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things," then you know who Millie Bobby Brown is.
Many of us have watched the actor grow into the beautiful young woman she is today.
In her time off from playing the iconic character of Eleven, Brown dove into the beauty world,
releasing her line Florence by Mills in 2019. Her cosmetic line focuses on a more youthful essence,
similar to Glossier. It's the type of brand you'd probably recommend for
someone who's just getting into makeup or who prefers a barely-there look.
Discussing her brand, Brown told Teen Vogue,
"I think it's important to remember that it was a key element in starting the brand to
uplift my customers and uplift their self-esteem, which is something that can really [be lacking],
especially, in Generation Z and, and specifically girls."
And then there’s Jaclyn Hill, her self-titled line Jaclyn Cosmetics, and all its failed launches.
The beauty guru debuted her cosmetic line in 2019. She'd begun telling fans she had
a makeup line on the way back in 2014, so it's no surprise that fans were getting excited and
impatient — but all that would change shortly after the line's actual launch.
People started finding suspicious shards and hairs in the lipsticks
that Hill released as her brand's first launch. Beauty YouTuber RawBeautyKristi's
tweet showed a hairy lipstick she received, along with the caption,
"All I can say is WTF"
The lipstick controversy was bad, but the fumbles don't end there for
Jaclyn Cosmetics. Before the release of her brand's bronzers, Jaclyn put out a disclaimer:
"When it comes to creating something that really deserves a very big and broad shade range,
it is really difficult for me."
"When it comes to shades I can't wear…"
"I just don't know." Fans and consumers were
displeased with the limited shade range. One Instagram user expressed their outrage by saying:
"HOW is this acceptable? [...] She has unlimited resources and investors and no one thought about
hiring a POC consultant to assist in creating an inclusive shade range for this launch?"
They aren't wrong, and Jaclyn's gotta do better.
Similar to Ariana Grande, Halsey is known to sport bright and colorful eye makeup.
Her makeup collection, About Face,
takes eyeliner and eyeshadows to a whole new level. In an interview with Byrdie, she said,
"I really hope that people know that I've always done my own makeup, so this is coming from a place
of a lot of experience, and a lot of love for the art. I meticulously designed all of these
products. Everything from the ingredients to the names of every single one of the
products — it was entirely of my own love, and design, and approval, and involvement."
One of her most notable products is the Matte Fluid Eye Paint. There are 26 shades available
ranging from neutrals to highlighter yellows. The Eye Paint even won a Best of Beauty Award
from Allure in 2021. About Face also offers gorgeous highlighters, lip glosses and lipsticks,
along with body illuminators. For being a new mom and a touring artist,
Halsey somehow manages to still kill the makeup game.
"It is cool to accept yourself. That's my mission with Rare."
"I am rare"
It seems like everyone has a beauty line nowadays, so when Selena Gomez announced her impending line,
Rare Beauty, there might've been a few eye rolls.
However, Gomez proved that she can do everything under the sun, releasing an all-inclusive line
that's fun, soft, and natural. Gomez told Nylon why she created Rare Beauty, saying:
"I wanted to create a brand to encourage each and every person to be who they are
and help eliminate all of that unwanted pressure to look a certain way."
We gotta hand it to her, because she did just that. Rare Beauty is
one of few makeup lines with a super extensive shade range.
For Rare Beauty, gone are the days of trying to transform yourself with makeup.
Rather, Gomez advocates for using cosmetics to accentuate your features. We should've seen a
message like that coming from the same person who sang the self-esteem anthem "Who Says."
Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is truly the best of the best — but it almost didn't happen,
and that would've been a tragedy. She said in an interview with Vanity Fair,
"I used to be afraid to step into the whole celebrity makeup world.
I saw brands like Hilary Duff and Hannah Montana have so much success, but it got to
a place where they were so oversaturated in the market that it diluted their personal brands."
Thankfully, Queen RiRi took a chance — and it clearly paid off. Rihanna set a precedent by
launching a foundation with 40 shades. It's because of Fenty Beauty that more brands
felt pressure to have an all-inclusive shade range, and we have Rihanna to thank for that.
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