Celebrities have been starting their own make-up brands for years, and now there are plenty out there on the market. But it takes a lot more than just a famous name to make a make-up brand good — the products actually have to be excellent too.
Here's some recommendations on excellent celebrity make-up brands. Each of these have managed to turn themselves into a high-quality brand that fills a gap in the market. They’ve become known for their brand-specific offerings, such as Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits, or Lady Gaga’s inventive eyeshadow palettes.
Let’s take a look at some of the best celebrity make-up brands out there:
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
Fenty Beauty came on the market in 2017 and they became massively popular, in part because of their inclusivity. Fenty strives to create foundations for all skin tones – the original launch had 40 shades and was expanded to 50; same thing with their concealer. If there’s one thing this company does well, is it gives everyone a perfect shade of foundation, no matter what skin color you have. They’ve received praise for their diversity in advertising their products as well. Before Fenty there was a gap in the market for the darker shades in the range.
Since their initial launch, Fenty Beauty has also released illuminators, highlighters, lip paint, and eyeshadow sets. Additionally, unlike a lot of celebrity make-up brands, Fenty Beauty is affordable. They regularly sell out, and they sell more than MAC Cosmetics in the UK — that’s really saying something.
Fenty Beauty is reportedly worth around $2.8 billion, making it one of the most successful celebrity make-up brands ever.
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Kylie Cosmetics
Kylie Cosmetics was founded in 2015 by well-known reality star Kylie Jenner, catapulting her into superstar status for her lip kits and lip liner sets. She has collaborated with her sisters Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney and uses viral social media marketing as their primary advertising tool.
The collections top seller has always been their lip kits and lip liner sets, which give a soft matte finish, to create luscious lips, available in a range of colors. More recently, they’ve branched out to eyeshadow palettes called ‘Kyshadow’ in pressed powder. Amazingly, the eyeshadow doesn’t gather in the creases of the eyelid, and is very good if you have oily skin. A godsend!
While they are on the more expensive side, this celebrity make-up brand is definitely worth the extra cash.
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HausLabs by Lady Gaga
Haus Labs started life as Haus Laboratories in 2019, when Lady Gaga announced she was releasing her own make-up line centred around self-acceptance. She opted to choose Amazon as a distribution partner, making the make-up available for pre-order to Amazon Prime members. Her make-up palettes were recognized for their vibrant colors.
The first range consisted of lip liner, lip gloss, and liquid-to-powder shimmer, but has now expanded to include highlighters, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipsticks. In 2020, after a solid year of sales, Haus Laboratories came third only to other popular celebrity make-up brands, Fenty Beauty, and Kylie Cosmetics.
Haus Labs earned over $141.7 million in 2020, and won the award for Best New Brand at the Allure Readers’ Choice Awards. More recently, their Edge Precision Brow Pencil won the Best Brow Pencil award at the Best of Beauty Awards in 2021.
There was a complete rebrand of the company in 2022, and a new partnership with Sephora as their primary retail outlet. Gaga stated that during this process, lots of ‘dirty’ ingredients have been removed and changed with better, more eco and vegan friendly ingredients.
If you’re looking for a make-up brand that lasts, and one that also gives you an excellent range of exciting colors, then Haus Labs by Lady Gaga is the best option.
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Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Off the back of her Rare album, Selena Gomez launched her Rare Beauty make-up brand in 2020. With a message on mental health and finding that ‘rare’ thing in a person that celebrates their uniqueness, Rare Beauty has had consistently excellent reviews on TikTok. There’s been a lot of hype around the brand, but it is all worth it.
Marketing itself as a breathable make-up. There are plenty of bestsellers for this make-up brand. Their matte lip cream, mascara, and liquid blush are particularly favorites of fans. Plus, Rare Beauty doesn’t break the bank either, items cost as little as $11!
Rare Beauty is still new to the celebrity beauty market, which continues to get more over-saturated as time goes on. But this one is a prime contender and is already one of the top beauty brands on the market now.
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Harry Styles Pleasing
Harry Styles’s range isn’t on this list just because it’s a celebrity cosmetics range launched by a male celebrity. Although Harry has long been known as someone who likes to blur gender lines. This range was launched mysteriously, coming in November 2021 with products sent by social media marketers. He sent out nail polishes, lip oil, eye gel, and a skin-care serum which were met to massively favorable reviews.
Given Harry’s superstar status, it’s no surprise these products skyrocketed to the top of everyone’s wishlists.
Since launch they’ve released an entire load of new products like powder pigments, hand and nail balm, and they support a bunch of nonprofit organizations like Queercircle, Cool Earth, and Nest. We love a make-up brand that gives back!
Florence by Mils
Millie Bobby Brown launched her cruelty-free vegan beauty brand in September 2019. She named it after her grandmother Florence, thus Florence by Mills. After only 1.5 years, the brand has over 2 million followers on Instagram. They are sold across the US and the UK, and are addressing a gap in the market as a make-up brand geared towards young people.
They have cosmic eyeshadows, face washes, eye creams and mud masks that are a hit with fans. It’s understandable where the idea came from. When I was a teenager I was frustrated with all the make-up brands that seemed geared towards 25+ year olds. It’s great there is a product designed for youthful skin!
All their products are PETA certified, and they market themselves as a clean make-up brand.
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