Are Celebrity Makeup Brands Worth the Hype?

Written by Amanda Healy | Designed by Emma Hill | Graphics by Lila Berger

Exploring Whether you Should Stick to the Basics or Try out Celebrity Makeup Brands

Celebrities love to expand their personal brands, and the makeup world has been the most recent hot commodity. It feels as though every week another celebrity announces a new makeup line. Some of these brands have become cult favorites, and some tend to be a cash grab.

In 2015, Kylie Jenner broke records with the release of Kylie Cosmetics, selling out all products in seconds. Getting your hands on the infamous lip kit had become a challenge. I would recommend the brand to someone looking for a long-wear formula, although I have purchased some shades with a consistency that was not preferable. The general hype surrounding the brand seems to have died down following numerous perceived product problems.

Rihanna released Fenty Beauty in 2017, with products such as the Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer and the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation becoming staples in many daily makeup routines. The Gloss Bomb has been hailed a “holy grail” product, and is one of my favorites, too. However, I also have tried their highlighters, and in my opinion, they were nothing special.

More recently, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez has taken the world by storm. Customers have been obsessing over products like her Soft Pinch Liquid Blush—it’s gone viral. Personally, my everyday makeup routine consists of at least four Rare Beauty products, and I definitely recommend them to anyone looking to try something new.

TikTok has been incredibly beneficial for products getting the attention of the public eye. Brands such as Kosas and Saie have been trending, all in the name of achieving the “Clean Girl Aesthetic.” These are not celebrity brands, but have been recommended or endorsed by influencers—making the product even harder to get. Hailey Bieber talked about using the Kosas Revealer Concealer, and predictably, it went flying off the shelves.

I would say these celebrity makeup brands are worth the hype and are comparable to other name brands. But, you have to be careful; the bigger brands get, the more likely they are to produce both good and bad products!