All the Celebrities Who Launched Beauty Brands in 2021

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The celebrity beauty market saw an influx of new entrants this year, with the likes of Harry Styles, Jennifer Aniston, Halsey, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson and many others making their first solo ventures in the industry.

While last year’s celebrity beauty launches largely stayed within skin care, this year saw many stars experiment in virtually all categories, including the traditional makeup, skin and hair categories, as well as fragrance, wellness and baby.

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Most recently Styles and fellow musician Machine Gun Kelly launched their respective beauty brands, with Styles’ called Pleasing, which debuted with nail polish, eye and lip products and a facial serum, and Kelly’s called UN/DN Laqr, a genderless nail polish brand.

Here, WWD looks at 21 celebrities that launched beauty brands in 2021. Read on for more.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez at the 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Jennifer Lopez at the 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jennifer Lopez’s highly anticipated skin care line, called JLo Beauty, launched on Jan. 1 with eight products such as a cleanser, moisturizer, face mask, eye cream, serum and a dietary supplement. The products are meant to help achieve Lopez’s signature glow with the help of ingredients like squalene, fermented oil, extra virgin oil and leaf extract. The brand is available at Sephora.

“My mom, my aunt, my grandmother, all of them used olive oil as a beauty product [on] hair when it got too dry, on your face and your body, on the belly when you’re pregnant,” Lopez told WWD. “What it does for the skin is amazing, [but] nobody wants to smell like a salad. So, it was like, how do we take the olive and create something that is proprietary to us?”

Halsey

Halsey at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2019. - Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Halsey at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2019. - Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Halsey kicked off the year of celebrity beauty brands with the launch of her makeup brand, About-Face, in January. The singer teamed with Jeanne Chavez and Dineh Mohajer, the founders behind Hard Candy and Smith & Cult, to launch the brand initially with three color collections that offered glitter and metallic options.

The singer has become known for her constantly changing beauty look. A self-proclaimed beauty junkie, Halsey has regularly sported glittery and graphic makeup looks and many colorful hairstyles over the years.

The brand has since expanded to all makeup categories and has embarked on a yearlong partnership with beauty subscription service Ipsy, which has included About-Face products in its Glam Bag X initiatives.

Kate Upton

Kate Upton for Found Active. - Credit: Courtesy
Kate Upton for Found Active. - Credit: Courtesy

Courtesy

Model Kate Upton teamed with HatchBeauty Brands in January to launch her new wellness brand, Found Active. The brand launched with two dietary supplement powders, two gummy supplements and skin care products, such as face and body spray, exfoliating pads and face serums. Found Active also offers a liquid eyeliner that is formulated with clay.

“All of these things help you live the best, more fulfilled life or they aid you to be able to do that,” Upton told WWD. “Everyone is so busy these days and having that extra energy boost and obviously immune support is so important right now, being able to recover from a long day with your kids or working out or stressful work and having that restful sleep.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Priyanka Chopra Jonas at a Michael Kors fashion show in 2019. - Credit: zz/John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx
Priyanka Chopra Jonas at a Michael Kors fashion show in 2019. - Credit: zz/John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx

zz/John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx

Priyanka Chopra Jonas ventured into the hair care category this February. The actress launched her hair care brand, Anomaly, exclusively at Target and teamed with beauty brand creator and incubator Maesa for the line.

Sustainability is at the core of the brand, and each product is housed in recyclable bottles with the shampoo and conditioner bottles using 100 percent PCR content and the hair mask using 70 percent. The line is also meant to be accessibly priced, with all products at $5.99.

“We are going to constantly push innovation to be able to reach a place where we’re amazingly sustainable, but at the same time have superior product for a very affordable cost,” Chopra Jonas told WWD. “We’ve spent less on the bottle and spent so much more on the product. And it’s better for the earth than most. It’s a step in the right direction, and you can afford it. I think it’s the trifecta of that — that was the gap for me.”

Olivia Palermo

Olivia Palermo attends the 2019 Glamour’s “Women of the Year” awards gala. - Credit: Sipa USA via AP
Olivia Palermo attends the 2019 Glamour’s “Women of the Year” awards gala. - Credit: Sipa USA via AP

Sipa USA via AP

Influencer and designer Olivia Palermo debuted her namesake beauty brand in May, which she created in partnership with Paris-based Marie Claire Beauty Group. The skin care and makeup line launched direct-to-consumer with four products, including an illuminating serum, a matte lipstick, a mattifying mist and an eye shadow palette.

“I wanted to create a beauty line that follows my own ethos on fashion — something that fits my mood, but also provides a timeless look that everyone can rely on in a pinch,” Palermo told WWD in a statement. “It’s a collection that mirrors my beauty routine, focused on elevating the essentials. My approach is trying to find innovative solutions that work not just for me, but for the many, diverse women (and men) that make up our global community. We all have different skin types at all ages. Let’s create heirloom products for everyone.”

Vanessa Hudgens and Madison Beer

Vanessa Hudgens and Madison Beer for Know Beauty. - Credit: Courtesy
Vanessa Hudgens and Madison Beer for Know Beauty. - Credit: Courtesy

Courtesy

Actress Vanessa Hudgens and singer Madison Beer teamed this June to launch DNA-based skin care brand, Know Beauty. The women teamed with dermatologist and chief medical officer Dr. Karen Kagha to create the brand, which offers an at-home DNA kit that gives customers a recommended regimen of beauty products based on their results.

“We wanted to join forces and create something that made it easy for girls like us or guys or whoever to be given the answers that they’ve been looking for, and how to actually take care of their personal skin, because everyone’s skin is different,” Hudgens told WWD in an exclusive interview. “When your skin looks great, you feel great. It’s something that we want everyone to be able to feel.”

The brand’s products include cleansers, moisturizers, night creams, serums, masks, eye cream and lip masks.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards. - Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Scarlett Johansson at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards. - Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Oscar-nominated actress Scarlett Johansson revealed this June that she is developing a beauty brand, slated to release early next year. The brand is being funded by The Najafi Companies, which is the same minority investor behind Beach House Group.

Johansson did not reveal what the unnamed beauty brand will entail, but in a statement to WWD said: “I’ve been fascinated by the transformative power of beauty since I was a child. My mother instilled in me a passion for self care from my early teenage years. Several years ago, I took a step back from my beauty deals with the goal of creating something true to me. The result is a clean, accessible approach to beauty.”

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade

Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade at the Kids’ Choice Sports Awards in 2019. - Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade at the Kids’ Choice Sports Awards in 2019. - Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, former NBA star Dwyane Wade, joined forces this June to launch Proudly, a baby care line. Union already runs her own hair care brand, called Flawless by Gabrielle Union.

Proudly offers baby skin care and diaper products that specifically cater to babies with deeper skin tones. The line is slated to launch direct-to-consumer this year and more widely in the mass market next year.

“As we continue to work on new endeavors together, our goal is to always center our work around being the change we want to see while championing diversity, equity and inclusion,” the couple told WWD in a statement. “With Proudly, we’re proud to have a range of products that caters to the unique skin care needs of children of color that are so often overlooked in the mass market.”

Becky G

Becky G at the 2019 European MTV Awards. - Credit: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Becky G at the 2019 European MTV Awards. - Credit: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Pop star Becky G partnered with Madeby Collective to create her color cosmetics brand, Treslúce Beauty, this June. The brand debuted in the eye category with an eye shadow palette, eyeliner, makeup brushes and false eyelashes. The brand is inspired by the singer’s Mexican heritage with its packaging drawing inspiration from Talavera pottery.

Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea for Totally Plastic. - Credit: Courtesy
Iggy Azalea for Totally Plastic. - Credit: Courtesy

Courtesy

Rapper Iggy Azalea looked to the early Aughts for her beauty venture, teaming with BH Cosmetics to launch a new cosmetics line, called Totally Plastic.

The line takes inspiration from beauty trends popular during that time, offering products like high-shine lip gloss, pastel eye shadow colors, highlighters and a glittery lavender travel case.

“What I really wanted to do with this capsule collection was relive my teenage nostalgia,” Azalea told WWD. “If I was gonna put on a baby pink eyeshadow in the early 2000s, I would have sat there all day long, and it never would have been as bright as what it is now. We’ve come so far with that.”

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open. - Credit: AP
Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open. - Credit: AP

AP

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka launched her skin care brand, Kinlò, in September to offer products catered to those with darker skin tones. The line offers products such as sunscreen, after-sun recovery mist, eye cream and lip balm. The brand’s name is inspired by Osaka’s dual Japanese and Haitian heritages.

“I’m so excited to share Kinlò with you! I founded Kinlò to address a public health need around skin cancer prevention within our POC communities,” Osaka said in a statement on the brand’s Instagram account. “Tennis can be challenging at times, but it has given me this platform which I am so grateful for. It allows me to help others in ways I wouldn’t have imagined otherwise.”

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020. - Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Kylie Jenner at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020. - Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Kylie Jenner expanded her beauty empire this September with the launch of her Kylie Baby line. The line launched with four clean, vegan and hypoallergenic products, such as a gentle shampoo, gentle conditioner, bubble bath soap and moisturizing lotion.

Jenner already runs her successful Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin brands, as well as her Kylie Swim brand. She is pregnant with her second child with boyfriend Travis Scott.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston at the fourth annual InStyle Awards in 2018. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Jennifer Aniston at the fourth annual InStyle Awards in 2018. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jennifer Aniston is one of the many celebrities that has been highly influential in the beauty world, spurring the trend in the late ‘90s of the “Rachel” haircut, which was the hairstyle she sported during her first few seasons of the hit show “Friends.”

Aniston leveraged her well-known hairstyle to enter the hair care category in September with the launch of her LolaVie hair care brand. The brand launched with one product, its Glossing Detangler made with ingredients like chia, bamboo, lemon extract and a superfruit complex to protect that hair, add shine and detangle.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Ariana Grande at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

After teasing the brand on social media, Ariana Grande revealed to fans in September that she is launching her own beauty brand, called R.E.M. beauty. The brand is being made in partnership with Forma Brands, the beauty incubator behind Morphe, Morphe 2, Bad Habit and others. A release date has not yet been revealed, however, the brand will launch with products in the eye category, including eyeliner, eye shadow and mascara.

Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton at the American Music Awards in 2019. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Toni Braxton at the American Music Awards in 2019. - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Grammy-winning musician Toni Braxton ventured into the body care category this September with a vegan line called Nude Sugar available at Ulta Beauty. The line launched with nine products, including two body creams, a body serum, a shower gel and a hair mist. Braxton had worked on the brand for two years prior to its launch.

“My skin as an African American tends to be a little drier,” she told WWD about why she wanted to create the brand. “Since I’m getting up there, just going outside in the sun, and all the years of the things that I’ve done to my body being in the entertainment business, for me, it was having hyperpigmentation or sometimes you get light spots.”

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres at the 2019 premiere of Netflix’s “Green Eggs and Ham.” - Credit: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP
Ellen DeGeneres at the 2019 premiere of Netflix’s “Green Eggs and Ham.” - Credit: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

Longtime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is the latest celebrity to launch their own skin care line. DeGeneres announced the line, called Kind Science, on her talk show in October, describing the brand as “age-positive skin care.” The brand is launching in late October and a product lineup has not yet been revealed.

“We call it Kind Science because it is kind to animals, it’s kind to skin, it’s kind to the planet and it’s kind to your wallet,” DeGeneres told the studio audience. “So it’s all kind.”

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish and her new fragrance - Credit: Courtesy
Billie Eilish and her new fragrance - Credit: Courtesy

Courtesy

Billie Eilish announced her first foray into beauty on Oct. 20: a fragrance made in partnership with Parlux. Called Eilish, the fragrance is a gourmand scent that incorporates notes of sugared petals, mandarin, red berries, soft spices, rich cocoa and vanilla.

Eilish has synesthesia, a condition where a person’s senses are intertwined. This has made the Grammy-winning singer have strong nose and be sensitive to scents. “Every choice I make, fashion-wise, hair-wise and musically, I always want things to sound like a certain smell,” she said. “I have a very, very, very strong and long relationship with scent.”

Harry Styles

Harry Styles at the 2021 Grammys - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Harry Styles at the 2021 Grammys - Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Harry Styles was one of the few male celebrities who entered the beauty industry this year, announcing the launch of his brand, called Pleasing, in November. The brand spans skin care and makeup, launching with nail polish, eye and lip products and a facial serum. Pleasing is taking on a collection-based drop model for its launches.

“There is a really fun side of makeup where people play a character, but to me, ‘beauty’ is more and more about uncovering,” Styles told WWD. “The beauty industry is uniquely poised to be a leader in innovation and sustainability, which is extremely important and has to be a huge part of the conversation when talking about our future.

Machine Gun Kelly

Machine Gun Kelly for his UN/DN LAQR nail polish line. - Credit: Courtesy of UN/DN LAQR
Machine Gun Kelly for his UN/DN LAQR nail polish line. - Credit: Courtesy of UN/DN LAQR

Courtesy of UN/DN LAQR

Musician Machine Gun Kelly rounded out the year of celebrity beauty brands with the launch of UN/DN Laqr, a genderless nail polish brand inspired by self-expression and creativity in December. The debut collection featured 10 colors and five top coats, including a mix of neutrals, pastels and bright hues.

“I don’t like to just stop at clothes when it comes to expressing who I am. Nail polish serves as a true vessel of self-expression — I can express myself one way today and do it all again tomorrow with something different,” Machine Gun Kelly said in a statement. “When I do my nails, that’s me wearing my own thoughts and making a statement. To me, polish is not just a color, it’s an intention. Every color has a purpose.”

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