It’s shaping up to be a big year for celebrity beauty brands. Forget naff fragrances and questionable formulas, we’re only in March and we’ve already had two major launches from across the pond.
Jonathan Van Ness, of Queer Eye fame, is here to transform your tired tresses with the help of a new secret weapon haircare ingredient, while Selena Gomez has had influencers queueing round the block for her new highly pigmented liquid blushes. And with Hailey Bieber and the Elbas both launching skincare brands later this year, there’s plenty more to come.
But which actually work and are worth your cash? We present the new star A-list beauty launches.
JVN Hair
Celebrity hairdresser Jonathan Van Ness has got beauty editors buzzing over his inclusive haircare range, JVN Hair, which arrived in the UK this month. That luscious mane is thanks in part to an ingredient called hemisqualane, a natural alternative to silicon that’s made from sustainably-sourced sugar cane, and he has formulated every single product with it. The molecule can penetrate deep into the hair shaft and deliver weightless nourishment that helps to strengthen strands, while reducing frizz, preserving colour and adding bounce and shine. Naturally it’s all vegan, cruelty free and comes housed in planet-friendly packaging that’s made of recyclable materials like aluminium and glass.
Hero product: Complete Pre-Wash Scalp Oil (£24) is a pre-shampoo treatment that can be used on all hair types — from fine to thick, wavy and textured tresses. It’s formulated with rosemary extract, amber and cashmere musk to cleanse and hydrate the scalp. Use weekly.
Rose Inc
If skin luminosity is the goal of the day, then look no further than supermodel and makeup obsessive Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s new cosmetics and skincare brand Rose Inc, which she launched last year having teamed up with LA-based biotech company Amyris. The queen of the no-makeup look, Huntington-Whiteley has been vocal about her experience with hormonal and acne-prone skin and so has formulated a line of non-comedogenic hybrid makeup products which are packed with skincare powerhouses to nourish. Think creamy concealers and smudge-proof brow gels and now lippies that are enriched with vitamin E and hydrating squalene. Each comes in chic sustainable packaging, made of either glass, partially recycled plastic or hemp-based cartons. It’s all vegan and cruelty free too, and some of the products are also refillable.
Hero product: Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum (£36) is a seriously silky skin tint that’s infused with hyaluronic acid and peptides and glides onto the skin like a serum. It contains tiny bubbles of pigment which give you the light (but surprisingly buildable) coverage element and delivers a dewy finish that lasts. Your new spring essential.
Rare Beauty
Another hyped UK launch, when Selena Gomez’s vegan and cruelty-free makeup line dropped last month, editors and influencers were queueing around the block to get their hands on the blushes which have earned a cult status across the pond. The ethos behind the brand is to offer light, breathable products designed to “feel good in, without hiding what makes you unique”. Rare Beauty donates one per cent of all sales to the Rare Impact Fund, which Gomez created to give people access to mental health service.
Hero product: Blusher can banish all traces of burnout. Fact. And if you’re forever looking for that perfect natural flush, call off the search. Rare’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blush (£19, spacenk.com) is your new best friend. Ultra blendable and highly pigmented — a tiny bit goes a very long way — and available in both matte and dewy finishes. We particularly love the uplifting shade ‘joy.’
Trinny London
If you’re not already hooked on Trinny Woodall’s reels, then do get involved. Her days of culling strangers’ wardrobes on national TV might be over, but since Trinny Woodall launched her eponymous make-up brand in 2017, her multi-tasking lip and cheek pots and BFF tinted serums have built a loyal following. Now she’s entered the skincare space and the results are impressive. First, with a duo of silky cleansers and now with a trio of liquid gel-like exfoliants which are carefully formulated to “slosh away those dead skin cells,” in her own words, and reveal your glowiest complexion yet.
Hero products: New to the chemical exfoliation game? You’re in safe hands with Tiptoe In (£34), a gentle exfoliant for beginners that’s safe for sensitive skin. Find your Balance (£36), is a mid-way option that can help decongest blemish-prone skin, and Reveal Yourself (£38) is a more active AHA-based exfoliant for serious glow.
Fragrance-free Fenty Skin
Last year Rihanna officially became a billionaire, with her fortune largely linked to her cosmetics business, Fenty Beauty. When she launched her foundation with 40 shades, few other brands were truly inclusive — it has sincegone stratospheric. RiRi followed up with a skincare line, Fenty Skin, but the line drew some initial criticism from for its use of fragrance, so the singer has just unveiled unveiled fragrance-free versions of her “non-negotiable” products for a three-step cleanse, tone and moisturise routine that are suitable for sensitive skin.
Hero product: Start with the Fenty Skin Total Cleans’r Fragrance-Free Makeup-Removing Cleanser (£26), follow with the Fenty Skin Fat Water Fragrance-Free Niacinamide Pore-Refining Toner Serum (£30)and finish with Hydra Vizor Fragrance-Free Invisible Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 30 (£30).
