OPINION: Is this the death of the celebrity beauty brand?

There was a time last year when every single celebrity was churning out a beauty brand. Remember? 

It was... exhausting.

Singers, actors, models, nepo babies, irrelevant stars from 35 years ago - you name it, they were launching a beauty brand.

Now, don't get me wrong - there are some extremely successful ones out there. The kind of stuff that was a thing before celebrity beauty brands were a thing - like, Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, for example, and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty.

But then it snowballed. Violently.

Watch: Mamamia's beauty editor tries the viral 10-pump foundation hack. Post continues below.

There's Ariana Grande and her UFO-themed makeup line. Hailey Bieber popped up with Rhode Beauty. Jennifer Lopez (Affleck?) decided to add her two cents/olive oil claims with JLo Beauty. 

Naturally, Kimmy K threw her (beauty) hat in the ring with SKKN BY KIM.

There was also Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Priyanka Chopra Jones, Billie Eilish, Addison Rae, *gasps for air*, Halsey, Gabrielle Union, Madison Beer and Vanessa Hudgens, and many many more.

And then... the men. The men started doing it, too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

There’s Harry Styles’ Pleasing, and Machine Gun Kelly’s nail polish brand UN/DN LAQR. There's also Travis Barker's brand Barker Wellness, Brad Pitt's beauty line, Pharrell's Humanrace and Jarod Leto's Twentynine Palms.

And, sweetie... no. 

We just...

We didn't ask for this.

As co-host of You Beauty podcast, I'd be looking for some beauty news stories to pitch every week, only to find another one pop up on Instagram. (My eye is twitching just thinking about it).

Just... no.

Because there are a lot of things the world needs, and another celebrity beauty line is not one of them.

And then suddenly it just... stopped. The celebrity beauty bubble burst.

In January of this year, you might recall Kristen Bell's brand Happy Dance going bust. 

You may/may not have also heard that Sephora recently dropped Addison Rae and Hyram Yarbo's brands, and Ariana Grande was forced to purchase her company (for a sweet $15 million) after the parent brand Forma Brands went under.

The most recent celebrity beauty brand to crumble? Elsa Pataky's Purely Byron.

Now, you don't have to be a beauty aficionado to know the brand. You'll probably remember the insane amount of controversy when it first launched.

It was basically accused of copying another Aussie brand called Habitual Beauty, and there was a lot of noise on social media comparing the similarities between packaging, Instagram, advertising and the website - the whole jam. 

Elsa's brand completely refuted these connections. 

Listen: We discussed the death of the celebrity beauty brand on this episode of You Beauty. Post continues below.

Now, only a year after its launch, there are reports the brand has gone into administration.

The big umbrella company that owns Purley Byron is called BWX (they own just over half of Zoe Foster Blake's Go-To) and it has reported that its overall worth has dropped to less than $40 million. 

Now, I don't know the technicalities of this, but it sounds like they've lost... a lot of money.

They're attributing this to the huge loss of retailers stocking fewer products, and out-of-stock issues in Australia and internationally. 

Since the news of the collapse, Purely Byron has announced the company is "in the process of being restructured".

But really, it all makes a lot of sense.

Because when you look at it, we're literally in the midst of a financial crisis. Rates have skyrocketed - everything is expensive (have you tried to buy crisps lately?) and there are fears we're heading towards a recession. 

Meaning? Consumer habits have changed.

In fact, a recent survey by Bloomberg Intelligence showed that shoppers don't actually care whether a brand has celebrity backing. 

In 2023, consumers are getting smarter about what beauty brands they spend on. Post-pandemic, they're more switched on about skincare and makeup than ever before. They know their ingredients and they know what's worth their money.

And thanks to product reviews on social media platforms such as TikTok, these days there's way more transparency around quality, keeping brands more accountable for their output.

A great example of this is a recent Instagram post by Deciem Inc. - the company behind The Ordinary. 

In a recent Instagram post, the cult skincare group proved why overpriced and over-marketed celebrity brands are out - and why science and simple packaging are in.

"Our scientists aren't celebrities. And (most) celebrities aren't scientists or beauty experts," they wrote.

"As more overpriced and over-marketed celebrity brands continue to enter the market, less space is available for innovation, revolution and breakthroughs from young, independent brands.

"Skincare is not merch."

When it comes to the downward spiral of celebrity beauty brands, this looks like it's just the beginning.

Because with brands like Elsa Pataky's Purely Byron, it really goes to show that even if you have a name and a very famous A-lister husband, your beauty brand might not fly. It's not always gonna work. We don't always care.

Another important thing to point out - and I'm sure you'll relate - is that a lot of the time, Australia can't even access half of the celebrity beauty brands on the market. 

And it really makes you think - what's the point of spending $20 on shipping to get a celebrity beauty brand that's probably not going to be as good as the stuff you can grab at the chemist?

What's the point of trying something just because someone beautiful/rich/famous has put their name to it??

It may only be March, but I'm calling it: 2023 is the beginning of the end for celebrity beauty brands. 

What do you think of celebrity beauty brands? Do you think it's the death of celebrity beauty? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Feature: Getty; Mamamia; Canva.