n selling beauty today, the face of a celebrity founder is no longer enough. Consumers are increasingly attentive and aware: therefore, beyond the hype, what counts is the quality of the product. Having overcome the novelty, customers are turning back to brands that build their strength on performance and not on the founder’s notoriety, and the numbers also prove it. According to a Statista analysis, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics saw online revenues drop from $68.7 mln in 2017 to $36.2 in 2022, with estimates seeing them drop to around $29 mln in 2024. Hailey Bieber’s Rhode’s recorded $212 mln in revenues in the year ended March 2025, before being sold to E.l.f. Beauty for $1 bln. However, after the retail expansion with Sephora, the results seem less bright: according to Puck, sales were reportedly around $40 mln compared to $48 mln in the same period last year. After the initial boom and entry into retail, despite a record for the largest launch from Sephora North America, growth would have slowed, complicit in the loss of exclusivity, limited supply, and difficulty in turning hype into repeat purchases, although there is no confirmation from the company on this.
What emerges is that celebrities generate attention, but it is the products that build empires. Emblematic is the case of Reale Actives, Alix Earle’s new brand: according to Puck, it would reach $1 mln in sales in 5 minutes, surpassing many companies in the industry. Whether it will be able to sustain this hype remains to be seen. Another case is that of SKKN by Kim, Kim Kardashian’s brand: after the reorganization of the agreements with Coty, in March 2025 Skims acquired both the group’s share and the founder’s stake, but the brand then ceased operations at the end of June.
Notable among the top players are Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. The former has reached an estimated valuation of $2.7B by mid-2025, according to Fortune. The reason? They are brands that work even when they stop depending on celebrity: notoriety may turn on the spotlight, but it is the credibility of the product that keeps it on.
[📸 Instagram: skkn, hauslabs, realeactives, rarebeauty, fentybeauty, rhode, r.e.m.beauty, kyliecosmetics]
