Celebrities like Rihanna, Ariana Grande, and Hailey Bieber boosting income with beauty brands

Pat McGrath is widely known as the “mother of make-up”.

The famed British make-up artist, and her eponymous beauty brand, have been a favourite of some of the world’s most photographed women including Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna, Madonna, and Bella Hadid.

The internet was also quick to decide the signature red lipstick Swift wore throughout her Eras Tour was Pat McGrath Labs’ LiquiLust in Elson 4, which remained notoriously hard to find for much of the tour’s near two-year run.

And yet, the endorsement of a plethora of high-profile celebrities wasn’t enough to save McGrath’s brand, which earlier this year filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

For Rebecca Sullivan, beauty PR and brand strategist, the era of relying solely on celebrity endorsement as a substitute for brand strategy is over.

“There are lots of celebrity brands out there (like) Ariana Grande’s brand, R.E.M. Beauty; Scarlett Johansson has a skincare brand that everyone forgot about,” Ms Sullivan says.

“These are big, big stars but it’s because the products aren’t that amazing and the branding wasn’t right.”

Across social media, feedback on Grande’s R.E.M. Beauty implies the products have not been well received, but also that Grande has done little to promote the brand to her 550 million followers.

“It’s because she doesn’t put effort in her brand and she doesn’t connect with the consumers like Rihanna or Selena (Gomez) does,” one Reddit user wrote.

Another posted: “R.E.M. Beauty is such a flop. It’s obvious Ariana thought she could start a quick cash grab with this but then realised that her name alone wasn’t enough to sell those subpar products.”

Vogue names Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, Gomez’s Rare Beauty and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty among the hottest beauty brands dominating the market.

“Rihanna made having 40 shades of foundation the market standard now. Same with Rare Beauty . . . our obsession with blush was almost spearheaded by Rare Beauty and their innovation in formulation (and) packaging,” Ms Sullivan says.

“And with Rhode, I feel like Hailey has created a whole new aesthetic. We’re out with that really overly glam look. She’s changed the trend (to be) skincare-focused looks.

“To their credit, they’ve done a really great job at making their products just as famous as they are.”

For Ms Sullivan, the obsession with celebrity brands comes down to the fact that “they are some of the most beautiful and most photographed women in the world and so we do want to look like them and use what they use”.

Part of the appeal is the accessibility of these brands, she says.

“When you go into a department store beauty section, it can seem really overwhelming, whereas (Rare Beauty, Rhode and Fenty Beauty) have done a really great job at democratising beauty and making beauty really unintimidating,” Ms Sullivan says.

The trio’s strong presence on social media also emphasises that accessibility. Bieber has amassed 19 million followers on TikTok and more than 300 million likes on her videos that often showcase her make-up routine using Rhode products.

Gomez has nearly 60 million TikTok followers and more than 710 million likes, while Rihanna has a whopping 145 million followers on Instagram.

“I think the percentage of revenue that Rhode spends on marketing is so small because Hailey is the marketing,” Ms Sullivan says.

“All she needs to do is do a TikTok, and same with Selena, and that can really showcase (the products).”

However, the battle for consumer dollars doesn’t just boil down to the individual celebrities but also the retailers vying to secure rights to sell the brands.

While Mecca is the exclusive retail partner of Rhode, the range can also be bought directly from Rhode online.

Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty are sold in Sephora, while Myer has also hedged its bets on Rihanna by snapping up the rights to sell Fenty Beauty.

Mecca chief brands and buying officer Lea Cranfield says bringing globally recognised brands into the retailer has always been foundational to the business, but it’s less about name recognition and more about what those brands represent for customers.

“When we introduce a brand like Rhode or Victoria Beckham Beauty, it’s because they bring a distinct point of view, whether that’s Rhode’s highly curated approach to skincare or Victoria Beckham Beauty’s modern, refined perspective on make-up that resonates with how our customers want to engage with beauty,” she says.

“Ultimately, it’s about relevance and connection. If a brand aligns with our customers’ lifestyle and their beauty mindset, it becomes more than a traffic driver — it becomes part of a longer-term relationship.”

Ms Cranfield says the business is seeing strong and sustained interest in celebrity brands, pointing to the recent launch of Rhode at Mecca, which drew thousands of shoppers to its flagship Melbourne and Sydney stores.

“What’s particularly notable is how informed and intentional our customers are,” she says. “There’s an initial surge driven by cultural relevance, but it quickly moves into a deeper consideration of product performance, formulation, and how it fits into their routine.

“Customers are drawn to brands that feel authentic and thoughtfully developed. With celebrity-founded brands, that means there’s an expectation that they go beyond the name and deliver something genuinely useful, whether that’s streamlined routines, high-performing products, or a clear point of differentiation.

“This reflects a broader shift we’re seeing across beauty, where customers want products that work hard without adding complexity, and brands that feel aligned with their lifestyle.”

In May, Myer launched Fenty Beauty — co-owned by French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH — across its 56 department stores and online.

Under boss Olivia Wirth, the department store is seeking to refresh its product offerings to better cater to young consumers, and hopes the launch of Fenty Beauty will do just that.

“(Fenty Beauty is) a wanted brand for a younger customer and that is also an appeal to us because we want to make sure our beauty offering is multi-generational,” Ms Wirth says.

“Colour and make-up is also increasingly important. It’s an area that we hadn’t had enough focus on inside the business, which is why securing Fenty Beauty across all of our 56 stores and online is very important.”

At the start of the year, luxury and cruelty-free beauty brand Hourglass Cosmetics expanded its own online distribution to Australia and New Zealand, and launched into the LVMH-owned Sephora after a long history with Mecca.

The switch comes after Mecca sued Hourglass in 2020 for selling its products to Australian and New Zealand customers through its online channels, breaking the terms of its exclusivity deal.

The Supreme Court ruled in Mecca’s favour, and ordered Hourglass to repay the Jo Horgan-led retailer for losses.

Hourglass continued to sell exclusively through Mecca until the start of the year.

Globally, Hourglass was already sold through Sephora, with Australia and New Zealand the only exceptions previously.

Sephora Australia and New Zealand general manager George Tsoukalas says its global scale — operating in 36 countries with more than 80 million customers — gives the company unmatched power to launch, build and elevate brands on an international stage.

“In Australia and New Zealand, our 38-store network means we can bring global brands to market with real visibility and consistency,” he says.

“High-profile names like Rare Beauty, Hourglass, and Haus Labs are undeniable traffic drivers — particularly with younger, highly engaged beauty consumers who are drawn to founder-led and artist-driven brands built on community and aspiration.”

Mr Tsoukalas says while demand for celebrity and founder-led brands in Australia is strong and growing, what’s driving it goes deeper than fame.

“Consumers are gravitating toward brands that feel authentic, inclusive, and worth belonging to,” he says.

“They want a connection, not just a product.

“These brands perform across channels. Socially, they generate outsized engagement. In-store, they act as gateway brands — pulling in new customers who then explore wider categories and discover brands they may never have sought out on their own.

“That said, social buzz only goes so far. Long-term performance comes down to product quality and brand credibility.

“Our role at Sephora isn’t to chase every trend — it’s to curate with intention, ensuring every brand we carry earns its place on our shelves.”

Their beauty brands are also proving big business for the celebrities themselves.

In 2024, Bloomberg estimated Gomez’s net worth hit $US1.3 billion ($1.8b). And while she has carved out a flourishing TV and music career since first shooting to stardom as a teen with her Disney Channel show Wizards Of Waverly Place in 2007, her showbiz exploits accounted for only a fraction of her wealth.

According to Bloomberg, 81 per cent of Gomez’s wealth stems from Rare Beauty, while music tours contributed to less than 5 per cent, and album and record sales made up less than 2 per cent.

Also in the elusive billionaires’ club is Rihanna, who similarly makes a large chunk of her fortune from Fenty Beauty.

Meanwhile Kylie Jenner brands Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin, which are sold at Mecca, have pushed the youngest of the Jenner/Kardashian clan’s net worth to around $US750 million ($1.04b), making her one of the most successful self-made beauty moguls in the industry.

“(Celebrities) want to be really strategic with having multiple sources of income and multiple businesses,” Ms Sullivan says.

“It’s great for their personal brand, but it’s also great in a really unstable industry.”

In April, Pat McGrath Labs’ new majority owner, US investment firm GDA Luma, announced the brand had emerged from bankruptcy protection after receiving more than $US65m in financing and support.

At the time, Mr McGrath, who will continue in her role as the brand’s chief creative officer, said: “Creating beauty that moves people has been my life’s work, and that never stops. I will continue pushing boundaries in my role as chief creative officer alongside GDA Luma, and I look forward to the future.”

Mr McGrath launched the brand more than a decade ago and Sullivan says since then, a lot has changed in the beauty industry.

“Pat McGrath is famous for her incredible eyeshadow palettes, but the reality is that beauty consumers have moved away from coveting a dramatic, sparkly eye,” Ms Sullivan says.

“Consumers are happy to buy five blushes or five lip products in a year, but they probably won’t purchase five eyeshadow palettes.

“To be a successful beauty brand, you have to move product at a high velocity. You need consistent repeat purchase customers, over years and years. If your key (product) goes against what the market is doing, you won’t survive.”