I n 2022, it seems you’re more likely to see a celebrity announce a new beauty line than promote their next project. This year alone, Hailey Bieber, Gwen Stefani, Halsey, Ciara and Winnie Harlow all dropped new brands. But it’s not just a woman’s game – now men want a piece of the $5bn market , too.

Last week, Jared Leto announced Twentynine Palms, “an 11-piece range of gender-neutral skin care, body treatment and hair care products”, per Vogue. Though the 50-year-old told the glossy he is “never been really fascinated in elegance products”, he unveiled items like $47 hand wash and $97 vision cream. Each product is made from “desert botanicals” like prickly pear extract.

Despite Vogue’s Liam Hess describing Leto, 50, as having “the porcelain-smooth complexion of a Renaissance cherub”, some shoppers remained less compared to enthused. “You can be gender neutral without spending $97 on the marketing ploy, ” one person wrote on Twitter. “Anything over [$10] for a cleanser is fucking ridiculous, ” opined another.

Kirbie Johnson, a writer and host of the particular podcast Gloss Angeles, told the Protector that cosmetics lines had become the gold standard in celebrity side hustles after Rihanna launched her own, Fenty Beauty, inside 2017. (The brand, lauded for its inclusive foundation shade range, has since catapulted the singer to billionaire status . ) “Celebrities aren’t doing this out of the kindness of their heart, to share creativity, ” she said. “They saw what Rihanna did, and they wanted a piece of the pie. ”

Leto joined Lady gaga and Travis Barker, who in recent weeks released their own respective lines. Pitt, who is exhibiting original sculptures in Finland, jumped into something decidedly more commercial: Le Domaine, a “science-meets-nature line of genderless skincare essentials”. According to British Vogue , the products are made with grapes harvested by the Perrin family, who own a Rhône winery.

Pitt informed Vogue that he had created Le Métier partly to emulate his ex Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop empire. “It’s exciting that you can, you know, explore other corners [of your creativity] want the old Renaissance artists in a way, ” he stated of the decision in order to hawk $80 face wash and $385 serum.

And then there’s Barker, the particular head-to-toe tattooed Blink-182 drummer and husband to Kourtney Kardashian. Less than a week after his wife announced her new gig as the “sustainability adviser” to the fast fashion retailer Boohoo comes Barker Wellness, a line of five CBD-infused products.

“It’s almost all vegan. It’s good. Rub it just about all over your body, ” Barker published in an Instagram caption underneath a black-and-white photo of him shirtless, biting a tube of their $130 attention serum as if it was the ball gag.

While Kardashian proudly hyped Barker Wellness at its Nobu Malibu launch party, others weren’t quite as welcoming. Estée Laundry, an Instagram account with anonymous moderators who style themselves as beauty industry watchdogs, had written in the post that will they were “a little confused simply by Travis Barker’s celebrity skin care line”.

One of the comments on that post read: “There is no one’s skin care I’m LESS interested in than Travis Barker. ” Another predicted: “I’ll see this upon TJ Maxx shelves in a year. ” Pitt’s foray didn’t fare much better, either. “I’ll pass and so will my bank account, ” composed one person. “Literally who even buys this? ” asked another.

Experts say they’re skeptical associated with just how involved either man is with the brands. Rachel Weingarten, a product development consultant, mentioned “some celebs have zero involvement” in their so-called passion projects. “Most often, [stars] have the meeting, throw around a few vague thoughts, and then are presented with several options. If they choose one, these people think they will designed the particular entire thing. ”

Johnson, the podcast sponsor, noted that the famous women behind brands – like Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Hailey The star and Ciara – most position themselves as experts in their own field that take authority over their particular companies. Leto and Pitt, meanwhile, have openly described themselves while newbies.

“At least the women plus Pharrell [who founded the skincare line Humanrace] put in the particular time and effort to understand this business and what they’ve gotten themselves in to, ” Johnson said. “With Brad, it’s bonkers that he would do all this splashy media for [Domaine], and then claim this individual doesn’t have a skincare routine. ”

Alfredo Mineo, a grooming and wellness writer for Vogue Mexico and Byrdie, said that despite celebrities’ huge followings, “skincare is a saturated space in this point, and the ship has sailed”.

But Griffin Wynne, a staff writer who covers shopping trends for HuffPost, believes there is an audience – at minimum for any brand’s initial drop. That success can’t always be sustained. After all, Rihanna was famous for becoming the first Black woman to lead the fashion house under LVMH in 2019, but production was shut down less than two years later.

“We’re in a prime time where ‘self care’ means justifying expensive purchases, especially for body products, ” Wynne said. “Sometimes, a good outrageously high price point may psych you into buying something, because it feels like you’re making some grand proclamation. So , yes, I think some man somewhere will buy it, or if not have their girlfriend buy it with regard to them. ”

Part of these brands’ slick marketing includes the idea associated with creating “genderless” products that will expand beyond a binary. That’s par for the course in 2022, as Harry Styles leads a nail polish line and Lil Nas X was simply named the particular face of YSL Beauty .

“A beauty product does not really have a gender, period, ” Manley added. “Anyone can use it, no matter exactly how you identify it. Consumers are privy to this. ” The data backs this particular up: according to the marketing firm Wunderman Thompson, 50% associated with Gen Z “shops past their gender” . Yet whether they can afford to do so with Le Domaine or Barker Wellness remains to be seen.

As Wynne puts this, “There will be a proliferation of expensive gender-free items, but a person know what else is gender-free? Vaseline, toothpaste, and sunscreen. ” Plus – celebrities, take note – those don’t cost $385.