Kim Kardashian launched her new skincare line SKKN By Kim in June 2022. Photo: AFP
Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga and Millie Bobby Brown are among the many celebrities who have launched their own makeup lines in recent years.
A lucrative market but one that could be overshadowed by a more authentic concept – holistic beauty, between skin care and well-being.
British model Kate Moss recently made a much noticed entry into the world of skincare with her brand Cosmoss By Kate Moss and a short video revealing her in a lake or a pond without any artifice, in fact without any clothing.
While that was enough to get people talking, what is particularly interesting about the launch aren't the sensual shots that can be seen on the new cosmetics line's dedicated Instagram account but its concept: a brand combining "beauty and wellness".
No mascara, no foundation, no lipstick, but rather skincare products, oils and even drinks such as special tea blends, all designed as components of rituals to elevate body and mind. The concept of holistic beauty in all its splendour.
A new approach to beautyHolistic beauty in and of itself is not a new concept; Susanne Kaufmann, founder of the cosmetics brand of the same name, launched her approach to this idea nearly two decades ago.
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But it has made a comeback with the Covid-19 pandemic, as makeup sales collapsed with lockdowns, and the public turned to more natural and authentic products, ingredients, and lifestyle practices.
Gone were the days of contouring, layering, and piling on cosmetics and makeup, replaced by a new approach to beauty based on caring for body and mind.
These days it's all about approaching beauty in its entirety, under the spectrum of food, fitness, well-being, sleep, and of course cosmetics. All this with the help of natural ingredients, if possible, as well as science and new technologies.
The objective is no longer to treat or cover, but to prevent, by strengthening the skin's natural powers. LED light, percussion therapy, prebiotics, facial gymnastics and other types of facial massage are all techniques and ingredients that are very popular today for reinventing our beauty routines.
A new bonanza for celebrities
Despite makeup sales bouncing back in the course of 2021, celebrities seem to have noticed the tide turning. Some have enriched their beauty brand with skincare products based on the holistic approach, while others have launched completely new projects.
Millie Bobby Brown is among the first to have tried to mine this niche with Florence by Mills, combining clean, vegan, and animal cruelty-free makeup and skincare, with the objective of defining beauty on its own terms.
"No rules. No struggle toward perfection. No boring beauty standards. Just us, playing with how we want to look, feel, and live," read the description.
A first step towards an aspect of holistic beauty, but without a primordial aspect: well-being.
Since then, other celebrities have followed suit, further developing the concept: Hailey Bieber with Rhode Skin, which "is dedicated to making products based in science and great formulation"; Kim Kardashian with SKKN By Kim, which is "at the intersection of elevated simplicity and innovative science" via "clean ingredients and technical formulas".
The whole thing is based on ethics and sustainability, two key words that can be found here and there in most of these cosmetic lines.
Other common points: a limited choice – with a focus on essentials – and a beauty routine that emphasises time with long-lasting results. Whether fastidiously elaborated and explained or not, the concept of holistic beauty is indeed at the center of these new brands' communication strategy.
Creams, tea and CBD
It's the same thing with JLo Beauty, the brand by Jennifer Lopez, and even more so with The Outset, the label developed by Scarlett Johansson.
But with Cosmoss, Kate Moss seems to want to go even further. According to the Daily Mail, it is her own beauty routine, based on health and well-being that the iconic model is preparing to offer up with this brand that launched on Sept 1.
The British newspaper specifies that there will be tea to rid the body of its toxins, creams, a "sacred" mist and an oil with CBD.
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"Each product has been meticulously crafted with wellbeing in mind; each ritual opens a door to balance, restoration, and love," reads the brand's Instagram account.
Popular with the public, this holistic approach seems to have won over the hearts of stars, who have understood the value of investing in this new kind of beauty routine.
It is now up to us consumers to sort out what is real and what is not, and to find the products that are truly designed according to this global concept of beauty. – AFP Relaxnews
