Press
The State of Celebrity Beauty Brands: Which Ones Are Actually Good? Which Ones Suck? And Which Ones Are Just Too Random? I Investigated
Beth Gillette, Cosmopolitan.com
PRESS
April 9, 2026
Within my first six months of working at Cosmopolitan, I interviewed two celebrity beauty brand founders. In the four years since, I’ve met countless A-listers-turned-beauty-founders and tested every single one of their products, even the ones that made me go “huh?” At this point, launching a beauty brand feels like a celebrity rite of passage. I mean, if you have every skincare, makeup, and hair product at your fingertips, maybe the next logical step is making your own (and, sure, cashing in while you’re at it).
Every day, I open my email and find out about a new celeb who’s entered the beauty game. Their products are at Sephora, Ulta, and Target. They’ve won countless industry accolades—including numerous Cosmo beauty awards. The industry has truly reached peak celebrity beauty brand. And I anticipate it won’t stop here.
With so many brands in the space, it’s hard to tell what’s actually worth it. My job as an editor is to wade through it all, and over the years, I’ve come up with a cheat sheet of sorts. The important questions to ask: Does the celebrity actually make sense in beauty? Are they known for their glowing skin, elaborate makeup routine, or glossy hair? Did they collaborate with real experts, such as a dermatologist or a longtime hairstylist? How involved are they, really? Is their name just slapped on the label, or are they behind the vision? And, most importantly, does it seem like they actually use what they’re selling? If the answer to any of these is no, the brand starts to feel like a cash grab.
Because I’ve been testing these brands for so long, I’ve got a lot of thoughts. Some are officially the blueprint—so good you may not even know they hail from the brains of a celebrity at all. Others, though, could use a rethink and leave us asking why?
Below, I’ve outlined my definitive ranking of the top 12 celebrity beauty brands of 2026. But don’t stop there. There are a zillion more brands I’m giving a quick review of, too, from the dudes trying to do beauty to the fragrances our favorite A-listers are (allegedly) dousing themselves with. And of course, we’ve even got a graveyard of the brands that didn’t make it. Gone but not forgotten!
