Ranking Celebrity Cosmetic Brands From Worst To Best
Listen, makeup's been around for way longer than we have, and will most likely be here way after we're gone. We're hoping that they come up with those makeup machines that they have in "The Fifth Element" where it just flashes onto our faces soon, but until then we're stuck with brushes and beauty blenders.
Seeing that makeup is such a long-lasting trend, it seems only natural that anyone with enough money to start a line has created their own makeup brand. In the last few years, celebrities have been dropping makeup brands left and right, giving us whiplash in our effort to keep up. While some A-listers have created beauty empires, others have fallen through the cracks — or have been so controversial that consumers can't stand them. We love a bit of tea and shade, but some celebs are downright chaotic.
So, we decided to pit several celeb makeup brands against one another in an effort to find out who's on the top of the period — and who's at the bottom (Abby Lee Miller taught us well). So get ready, because while some of our choices might be considered hot takes, we stand by them.
14. Jaclyn Cosmetics
We're starting off with Jaclyn Hill, her self-titled line Jaclyn Cosmetics, and all its failed launches. The beauty guru debuted her cosmetic line in 2019. She'd begun telling fans she had a makeup line on the way back in 2014, so it's no surprise that fans were getting excited and impatient — but all that would change shortly after the line's actual launch.
You see, people started finding suspicious shards and hairs in the lipsticks that Hill released as her brand's first launch. Beauty YouTuber RawBeautyKristi's tweet showed a hairy lipstick she received, along with the caption, "All I can say is WTF."
The lipstick controversy was bad, but the fumbles don't end there for Jaclyn Cosmetics. Before the release of her brand's bronzers, Jaclyn felt the need to put out a disclaimer: "When it comes to creating something that really deserves a very big and broad shade range, it is really difficult for me ... when it comes to shades I can't wear I just don't know," (via BeautyIndependent). Fans and consumers were displeased with the limited shade range. "HOW is this acceptable? She has unlimited resources and investors and no one thought about hiring a POC consultant to assist in creating an inclusive shade range for this launch?" one Instagram user posted along with a picture of the shade range (via Instagram). They aren't wrong, and Jaclyn's gotta do better.
13. Goop
We don't even know where to start with Goop. Founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Goop is an enigma that doesn't feel real, but it is.
We're talking supplements, face products, crystals, and even sex toys at an unbelievable price that nine times out of 10 don't actually do anything but make Paltrow way richer. A review of Netflix's Goop-centric documentary, "The Goop Lab," explains the brand perfectly: "Quackery and pseudoscience are presented under the same guise as actual medical care," (via The Diamond Back).
Goop's interesting, for lack of a better word, products are often easy to mock. Hulu's original series "Dollface," for example, pokes fun at the company through its main character Jules, who works at a company called Woom with a blonde and eccentric boss named Celeste. Sound familiar? Because we thought so too. Now, we're not judging you if you do use Goop products, but we also want to know why you'd spend $58 on DTF Pills that are essentially the same thing as those tiger sex pills you see at gas stations and bodegas.
12. Haus Laboratories
First and foremost, we'd like to say sorry to Mother Monster for placing her this low on the list, but she knows what she did and the people have spoken.
When you think Lady Gaga, you think of her eccentric makeup and fashion looks. A Lady Gaga-owned cosmetic line had the potential to be iconic, but it was a controversial flop. Like, "ARTPOP" levels of a controversial flop. Haus Laboratories came onto the scene in 2019 and was exclusively sold on Amazon. The line then made its way over to Sephora, which is a level up for the brand, but also feels undeserved (via Insider).
Most reviewers find the brand's offerings to be drugstore-quality makeup sold at a high-end price. Many complained about the products' durability, noting that it didn't feel as though they were getting the product that matched the price tag (via Reviewed). It remains to be seen how the move to Sephora will go, but if that doesn't work out, perhaps Haus Laboratories will find a happy home at Ulta.
11. Jeffree Star Cosmetics
It's safe to say that everyone knows Jeffree Star's name — just not for the right reasons. Let's put it out there now: His makeup brand is pretty decent in quality, but its owner's bad reputation has a tendency to cancel that out. From racial slurs to throwing tantrums any time he gets the slightest critique, not to mention the countless "watch me do my makeup while I pretend to apologize to you when I'm actually not sorry in the slightest," videos, Star is a controversial figure in the makeup world — and it's starting to catch up with him (via The New York Times).
A prime example of this karma occurred after the beauty guru mocked Kat Von D and Too Faced for having their products in stores like Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls (via Insider). He posted a tweet saying, "CAN'T RELATE. AT. ALL." Just a couple of years later, his products found their way onto the shelves of the exact same discount stores.
Can't take that back now, and honestly, we'd be too embarrassed to have a tweet like that still on our feed. (That's right, unlike most celebrities, he hasn't deleted that tweet.) Jeffree's still a businessman at heart, and he's branched out into skincare (predictable), drug paraphernalia, pet accessories, and, weirdest of all, yak meat. No, we aren't kidding (via Twitter).
10. Kat Von D
Kat Von D is another brand that's been surrounded by controversy due to its founder. For starters, her lipstick shade "Underage Red" garnered some serious criticism. Defending the shade's name in a Facebook post, she said, "It is an unapologetic, bold red ... So, NO. I refuse to sacrifice my integrity and creative freedom. NO. I will not be pulling 'Underage Red' from my collection. And NO. This is not an apology," (via Distractify).
There have also been several rumors declaring her to be an anti-Semite, to which she's responded, "Out of every comment that I've gotten, the ones that are calling me and my family Nazis are the ones that don't sit well with me. I know a lot of you guys don't know that I am, myself, a proud Latina. I was born in Mexico" (per Refinery29). A common response to that statement: How do the two correlate? One user tweeted, "Kat Von D telling her audience she's Latina as support for why she's not anti-semitic is laughable."
However, ever since Kat Von D stepped down and the company rebranded to KVD Vegan Beauty, the brand's been doing a lot better (via Insider). From the looks of the brand's website, "Underage Red" is nowhere to be found.
9. R.E.M. Beauty
Ariana Grande's makeup looks have evolved over the years, always highlighting her eyes with new styles and graphic liners. It only made sense that, if she were to drop a makeup line, it would have a primary focus on eye-related products.
That's exactly what she did. R.E.M Beauty debuted its first collection or "drop" in 2019, which did primarily focus on products for the eyes. In an interview, Grande said, "I feel like you can emote more with your eyes than you can articulate sometimes," (via Allure).
This isn't Grande's first time in the beauty world, as she has a successful fragrance line exclusively sold at Ulta Beauty. Now, don't get us wrong, R.E.M Beauty is actually pretty nice. Why is it so low on this list you may ask? Well, it's not been out long enough to have an expansive collection for us to really say much on. All we can do is wait and see what R.E.M Beauty has in store.
8. JLo Beauty
Jennifer Lopez has been serving looks since she was Jenny from the block. (See what we did there?) The 52-year-old triple threat has never looked a day over 30, and that's probably because she's investing a lot of time, money, and effort into herself — and her skincare.
With a face like that, it's only normal that people are dying to know her secrets and tricks. This gave JLo the perfect opportunity to cash in on a rather lucrative market. This leads us to JLo Beauty.
Rather than makeup, JLo Beauty focuses on skincare care with masks, creams, and facial cleansers. The crazy part is that the base of this line is something you could find in your kitchen: olive oil. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Lopez said, "It's a family tradition and beauty secret passed down from her grandmother and mother for healthy and shiny hair, skin, and nails." This doesn't mean you should go around pouring olive oil on your face, but if you want JLo's signature glow, then give her brand a try.
7. Kylie Cosmetics
Celebrities have definitely ventured into the makeup world before, but let's face it: Kylie Jenner paved the way for modern-day celebrity makeup lines in the age of social media. It all started with a lip kit and a dream, and is now a $1 billion beauty empire.
While Kylie Cosmetics is a revered brand, that doesn't mean it's flawless. Most recently, it seems that Kylie's been recycling looks, using the same colors and palettes and just putting them in different packaging. One Twitter user tweeted, "Is it really necessary to release new makeup collections EVERY year for EVERY holiday? at this point ur selling the same colors in new packaging. so wasteful. this is a subtweet to kylie cosmetics. I see the same thing recycled every holiday."
Honestly, they aren't wrong. Several of Kylie's palettes tend to look the same. At the point where you're basically getting the same product, it seems like consumers are just wasting their money.
6. Florence by Mills
If you're a fan of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things" then you know who Millie Bobby Brown is. Many of us have watched the actress grow into the beautiful young woman she is today. (It low-key makes us feel old, because it seems like she was just 12 and debuting in the first season of "Stranger Things" and now all of a sudden she's 18!)
In her time off from playing the iconic character of Eleven, Brown dove into the beauty world, releasing her line Florence by Mills in 2019. (Seems to us that every celebrity decided that 2019 was the perfect year to release a makeup line). Her cosmetic line focuses on a more youthful essence, similar to Glossier. It's the type of brand you'd probably recommend for someone who's just getting into makeup or who prefers a barely-there look.
Discussing her brand, Brown told Teen Vogue, "I think it's important to remember that it was a key element in starting the brand to uplift my customers and uplift their self-esteem, which is something that can really [be lacking], especially, in Generation Z and, and specifically girls."
5. Good Dye Young
Just like you can transform and express yourself with makeup, you can do the same thing with your hair. If you know anything about Paramore's front-woman Hayley Williams, then you know she's been serving different hair colors since the start of her career, though she's probably best known for her fiery orange locks.
When she announced she'd be putting out a hair dye line, it made total sense. You may assume that a celebrity such as herself wouldn't actually use the product she's selling, sort of like that time Shay Mitchell was a Biore Ambassador and pretended to use the product, but it didn't even touch her face (via Cafe Mom). However, seeing that the brand came to fruition after not being able to find the perfect shade of orange, you can bet that Hayley and her long-time hairstylist and co-founder Brian O'Conner use GDY on Hayley's hair (via PopSugar).
According to most users, Good Dye Young is highly pigmented, a bang for your buck, and lasts longer than most semi-permanent dyes (via Allure). Celebs like Jojo Siwa and Dominic Fike can be seen sporting iconic GDY colors. They even have a collab with everyone's favorite drag queen, Trixie Mattel. GDY is truly killing it.
4. About Face
Similar to Ariana Grande, Halsey is known to sport bright and colorful eye makeup. Her makeup collection, About Face, takes eyeliner and eyeshadows to a whole new level. "I really hope that people know that I've always done my own makeup, so this is coming from a place of a lot of experience, and a lot of love for the art. I meticulously designed all of these products. Everything from the ingredients to the names of every single one of the products — it was entirely of my own love, and design, and approval, and involvement," Halsey told Byrdie in an interview regarding her new line.
One of her most notable products is the Matte Fluid Eye Paint. There are 26 shades available ranging from neutrals to highlighter yellows. The Eye Paint even won a Best of Beauty Award from Allure in 2021. About Face also offers gorgeous highlighters, lip glosses and lipsticks, along with body illuminators. For being a new mom and a touring artist, Halsey somehow manages to still kill the makeup game.
3. Pattern
Besides Good Dye Young, Pattern is the only hair care line on our list — and for good reason. Tracee Ellis Ross's brand has revolutionized hair care, primarily for women of color. "True beauty ... It's about knowing yourself, loving yourself, understanding yourself, and nourishing yourself, which is the message of the brand: Meet your hair, heart, self, and soul exactly where you are," Ross said in an interview with Marie Claire.
In a world of controversial curl-care products like DevaCurl (remember when everyone was suing and losing hair?), Pattern is a welcomed and refreshing change. Unlike our girl Jaclyn Hill, Ross made sure she worked with people of color when creating the products. She learned that most of the time, hair care products are tested on straight, white hair — but her line was designed for curly-headed consumers, particularly people of color. "Lots of learning had to occur for me to communicate this issue to chemists, particularly before I had the help of a product development person and chemist of color," she told Marie Claire.
The results clearly showed the love and care put into the products. One reviewer raved that "All day, my hair withstood any windy or humid weather temperaments, and my curls remained nice and neat until bedtime." Ross put the work into Pattern, and it definitely shows.
2. Rare Beauty
In recent years, every celebrity, influencer, and their mothers have released some kind of cosmetic line. So, when Selena Gomez announced her impending line, Rare Beauty, there might've been a few eye rolls.
However, Gomez proved that she can do everything under the sun, releasing an all-inclusive line that's fun, soft, and natural. When creating her line, Gomez had one goal in mind: "I wanted to create a brand to encourage each and every person to be who they are and help eliminate all of that unwanted pressure to look a certain way," she told Nylon. We gotta hand it to her, because she did just that. Rare Beauty is one of few makeup lines with a super extensive shade range.
For Rare Beauty, gone are the days of trying to transform yourself with makeup. Rather, Gomez advocates for using cosmetics to accentuate your features. We should've seen a message like that coming from the same person who sang the self-esteem anthem "Who Says." Yeah, we didn't forget about that one.
1. Fenty Beauty
If you expected any other cosmetic line to be at the top of our list, then we say this as respectfully as possible: You're wrong.
Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is truly the best of the best — but it almost didn't happen, and that would've been a tragedy. "I used to be afraid to step into the whole celebrity makeup world. I saw brands like Hilary Duff and Hannah Montana have so much success [in the aughts], but it got to a place where they were so oversaturated in the market that it diluted their personal brands," she said (via Vanity Fair).
Thankfully, Queen RiRi took a chance — and it clearly paid off. Rihanna set a precedent by launching a foundation with 40 shades. It's because of Fenty Beauty that more brands felt pressure to have an all inclusive shade range, and we have Rihanna to thank for that (via Glamour).