Dust off your hairbrush, clean up your brushes and crack open that special lipstick — it’s Viva Beauty Week. From a nostalgia-inducing lip gloss to a moisturiser that perfectly primes for makeup, these are our favourite celebrity beauty buys.
It’s been 30 years since the first celebrity beauty brand
Decades later, celebrity beauty brands feel a dime a dozen, with models, musicians, and actors alike releasing ranges of makeup, skincare, fragrance and haircare at breakneck speed.
It seems the lure of entrepreneurship has proved its gravitational pull for those who formerly lent their faces to advertising campaigns for some of the world’s biggest beauty brands, preferring instead to launch their own line and star in its collateral.
Although many celebrity beauty brands have been and gone, others have proved that their longevity doesn’t rely solely on their founder’s fandom, instead establishing a long list of worthy credentials with brands built on years of research and development.
The category continues to expand, the most recent being Beyonce’s Cecred, a haircare line touted to promote healthy hair and scalp for all hair types.
Below, we reveal the Viva team’s top picks of products helmed by celebrities — from a nostalgia-inducing lip gloss to a moisturiser that perfectly primes for makeup.
I’m told Charlotte Tilbury only just counts as a celebrity (she’s a celebrity makeup artist who launched her own line of makeup and skincare) but her Magic Cream deserves celebrity status. Charlotte originally developed this cream to prep models’ skin backstage before fashion shows and its magic caught on, leading her to bottle it as her own secret formula. It contains a heady mix of skin-loving ingredients like bionymph peptide which conditions, smooths and plumps, vitamins C and E, rosehip oil, hyaluronic acid, shea butter, aloe vera and more. I love the feeling of this on my skin — it glides on lightly but is supremely moisturising and is a great base for makeup. It’s on the pricier side for a moisturiser so I use it sparingly. — Johanna Thornton, deputy editor, premium lifestyle
I’m in a long-term relationship with Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Mascara, and few products have ever come too close to inciting a breakup quite like the Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara (which also happens to be $20 cheaper). Founded by Selena Gomez, this cruelty-free, vegan mascara promises to lift, lengthen, curl and volumise every lash type — from fine and sparse eyelashes to straight and thick eyelashes. The multi-length brush deposits the weightless formula on to lashes quickly and easily, meaning you can build up your desired colour density without the risk of lashes appearing clump or spider-like. It’s not a tubing mascara nor is it waterproof, but it performs like one, with zero fall-out and zero transfer all day long. — Ashleigh Cometti, beauty editor
I’m not a celebrity fawner but I recently came across the Everybody Oil Matte moisture glow from Pleasing, which just so happens to be the beauty brand by Harry Styles. It’s actually been a summer saviour, after a swim or time in the sun, it’s helped soothe and replenish my skin. The formula includes a mix of nutrient-rich essential oils including Roman chamomile, jojoba, evening primrose, buckthorn berry, avocado, bitter orange flower and my favourite, bergamot. I think more men should get stuck into oils because our skin tends to be thicker than women’s in terms of structural and chemical thickness, so it’s good to invest in oils that can help replenish. — Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director
I’m pretty lazy when it comes to brows, preferring to run a brow mascara or gel through them rather than reach for a pencil to add depth and definition. In my current makeup rotation is the Brow Renew Enriched Brow Shaping Gel from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s Rose Inc. Its tapered brush makes easy work of filling in sparse areas, and generally I apply two coats for extra fullness. More than that, it’s brimming with conditioning ingredients like squalane, pea sprout and vitamins E and B5 to strengthen hair follicles. — Ashleigh Cometti, beauty editor
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This lip gloss from Rihanna’s beauty brand Fenty was a non-negotiable throughout my years at university. The shiny tubes were exchanged between friend’s purses and pockets, as we’d take them on giggly nights out. Together, ahead of our city wandering, we’d swipe on matching sparkling pouts — now it’s a sweet reminder of revelrous evenings. — Madeleine Crutchley, multimedia journalist premium lifestyle
Celebrity beauty brands haven’t readily wormed their way into my bathroom supplies, possibly because I’ve always been suspicious of someone with naturally glowing skin (i.e. Miranda Kerr) flogging skincare, or a star born with great tresses (Jennifer Aniston) selling haircare. But if there was one celeb I’d follow anywhere, it would have to be Gwen Stefani. Gwennie has never professed to be au naturel anything but the girl knows how to step out of the house in the morning looking hot. Whether it’s a perfect red lip, a bold cat eye or something more subtle, her GXVE Beauty line will deliver on personality. — Rebecca Barry Hill, writer
I’m on to my third bottle of this dual-phase cleansing oil by Kora Organics, Miranda Kerr’s line of certified organic skincare. It’s excellent as a first cleanse, gently removing my makeup and sunscreen, to leave my skin feeling hydrated and soft. It’s formulated with a blend of certified organic plant-based oils, including sunflower seed, babassu and apple seed, alongside silver ear mushroom to protect and promote a healthy skin barrier. — Ashleigh Cometti, beauty editor
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