Celebrity Beauty Brands: Who's Thriving, Who's Quietly Fading

The celebrity beauty space has diverged sharply. Some brands are scaling; others are quietly fading. What separates them is less about celebrity reach and more about how they earn repeat demand. Celebrity fame gets the first sale. Product authority and a clear playbook keep the slope pointing up.

In this report we look into Rhode, Jones Road, Kylie Cosmetics, and About-Face and what's driving their diverging trajectories: product authority, promotion strategy, and the playbook that keeps the slope pointing up.

Rhode

Rhode was founded by Hailey Bieber on a mission to make skincare backed by science accessible and intentional. The brand focuses on skin barrier formulas, curated essentials rooted in peptides, ceramides, and high performance ingredients, with simplicity and transparency at the core.

Growth tells the story. Revenue jumped +101% from Oct to Nov and +73% from Nov to Dec as holiday demand and limited drops drove volume. The brand gave back -46% in Jan and -25% in Feb, a normal post holiday pattern for seasonal brands. The key: Rhode grows when it launches, without leaning on sitewide discounts.

Glazing milk, pocket blush, and peptide lip tints lead the mix. Skincare pulls the most weight, but Lip & Color sits close behind. Rhode is building a hybrid identity: science backed essentials plus limited edition color that drives launches.

The lip case, a non beauty SKU, shows Rhode expanding into accessories without diluting the core. Each category earns its place.

Pocket blush anchors Rhode's hybrid makeup push. The creative matches the strategy: limited edition lip tint, Barrier Butter restock, hybrid makeup launch. The March calendar below shows how the brand executed that playbook.

Rhode ran a tight event calendar: Sugar Cookie limited edition lip tint on Mar 5, Barrier Butter restock on Mar 6, and hybrid makeup positioning on Mar 13. Each drop created urgency without training customers to wait for markdowns.

The playbook: core skincare that earns repeat purchase, limited edition color to drive launches, and accessories that extend the brand without discounting.

Key Takeaway Lead with product authority and limited drops, not discounts. Build a hero skincare line first, then add limited edition color for launch buzz. Create urgency with restocks and new shades, not X% off.

Jones Road Beauty

Makeup artist Bobbi Brown founded Jones Road in 2020 on the belief that the world doesn't need more beauty products. It needs better ones. The brand delivers clean, high grade formulations designed for every skin type and tone, built for the no makeup makeup look.

Jones Road's growth profile is the most stable of the four brands. Revenue held near flat at -1% in Nov 2024, Dec, Jan, and Feb 2025. No holiday spike, no post holiday collapse. That consistency signals durable, repeat demand that does not depend on promotions or seasonal events.

What The Foundation and Miracle Balm anchor the lineup. Jones Road runs a lean assortment with each SKU carrying clear responsibility.

The brand rarely discounts and instead invests in education and founder led content.

The event mix backs it up. Product releases account for 193 of the brand's promotions; X% Off sits at just 30. Compare that to About-Face, where discount promos run much higher.

Jones Road leans on launches and education, not markdowns.

Bobbi Brown's presence in tutorials, in store events, and brand messaging reinforces trust.

Jones Road shows that founder led brands can still break through when product authority and distribution align.

Key Takeaway Invest in hero products that earn repeat purchase at full price. Lean on founder credibility and education, not markdowns. A lean assortment where each SKU carries clear responsibility outperforms a crowded catalog propped up by sales.

Kylie Cosmetics

Kylie Cosmetics was founded by Kylie Jenner and rose to prominence on lip kits and social driven launches. The brand has pivoted toward fragrance and lip while targeting accessible, trend forward color cosmetics.

That momentum has stalled. Indexed to 100 at Aug 2023, Kylie ends at 105 in Feb 2025. Revenue barely moved: $597K to $625K, about +5% over 18 months.

The line spikes on holidays (470 in Nov 2023, 289 in Nov 2024) then collapses (97 in Jan 2025). That pattern signals demand that depends on promotions and seasonal drops, not repeat purchase at full price.

That mix matters. Nearly half of Kylie's events are product releases; X% Off and BOGO add another 14%. When the calendar skews toward discounts, demand trains itself to wait for the next sale.

Revenue confirms it: the top products tell a clear story.

Cosmic Eau de Parfum and Matte Liquid Lipstick lead revenue; fragrance and lip drive the mix.

The product lineup reflects a pivot from lip kits to fragrance and lip while growth has stalled.

The contrast with Rhode is instructive. Rhode launched later and scaled on hybrid color and skincare. Kylie had a massive head start and celebrity reach, but the indexed line has stayed flat.

Celebrity fame gets the first sale. Sustained product authority and a clear playbook keep the slope pointing up.

Key Takeaway If your calendar skews toward discounts, demand trains itself to wait for the next sale. Shift the mix toward launches and product authority. Reduce X% off and BOGO share; grow product release and education events to build durable, full price demand.

About-Face

About-Face was founded by singer and self-taught makeup artist Halsey to empower a diverse, boundary breaking community with high performance makeup. The brand promises vegan, clean formulations designed for self expression at every stage of life.

Month over month swings tell the story. Revenue grew +38% Oct to Nov and +77% Nov to Dec, then dropped -37% in Jan and -29% in Feb. The volatility suggests demand is event and discount driven, not repeat. When the playbook is 50% off and BOGO, growth spikes then collapses as promotions end.

The Performer and Matte Fluid Eye Paint lead a thin lineup. Discount creatives dominated the March calendar.

The numbers line up with the creative. Product Release and Other Promotion tie at 34% each; X% Off adds another 21%. Together, discount style promos carry a heavy share of the event mix. The March imagery bears it out: half off and BOGO dominate the calendar.

On the product side, the category split tells a different story. There's no single hero like Rhode's glazing milk or Jones Road's Miracle Balm. Eye products lead at 46%, but complexion and lip carve meaningful share.

The spread suggests a brand still searching for a core anchor.

The March calendar below says it all: half off, BOGO, and a thin 10% off first order on the homepage for weeks.

When the playbook is half off and BOGO, the brand is quietly fading.

The contrast with Rhode is stark. Rhode creates urgency with limited editions and restocks. About-Face creates urgency with half off. One scales. One does not.

Key Takeaway A 50% off and BOGO calendar trains customers to wait. Replace discount driven urgency with limited editions and restocks. Find a hero product that earns repeat at full price before scaling promotions.

Conclusion

• Rhode: Lead with product authority and limited drops, not discounts. Hero skincare first, then limited edition color. Create urgency with restocks and new shades, not X% off.
• Jones Road: Invest in hero products that earn repeat at full price. Lean on founder credibility and education, not markdowns. A lean assortment outperforms a crowded catalog propped up by sales.
• Kylie: If your calendar skews toward discounts, demand trains itself to wait. Shift toward launches and product authority. Reduce X% off and BOGO share.
• About-Face: A 50% off and BOGO calendar trains customers to wait. Replace with limited editions and restocks. Find a hero product that earns repeat at full price before scaling promotions.