Scarlett Johansson’s new skincare line sparks debate on celebrity beauty brands

Another day, another celebrity beauty brand

(Getty Images)

Scarlett Johansson is the latest celebrity to launch their own beauty brand. On 22 February, the 37-year-old actress announced the arrival of her new skincare line, The Outset.

The six-piece skincare collection was built by Johansson and a team of product developers around the actor’s own beauty rituals, and her experience with managing breakouts, dry skin, and hours in makeup while filming. According to Vogue, The Outset offers “clean, elevated basics at the cross section of drugstore finds, apothecary traditions, and French pharmacy efficacy.”

However, the internet was less than excited to receive another celebrity brand in an oversaturated beauty and skincare market. Johansson joins a long list of celebrities already in the beauty game: Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Tracee Ellis Ross, Millie Bobby Brown and more. Now, it seems that social media users are tired of celebrity-owned beauty brands — not just because there’s so many out there, but because celebrities have access to expensive skincare treatments that others don’t.

Twitter was flooded with comments after the pop culture account PopCrave tweeted the release of The Outset. “Scarlett Johansson’s new skincare brand, ‘The Outset,’ officially launches March 1,” they tweeted, which received almost 1,000 replies. The message was all the same: no more celebrity skincare brands.

“I’m so serious when I say this: Society has progressed past the need for celebrity skincare lines,” one person said.

“We’ve had enough of celebrity skincare,” another tweeted.

“I’m tired of celebrity skincare,” a Twitter user said.

While some social media users felt inundated with celebrity beauty products, others believed that the desire for celebrities to market their skincare secrets is almost deceptive, considering they have the money and the resources for top-of-the-line treatments, procedures, and dermatologists.

“I’m tired of random celebrities releasing a skincare line when we all know they don’t use that and have access to ridiculously expensive skincare treatments,” said one user.

“I feel very strongly that influencers and celebrities need to stop pushing half baked skincare/beauty products,” one person tweeted. “Why do we need this? is it really your dream to skimp people on products you advertise when you yourself get professional facial peels every week?”

“You really think celebrities who afford high end facials and high end skincare age well because of products that they just recently got someone to make…” they said.

As of 2021, the beauty industry was worth $511bn worldwide. The skincare market alone reached $132bn in 2021 and is expected to grow to $198bn by 2027. Like with any market, when there’s too much supply the demand goes down, and skincare fans are worried that an industry that allowed them to experiment, feel confident, and maintain a routine will soon become worthless.

“I feel like celebrity fragrance kind of ruined the luxury and integrity of fragrance for a long time in the early 2000s,” one user tweeted. “I’m so worried that’s gone happen to skincare.”

Many social media users debated that ever since Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, every celebrity beauty brand since then has failed to shake the industry with such force. The Fenty Beauty founder broke the makeup mold when she released a foundation with 40 different shades (now 50), and reportedly made $100m in just over a month. The singer has even been credited with completely changing the beauty industry.

“The lack of creativity that famous ppl have is worrying,” one person tweeted. “Since Rihanna launched Fenty all of them are doing the same. They also release the same kind of merchandising with the same style. It’s getting boring, they’re supposed to be artists and artists are supposed to be creative.”

That is not to say that Johansson’s The Outset is not creative. Each product speaks to everybody’s everyday needs, and Johansson even refers to The Outset as “a passion project.” Still, the criticism surrounding celebrity beauty brands is sure to inform future celebrities who wish to break into the industry.