How Fenty and Rare Beauty are shaping U.S. beauty in 2024

Three brands stand out. When Kylie Cosmetics entered the market, it quickly gained a substantial online following. A year later, Fenty Beauty followed with an equally strong debut. Today, Fenty Beauty leads with search interest around 10% higher than Rare Beauty, which ranks second but still draws significant attention. Rare Beauty's rise wasn't just driven by new products but also by a public social media controversy involving Rhode Beauty's owner, Hailey Bieber. From early 2023 to the peak of the debate, Rare Beauty's search interest surged by over two-thirds, making it a strong contender for the top spot though still trailing behind Fenty.

In the table below, Searches LTM represents the total number of Google searches over the last twelve months (September 2023 to August 2024) for the key search terms most commonly associated with each brand.

Is a celebrity beauty brand's success solely tied to the personal events of its famous founder? Not entirely. When comparing Fenty Beauty and Rare Beauty, it's clear that both brands experienced search spikes during personal events, such as Rihanna's Super Bowl performance or Selena Gomez's social media controversy. However, they also see significant increases when new products are launched. For example, when Rare Beauty's "Find Comfort Body Collection"  went on sale in December 2023, there was a 40% increase in search interest.

While many brands stagnate, Fenty Beauty has maintained a leading position in the U.S. beauty industry for six years. It has received approximately 52% more Google searches than its rivals in the past 12 months. Though it's three years younger and was slower to start, Rare Beauty has grown rapidly and has edged closer to Fenty in the past year. It could remain a close race between the two, as they both have highly engaged communities that not only stand behind the brand, but also behind their respective founders and products.

Inspired by Selena Gomez's personal health struggles with Lupus, Rare Beauty is known for its focus on inclusivity, body positivity, and mental health. An example of this is the specially designed packaging that makes it easier for people with limited muscle strength to open. "Beauty lies in imperfection" is the brand's motto, and it resonates well with fans.

Revolution by Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty revolutionized the cosmetics industry when it launched in 2017 with a wide range of shades. Many beauty brands offer a limited number of tones for darker skin, but Fenty set itself apart with now 58 perfectly matched shades. Rihanna made a bold statement to create a product for every skin tone, saying, "Black is beautiful and deserves its own color range." This approach resonated with many fans, and the success continues, as evidenced by the launch of a new nude lipstick collection developed for both dark and light skin tones.

Rare Beauty has also seen impressive growth, but Fenty Beauty continues to lead the U.S. market. Although Rihanna shares ownership of Fenty Beauty with French cosmetics giant LVMH, her presence in the beauty industry remains strong. Fenty's commanding lead in the celebrity beauty brand league table is driven not just by Rihanna's celebrity status, but also by the brand's continuing commitment to innovation and inclusivity. Although Selena Gomez has a larger social media following, Rihanna's beauty empire, now in its seventh year, is firmly established.

Brands that stand for something bigger and communicate a clear message to consumers are particularly successful in today's competitive beauty industry. Companies that focus on issues like inclusion, (through an expanded color palette offering, for example), or the promotion of mental health leave a lasting and positive impression on consumers. Fenty Beauty and Rare Beauty personify this approach. 

So what is it exactly that makes Fenty Beauty the most popular and most-searched celebrity beauty brand in the USA today? Stylist and beauty expert Joana Greimers wraps up the reasons for its ongoing influence: 

"Fenty Beauty is more than just a makeup line; it redefined the beauty industry by making inclusivity the standard," she says. "Rihanna's vision, embodied in her statement 'Black is beautiful and deserves its own color range,' has resonated with millions of consumers and set a new benchmark for celebrity brands."

The outlook for the celebrity beauty industry is promising. With increased competition, celebrity-founded beauty brands will increasingly need to focus on authenticity, social responsibility, and sustainable innovation. Today's consumers demand not only high-quality products but also a commitment to larger societal issues that go beyond the product itself.

One thing is certain: Celebrity beauty brands will continue to play a central role in the industry over the coming years. They'll help to shape the shift towards greater sustainability, inclusivity, and responsible practices.

Methodology

To determine the most popular celebrity beauty brands in the U.S., search volume data was gathered using the Ahrefs API. This analysis focused on the U.S. market and covered the years 2015 - 2024. The top two to four most important search queries for each brand were examined, including combinations of the brand name, the brand name with the modifier "Beauty," and connections with the celebrity founder.