Paris Hilton and NYX Professional Makeup, Gracie Abrams for Chanel, L’Oréal Paris x Elle and… Danny DeVito fronting a hair campaign?
With celebrity endorsements, ambassadorships and collaborations announced by beauty brands almost on the daily, it is clear that the industry truly sees value in bringing on a famous face.
But should beauty brands be thinking more outside the box when it comes to selecting the perfect partner?
With the amount of cool partnerships landing in our inboxes each week, the Cosmetics Business team’s collective mind naturally starts spinning with ideas as we all envision our dream beauty brand partnerships with celebrities – motion pictures, video games and more – and today we share those ideas with you.
Read on to discover the beauty partnerships the CB team would love to have land on their desks – and for any brands interested in hiring us as consultants, you have our emails.
Marc Jacobs Beauty x Sophia Sinot and Zara Larsson
Zara Larsson
“There is no denying Marc Jacobs beauty is having a moment following its long-awaited make-up return, with maximalist packaging and an anti-’clean girl’ approach to packaging.
For the brand’s first collaboration, who would be better to partner with than pop music’s maximalist it-girl of the moment, Zara Larsson, and the make-up artist behind her scroll-stopping looks, Sophia Sinot.
While the singer recently teased that she and her go-to MUA have had discussions around launching a brand following the popularity of their looks across social media, starting with a partnership that already feels so perfectly aligned feels like an easier entry into the colour cosmetics market.
With shimmering shadows, bold eyeliners and multidimensional highlighters that would catch the light so perfectly on stage that even those sitting in the Gods could see, Marc Jacobs Beauty’s first drop feels as though it could be straight from Sinot’s make-up bag.
Even the packaging feels straight out of the universe Larsson and Sinot have co-created through wardrobe and glam, with bright colours and motifs of stars, love hearts and floral touches core to the branding of both Larsson and Marc Jacobs Beauty.
Plus, who would be better than Larsson herself to front the campaign, with pop-ups and activations to access the products a perfect way to tie in the partnership to her next tour.”
Danny DeVito does hair
Danny DeVito
“Beauty brand ambassadors are, by their very nature, typically elevated to such a position for their looks, whether it is glossy hair, chiseled cheekbones or adonis-like abs.
Danny DeVito on the other hand is an actor best known for appearing in films such as Batman Returns as the villainous Penguin, Matilda as the namesake character’s father (also a villain), as well as playing Frank Reynolds in television sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
You can perhaps understand then why the actor has not been at the front of the queue when it comes to beauty brands picking their spokespeople… yet.
But before heading to Hollywood, a young DeVito worked in his sister’s beauty parlour in New Jersey, US, and studied make-up artistry at American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Having already appeared in adverts for food brands such as M&M’s, Nespresso and Jersey Mike’s Subs, the Hollywood star is ripe for fronting a beauty brand.
Is there anyone else you could tap that combines his unique combination of talents in beauty, character acting and comedy?
In an era where we are beginning to see a pushback against perfection, filters and ‘put-together’ appearances, DeVito is the beauty hero the world deserves.”
Paul Rudd for skin care – either Cetaphil or La Roche-Posay
Paul Rudd
“Actor, writer and producer Paul Rudd is, in my opinion, an untapped icon in the beauty world, with a face card that never declines, and I need to know his secret.
The 57-year-old star has an almost ageless appearance, looking as good in 1995 movie Clueless as in his recent films as the superhero character Ant-Man.
He just always looks naturally glowy, hydrated and, most of all, happy, so the fact that he has not been tapped up by a beauty industry big-hitter leaves me astounded.
My dream collaboration for Rudd would be with a humble skin care player that has stood the test of time and effortlessly delivers the goods.
Simple and modest in its design (because Rudd is not a flashy guy), with it being all about the hard-working ingredients on the inside as the secret sauce.
For this, I am thinking along the lines of dermatologist-developed skin cares like Cetaphil and La Roche-Posay, two skin care brands that have an incredible word-of-mouth without being showy, just like the man himself.
Plus, an incredibly humorous campaign that features Rudd for either of these brands could give CeraVe a run for their money, potentially knocking the brand’s comedy marketing stint with actor Michael Cera off its pedestal as one of the great beauty adverts of all time.”
Amanda May, Editor, CosmeticsBusiness.com and Pure Beauty magazine
Final Fantasy XIV x NYX Professional Makeup
Final Fantasy XIV
“Having just surpassed 5,000 hours in the massively multiplayer online (MMO) roleplaying game Final Fantasy XIV, I think it is safe to say I might just, in fact, be a fan.
And although many players would claim that fighting raid bosses and collecting rare weapons is the endgame, they would be wrong, as fashion (known as Glamour in-game) is the true end goal for any veteran worth their salt.
Despite not wearing make-up myself (shocking, I know, and I call myself a beauty journalist), I believe a collaboration between Final Fantasy XIV and NYX Professional Makeup would be an ideal partnership.
The game’s bright and striking visuals and themes would work great as specific palettes or shades, for example, specific tones inspired by the game's 21 jobs – which are based on classic Final Fantasy classes.
You could have deep, moody purples drawing parallels with the Dark Knight job (my love), vibrant and verdant greens based on the Bard archer class, or even deep sanguine shades worn by the iconic Red Mage.
Why stop at jobs, as Final Fantasy XIV has more than 400 unique boss fights that are among the most memorable in the franchise, with themed product packaging that would strike a chord with its millions of players.
NYX Professional Makeup has already dipped its toes in the gaming sphere, with collaborations ranging from Minecraft to e-sports, so it would not be so far-fetched a team-up – and would allow long-time fans to take their Glamours outside of the game, truly.”
Alessandro Carrara, News Editor, CosmeticsBusiness.com and Pure Beauty magazine
Joe Kent-Walters aka Frankie Monroe for Sudocrem
"If you work for Sudocrem and are looking for a Brand Ambassador, then you must go to see multi-award winning alternative comedian Joe Kent-Walters, whose character Frankie Monroe – the owner of a fictional working men’s club in Rotherham, UK – has it smeared all over his face.
Why? It is all part of Kent-Walters’ performance as surreal comic creation Frankie, an outrageously hilarious, as well as creepy and deliberately demonic, yet somehow endearing, character.
His Sudocrem-covered face acts as a kind of mask, with interviews with the comedian suggesting that it gives him enough separation from himself to be able to ready to be Frankie.
The promotional material for an upcoming show even states: “If you work for Sudocrem, please come to the show as Frankie is looking for a sponsorship deal. This will only ever happen one time.”
Even though it is not how most people apply Sudrocrem (or in fact, should ever apply it), this is a pairing that I would love to see happen in some shape or form.
I would also bet that Frankie Monroe would be the irresistibly unique spokesperson that a personal care brand has ever had."
Jo Allen, Editor, Cosmetics Business magazine and Cosmetics Business Trend Report
Image Credits:
Danny DeVito: WikiMedia Commons/Gage Skidmore
Paul Rudd: WikiMedia Commons/Red Carpet Report on Mingle Media TV
Zara Larsson: WikiMedia Commons/Camilasdandelions
Final Fantasy XIV: Square Enix
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