Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, and Hailey Bieber’s brands dominate beauty’s creator economy. Fame is only part of the reason

Celebrity-founded beauty brands are dominating the creator economy, according to the Traackr Creator Advantage 2026 report. These brands, including Kylie Cosmetics, Rare Beauty, Rhode, R.E.M. Beauty, and Huda Beauty, have claimed half of the top 10 spots in terms of creator marketing performance in 2025. The trend signifies how celebrity influence can translate into a competitive edge for their beauty ventures.

Celebrity founders benefit from their established audiences, which can accelerate brand awareness and sales. However, not all celebrity ventures flourish: Gwen Stefani's GXVE Beauty and Drew Barrymore's Flower Beauty have closed their doors despite their high-profile founders. The success of these brands hinges on factors beyond fame, such as product quality, branding, and consumer loyalty.

Traackr's VIT framework, which evaluates creator volume, frequency, content performance, and audience size, reveals that the beauty industry outperforms others in creator marketing effectiveness. Beauty brands average 687,000 creators with higher engagement rates, but the average audience size has declined. The success of beauty brands in creator marketing is partly due to their highly visual nature, with beauty products easily demonstrated through short-form videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

These platforms offer unique advantages in reaching a large audience, but the quality of content matters more than sheer volume. Authenticity and relevance are key for long-term success, as smaller, engaged creator networks can generate stronger results than larger, less cohesive influencer groups. Celebrity influence alone is no longer enough to guarantee brand success; building trust with consumers is the ultimate differentiator.