Over the past seven years, Blake Lively brought her dream hair care line to life by redefining the beauty industry with a blend of passion, precision and purpose.
In the inaugural episode of the Beauty of Tomorrow podcast, presented by Listrak, the founder of Blake Brown sat down with Jenny B. Fine, editor in chief of Beauty Inc. and executive editor of beauty at WWD, to give an inside look at the seven years leading up the launch of her brand, taking lessons from her time spent in entertainment to inform product development and why having a social media following doesn’t guarantee success.
The launch of Blake Brown at Target in August 2024 was the number-one hair care launch in the history of the retailer. Outside of her beauty venture, Lively is an actress, has four children and a beverage brand.
“This child was born before some of my children. So I don’t know if I had four children I still would have done this because it was such an undertaking,” she said. “But this is probably my third child or so. But I just love creating, I love building something from inception to seeing it through — that translates across the different businesses that I’m in and in my personal life.”
Over the years, Lively has partnered and worked with other leading brands by lending her face and name to their products, but the launch of her own line was to “create something that I feel like isn’t necessarily out there.” Accessible price point, streamlining a regimen, being vegan and clean — all while being salon quality — were also major priorities for Lively when launching her products.
While the brand was seven years in the making and many of her peers were launching makeup brands in the celebrity space, Lively stayed the course with hair care. While it took longer than she anticipated to create the products, she was glad with the outcome that took more time and created something meaningful.
“If I have no makeup on, but if my hair feels like me and my hair is good, then I feel the most like myself,” she said. “For me, hair has been such a key part of my identity, not just professionally but personally.”
Especially in the entertainment and editorial spaces, Lively shared that everyone around her uses masks regularly — which is how celebrities achieve the lush and soft look coveted on the red carpet. “We’re not reinventing the wheel. In the luxury hair space, everyone uses shampoo and mask. […] conditioners are just a diluted version of a mask.”
Given her acting career and being an active mother of four, Lively notably does not wash her hair every day. “When I’m not working, I try to give back to my hair as much as possible. I try not to use heat on my hair whenever I can avoid it. I’ll use styling but I’ll mix it with a nourishing. If I use mousse, I’ll do equal parts mousse and leave in to create a texture cream or curl cream.”
Fragrance was also a huge part of the draw for many consumers. While initially it wasn’t part of the brand’s plan, after listening to consumers, Blake Brown released its line of fragrance in six months. But the fragrance selections had taken much more time previously when including them in the initial product formulas and making them harmoniously work together.
“There’s a gourmand sense to all our scents because I love to cook. You smell vanilla, cinnamon and butter, which will make your mouth water a bit.”
Despite her celebrity status, Lively said that just having a social media following and asking people to buy something isn’t a guarantee for a successful brand launch.
“You can’t just have passion; you have to put in the work. You have to have a reason why; there are so many options out there. Why should people switch their routine for something you’re suggesting?”
To listen to the conversation, CLICK HERE.
