November 16, 2021
Harry Styles Launches Beauty Line
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
'One Direction' alum Harry Styles covers Dazed Magazine and, in the pages within, talks about his new "life brand" company, Pleasing.
Calling Pleasing's first offerings a "curated line of products that speak to the celebratory beauty sensibility that Styles is known for," Dazed recounted that the line got started with nail polish, "because," Styles said, "that was kind of the birth of what it was for."
"Me seeing a color on a flower or a wallpaper or something and thinking, 'Oh, I wanna put that on my nails'," the singer went on to say. "It was a fun little project, but during the pandemic, and when we eventually named it Pleasing, it felt like it was so much more than nail polish."
Fashionista hailed Pleasing as "the only celebrity beauty brand we're actually excited about," noting its "range of nail polishes, an illuminating primer serum and a dual-purpose eye and lip oil."
Styles vows that the new brand will be eco-friendly, with "as small of a carbon footprint as possible," Billboard detailed, but it's also something he sees as a thank you to his fans.
"I am blessed to have fans who are so supportive of me, who believe in freedom and who have created this safe space for each other. Pleasing is really for them."
According to Fashionista, "The brand's positioning seems to be intentionally broad and open for innovation and category expansion," Fashionista related, adding that "its mission is 'to bring joyful experiences and products that excited the senses and blur the boundaries,' with an aim of 'dispel[ling] the myth of a binary existence,' per a press release."
But fans of the 27-year-old singer, or of high-end beauty products, or both, won't want to dally since the company has announced that its initial wares will be "released in three stages and limited quantities."
"The products, which are already available for pre-order ahead of their official launch on Nov. 29, will retail for between $20 and $65," Fashionista detailed.
The Dazed interview followed Styles behind the scenes of the cover shoot, detailing how the fashion-forward star – who's known for his gender-expansive take on style – was presented with, and agreed to, various ideas for how he'd be dressed and photographed.
"He immediately grabs an angelic cream look of a Rick Owens webbed sweater, a Galliano corset, and a Comme des Garçons kitten heel from the splatter of Polaroids affixed to the wall," the article said. "A psychedelic Prada jumpsuit complete with Swarovski choker is another favorite, and a Balenciaga look with top-hat aplomb is quickly greenlit."
"At ease in front of the camera, he slips from one look to another, each more fantastically concocted than the last," the article reads, going on to add: "It's a far cry from the vision of the fairly sheepish Harry Styles from One Direction: 16 years old, with a mop of curls."
Styles confided that it's the "small moments" in life that stick with him, "in terms of sparking something wonderful in me," and saying he intended for his company's products to offer a similar sensation to their users.
"I really think that the essence of Pleasing is finding those little moments of joy and showing them to people."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.