Blake Lively’s Hair Care Brand Follows Her Beauty Philosophy
The brand, Blake Brown, took seven years to bring to fruition and launches at Target on Sunday.
Seven years in the making, Blake Lively's hair care brand is at last coming to market.
The brand, which launches in Target doors Aug. 4, comprises eight hair care and styling products across two shampoos and respective treatment masks, a leave-in treatment, a mousse, a pre-shampoo mask and a dry shampoo. Prices range from $18.99 to $24.99.
“I've been developing this brand for seven years now — with this and Betty
Buzz, I wanted to be building and creating and working but not on a film set every day,” Lively said. “I took four years off of acting to focus on my passions outside of that, and with this company, we went through literally years trying the formulas.”
The products follow Lively's own hair care ethos, which involves alternating between systems of keratin-rich formulas and those that impart moisture. The two lineups entail shampoos and treatment masks while eschewing conditioners. All the products are vegan and cruelty-free, while showcasing an array of different fragrances.
“My philosophy on hair was something I learned from people who knew what they were doing. After my first [acting] job, my hair was really broken and I didn't know how to make it better. Someone said to me to use a shampoo and mask with keratin, and then you need a nourishing system to give you elasticity,” Lively said.
The brand's two shampoos and two masks are expected to be the hero products.
Lively developed the brand in a joint venture with Give Back Beauty, which also incubated Florence by Mills by
Millie Bobby Brown and holds licenses for Tommy Hilfiger, Zegna and Chopard, among others.
Corrado Brondi, the company's chief executive officer, said Blake Brown was a key part of its growth strategy. “We were at $45 million in 2020, and around $300 million in 2023. This year, we're targeting around $360 million and aiming for half of $1 billion in 2025,” he said.
Brondi said the launch of Blake Brown epitomizes what has ensured past successful partnerships. “The business model is tailor-made, we're not just a licensee,” he said. “We're in the hair care world, but also in the fragrance world with this one, which is a key point of difference.”
The rationale behind the partnership, Lively said, was about how hands-on she got to be in building the brand. “Hair and fashion are the two areas of my life where I've probably had the most opportunity, even beyond entertainment,” she said. “I knew I could do this with [Give Back Beauty] because I didn't want to slap my name on something and be done with it in a few years. I look at this as a legacy brand, and something I want to be a part of for a long time.”
Executives are betting on the masstige pricing, as well as accessibility of its distribution with Target. “We've reduced it from a professional salon price point, so for those who are buying in their salons, this price is much more reasonable,” said Laura Tedesco, CEO of Blake Brown. “We are delivering on performance to not only bring in customers who'd be buying in a salon, but that's also still manageable for the Target shopper.”
“This is a special launch because what Blake Brown brings to the hair care market is at the heart of what we do every day at Target — giving consumers best-in-class beauty options at a price they can feel good about,” added Rick Gomez, Target's chief commercial officer, via email. “We're committed to offering the kind of innovation and value that helps consumers find exactly what they want, which is why I can't wait for Blake Brown to set in stores and online.”
The launch coincides with the film release of “It Ends With Us,” in which Lively stars, and Tedesco thinks that will only amplify the brand launch. “She'll be organically in the press, and then we have a number of different brand events. Content creators and influencers are going to be a big focus here,” Tedesco said. “Those key opinion leaders are equally as important for us as Blake Lively being a household name.”
For all of the brand's imagery, Lively tapped friend and longtime collaborator and photographer Guy Aroch, as well as Anna Palma. “He's able to not only help us execute, but really visualize and share these very distinct ideas and development,” Lively said.