@Cosmoss
Kate Moss as the face of her own natural skincare and wellness brand feels a little out of step with her public image.
Harriet Pudney is a beauty aficionado and former Stuff journalist who lives in Melbourne.
OPINION: When you think about Kate Moss – certainly when I do – you probably think of Champagne, cocaine, Glastonbury and Pete Doherty. You think of that one Peter Lindbergh photo of her smoking, or the paparazzi one of her tipped over backwards out a Camden window , also with a dart in hand.
You don’t think of skincare. And yet, just this month, Moss has launched a line of natural and cruelty-free face products, complete with CBD face oil and two kinds of tea. It’s eye-wateringly expensive: the teas are € 24 (NZ$40) for 20 bags and the face oil is €120 (NZ$196).
Called Cosmoss, the line is all about natural ingredients, self-care and wellness. A canny business move, for sure, considering the zeitgeist, but one that feels a little out of step with her public image. Moss is the patron saint (and literal creative director) of Diet Coke. Since when does she care about looking after herself?
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As it turns out, since at least 2017. Moss recently told the BBC’s Desert Island Discs she’s been sober for five years: “I’m not into being out of control any more.” Everything I just described, all that excess and deprivation, is out the window, replaced by early mornings, long swims and thrice-weekly Ashtanga yoga. Well, most of it. Moss hasn’t quit smoking, and she still loves a cleanse, according to Vogue. But she’s a long way from the woman you might have had in mind.
Moss might just be growing up and putting her health first, but she’s also right on trend. When I started reading Vice in about 2005, it was the magazine equivalent of getting absolutely wrecked while wearing American Apparel leggings. Now, they’re publishing stories about how drinking just isn’t cool anymore. If they’re calling time on getting pissed, maybe there’s something in it. Hilariously, Moss features prominently on the header image for that piece.
I won’t be trying the Cosmoss line any time soon, and neither will you, unless you’re headed to the Northern Hemisphere. At this stage, it’s only available in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Any arguments you have with sniffer dogs on the way home regarding that CBD oil are your own lookout. But Moss is a long way from the first celebrity to leverage her personal brand into one devoted to beauty.
With a respectful nod to Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds fragrance, Rihanna might be our best contemporary example. The move made sense: Riri has always been way ahead of the curve on beauty trends and taken obvious pleasure in switching up her look. If you considered fire -engine red hair in about 2010, Rihanna was probably your inspiration.
And many of her products are genuinely excellent. The Fenty Beauty Pro’ Filtr Foundation, $64, set a new standard for shade ranges and is a dream on oily skin or in humid climates. The Retro Rose shade of her Slip Shine Sheer Shiny Lipstick, $42, is the ideal desk-drawer saviour, pretty, hydrating and easy to apply without a mirror.
More recently, Selena Gomez brought her brand of self-love to her Rare Beauty line. Products have names like Positive Light Liquid Luminizer, $41, or the Stay Vulnerable Melting Blush, $39. They’re also, broadly speaking, very good. Sephora can’t keep the most popular products in stock.
We’re yet to see if Cosmoss will join the ranks of actually good celebrity beauty lines. One thing is clear: she won’t be short on press.