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You would think we’d be immune to the famous founder story at this point, yet I was still surprised to receive Twentynine Palms, an 11-piece range of gender-neutral skincare, bodycare and haircare products from Jared Leto. I had questions. “Twentynine Palms, like the town at the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park?” (Yes.) And, “Is this eye cream actually £77?” (Also yes.)
“I know I’m a student here, but I think that’s the best place to be,” Leto says of his entry into a very crowded space when I interrupt his Tuscany holiday via FaceTime in late August. The Oscar-winning actor, Gucci muse and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman is sporting a scruffy beard and a dressing gown, chiselled chest on view, but it’s his skin that draws the eye: at 50, Leto has the porcelain-smooth complexion of a Renaissance cherub. “I’ve never been really interested in beauty products,” he insists, “but I’m interested in the idea of taking care of ourselves in the most natural way possible.”
Leto is known for going all in on anything he does and his wellness-oriented way of life is no exception: he is a vegan who abstains from both alcohol and caffeine, and when he discovered the “rugged beauty” of the desert while directing a 2016 documentary series about rock climbing, his interest in the sport snowballed into a full-blown obsession. Leto bought a home in Nevada to further immerse himself in the Mojave Desert, and his new brand’s refillable violet-hued glass, aluminium and post-consumer recycled plastic bottles nod to its purple skies at twilight. The formulations follow a similar script. “Because of this challenging, unforgiving environment, these ingredients have to be incredibly resilient to survive,” Leto says, relaying the restorative benefits of the line’s desert botanicals .
Leto’s willingness to learn and his dedication to both clean formulas and clean living is what persuaded Kate Forbes to join Twentynine Palms after years of heading up innovation for Aesop. “If I could adhere to some of Jared’s strict guidelines, I think I’d be much healthier,” says Forbes, laughing. “He is a hundred per cent committed to anything that he decides that he wants to do,” confirms Jimmy Chin, the co-director of the Oscar-winning rock climbing documentary Free Solowho met Leto six years ago.
That commitment will soon take Twentynine Palms beyond beauty, Leto tells me with such enthusiasm he briefly drops his iPhone. He is planning a partnership with High Desert Test Sites, the ambitious Coachella Valley-adjacent artist residency, as well as limited-edition home and design objects in collaboration with a rotating list of multidisciplinary creators. Fragrances that build on earthy aromatics (smoky Japanese vetiver, eucalyptus, myrrh) will come next. It’s a convincing performance in which Leto plays the part of wellness apostle (maybe it’s the beard) . “It’s just the beginning,” he suggests.
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