宣布in Vogue yesterday– Brad Pitt has launched a skincare line, Le Domaine. And there’s a Chateau Miraval connection because they use ingredients grown on the estate in the products. There’s a lot to unpack in this interview so I’m going to split it up into multiple posts (coming later this week or next week) and start first with the actual product line and his selling of his product line. In other words, we begin with the work and in particular whether or not Brad is showing his work here.
According to Vogue, Brad prefers to remain behind the scenes with Le Domaine and focus on the development of the brand and its products rather than putting his face first.
“[…] he made a conscious decision not to front the brand as the “face” of Le Domaine (there will be no campaign portraits, no Brad on TikTok, and very few interviews after this one) […]”
Presumably then, this Vogue interview, published in both British and American versions, will be the most extensive one he’ll give on Le Domaine as it launches. Which means we’ll see some hard hustling, right? He’s going to work for your money, right? Especially since celebrity skincare is verging on oversaturation? Brad himself cites Gwyneth Paltrow, his ex-fiancée, and her strategy with Goop as an inspirational example.
I don’t f-ck with Goop but even Gwyneth has to hustle to sell her sh-t. At the very least, we’ve seen her actually demo her products. Isn’t that a basic ass skincare/beauty care/lifestyle approach? You came out with a product? Great! Show me how you use it!
Gwyneth, Rihanna, JLo, Kim Kardashian, they’re all out here touching their serums and creams and whatever. They’re engaging with their work. But Brad?
Vogue要求他进行制作示范。他的回答：
“Pitt baulks, smiling. “I’m not doingthat!”
Oh OK. So you’re just telling me that your Le Domaine has made a difference in your skin but you won’t do the work of showing me? You won’t show your work? Is this doing the work?!
Fine, fine, can you just tell me what your regular skincare regimen is? Because that is also skincare/beauty care standard. To let consumers in on your experience, to share with them your past practices and your best practices. This is 101, it’s entry f-cking level marketing.
Nope. Brad Pitt doesn’t answer that either. He’s too cool to tutorial. And I get it – he’s selling Le Domaine on the strength of his cool, which consumers have been familiar with for decades now. But he’s also selling a gender neutral product, a product geared to everyone, and part of everyone is men, men who aspire to Brad’s alleged coolness. This is a demo that has only recently been more involved in the skincare space, so in a sense, having someone like Brad Pitt, a “conventional North American model male” talking about skincare and its importance could be seen as a move away from traditional masculinity.
But if he’s too cool to f-cking demo his own goddamn skincare, is that really progress?
If we’re saying that these products are for everyone, including men, and that it’s now cool for men to look after their skin, why are you trying to be so cool by not showing me how you look after your skin?
And as a consumer, if you’re not showing me the work of you looking after your skin, why should I give you my money when I could give it to Rihanna who’s out here on YouTube splashing her face and rubbing her gels into a lather, and getting tactile with all her own products?
I feel like the most tactile we’re going to get from Brad is probably some sh-t about hand-carving the lids of the bottles himself (a joke that our site manager Emily came up with when she was reviewing the press release). He’s a sculptor now, have you heard?
At the time of this writing, by the way, there are only two photos of what the actual product looks like on the Le Domaine Instagram page. The rest of the shots are of vineyards, grapes, and the bottles. Are we buying wine and art pieces to put on our face? It’s pretentious AF. But… also very on brand. Brad Pitt’s skincare is an art project. I’m sure that gives you the confidence to try it on your face.
