Earlier this week Brad Pitt launched his new skincare line, Le Domaine, which uses ingredients from Chateau Miraval, the property he and Angelina Jolie purchased together and which has now become a major point of contention between them. In support of his new business venture, as I posted yesterday, Brad is, well, too cool to hustle. As far as I can see, there’s been no demo of the product, even though the product is very, very, very expensive. So basically, he’s doing the minimum but charging the maximum. I mean, the price point on Le Domaine is right up there, not unlike his cashmere line (a sweater is over $2000) – which means that Brad Pitt, that salt of the earth dude from the Ozarks, is targeting an exclusive clientele. Not exactly the MiniVan Majority. Brad’s earth is the terroir now, he lives among the grapes…
French grapes, though, obviously. The grapes of Provence where he and his team came up with this original idea connecting wine and skincare – but wait, no, it’s actually not that original because as skincare influencers have pointed out over the last couple of days, Le Domaine’s story sounds very similar to Caudalie, which predates Brad’s grape lotion by many, many years.
But Brad told Vogue when he was asked about the genesis of Le Domaine that “we felt there was something valid here, something original, something that worked”. Is it original if another brand was doing the grapes and skincare thing first?
Caudalie co-founder has noticed too. She reposted a couple of comments on Instagram Stories…
…including a video by TikTok star and skincare influencer JC Dombrowski:
@jc.dombrowski Yeah the products look great but @Caudalie literally does the same thing tbh and I love them so ðŸ˜â¤ï¸ #bradpitt #skincare #skincareroutine #skincare101 #fyp #celebrity#greenscreen
♬ Quirky - Oleg Kirilkov
Maybe the serum really is worth $400 – but no one (except for Brad, and he owns the sh-t) can say for sure yet because no one has tried it. Le Domaine products don’t ship until October 1, so it’s still too early to know how consumers respond to the products. I’m curious to see if the brand engages with influencers. This is an industry standard now. It’s why skincare and beauty influencers have such big followings – people often trust them more than the celebrities who keep launching these skincare and beauty lines. Is that how Brad’s Le Domaine will stand out from the rest in an oversaturated market? By being too cool to follow successful industry practices? Or will even Brad Pitt have to send samples out to Instagram stars and TikTokers for recommendations?
Because it’s not like his celebrity friends can do the testimonials. They all have skincare lines of their own!
