Jared Leto launches a desert-inspired beauty brand

Cosmetics is increasingly a men's business. At least among celebrities. After Harry Styles, who recently presented the first limited-edition make-up capsule collection of his Pleasing, and Brad Pitt who surprised everyone with Le Domaine, the skincare line based on grape pomace grown in his Provençal Chateau Miraval estate, it is now Jared Leto's turn. The eclectic artist's latest project is called Twentynine Palms, after the town at the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, and will be officially launched on 25 October when the first products, made together with a team that includes co-founder Jonathan Keren (already behind the "self-care essentials" Maapilim) and Kate Forbes, who has been in charge of the innovative formulations of the Australian brand Aesop for years, will arrive in shops.

Leto confesses that he is still a neophyte when it comes to skincare, that he has never been interested in beauty products, only in the idea of taking care of himself in the most natural way possible. This is why his beauty brand will be vegan and cruelty-free and will be inspired, as the name suggests, by the desert. Jared fell in love with the wild beauty of this landscape while filming a 2016 documentary series on climbing, so much so that he chose to build a house in the Mojave and use local ingredients, such as prickly pear extract, fatty acid-rich amaranth plants and moisturising evening primrose, for his creams.

Twentynine Palms' first drop, scheduled for 25 October, will include eleven gender-neutral products for face, body and hair. Specifically, there will be a facial cleanser ($39), a facial moisturiser ($87), a moisturising serum ($69), a clay mask ($95), hand and body washes (each $47) and shampoos and conditioners (each $54). In addition, the offer will be complemented by a limited edition scarf with artwork by Swiss artist and photographer Douglas Mandry. The packaging? Refillable bottles made of glass, aluminium and post-consumer recycled plastic, colored purple, in homage to the color of the desert sky at dusk. Each item will be sold through the brand's e-commerce site, as well as Dover Street Market shops in New York, Los Angeles and London and its beauty store in Paris. Leto said he considers the brand "a creative playground with many products in development" and is already planning a collaboration with Coachella Valley High Desert Test Sites artists, a series of limited-edition design and homewares, and fragrances with earthy aromas such as smoky Japanese vetiver, eucalyptus and myrrh.