Scarlett Johansson's skincare brand The Outset is winding down operations after more than four years, bringing fresh attention to the increasingly crowded celebrity beauty market.
The company confirmed the decision on its website, thanking customers for supporting the brand and stating that it had decided to 'wind down operations'. Online shopping through The Outset's website has ended, while existing orders will continue to be processed. The company has not publicly identified a specific reason for the closure.
Teasing New Launches in January
The shutdown comes less than a year after Johansson was still discussing the brand's future and teasing new launches. In January of this year, Forbes reported that the actress remained focused on The Outset nearly four years after its launch and was looking ahead to further product development.
That optimism makes the decision to close particularly notable. It also highlights the difficulty of establishing a lasting beauty business in a market crowded with celebrity-founded brands, established skincare companies and social-media-driven newcomers.
Johansson launched The Outset in March 2022 with co-founder Kate Foster, positioning it as a deliberately uncomplicated alternative to lengthy skincare routines. The brand focused on sensitive skin and promoted a three-step approach built around cleansing, prepping and moisturising.
The White T-Shirt of Skincare
The concept was developed before launch through extensive consumer research. Forbes reported that Johansson and Foster wanted to create what they described as the 'white T-shirt' of skincare: simple, versatile and not dependent on Johansson's celebrity image. The company also sought to distinguish itself through fragrance-free, vegan and sensitive-skin-friendly formulations.
However, The Outset entered an industry where simplification was already becoming a major trend. Beauty analysts had described skincare as highly saturated, while brands were increasingly attempting to reduce complicated routines and offer consumers fewer and more targeted products.
Johansson herself acknowledged the challenge. In a 2023 interview, she described skincare as a 'very saturated market' but argued that consumers were still looking for individual products that could become staples in their routines.
The brand also deliberately avoided relying heavily on Johansson as an influencer. At launch, Foster said the company wanted The Outset to stand independently from its famous founder. Johansson did not have an Instagram account, meaning the business could not rely on the built-in social-media marketing machinery available to some competing celebrity brands.
Pursuing Organic Growth
That strategy offered differentiation but also presented a marketing challenge. Fast Company reported in 2023 that The Outset was pursuing organic growth and wanted customers to discover the products through word of mouth rather than simply through Johansson's celebrity status.
The brand expanded beyond its original five-product launch. Its range later included cleansers, moisturisers, serums, masks, oils, lip products and other skincare items. The Outset's own website currently describes products centred around its proprietary Hyaluroset Complex, a botanical alternative to hyaluronic acid.
A Complicated Reality?
The closure does not establish that celebrity skincare itself is finished. Other celebrity-backed beauty businesses continue to launch products and expand their ranges. Jennifer Lopez's JLo Beauty, for example, marked its fifth anniversary in January 2026 with a new neck serum.
Instead, The Outset's shutdown illustrates a more complicated reality: celebrity recognition can generate attention, but maintaining a skincare company requires sustained consumer demand in a category already packed with competing products.
The Outset has not given an official statement on the reason for winding down operations.
