Blake Brown, Blake Lively’s exclusive-to-Target hair-care brand, had a noisy launch. It debuted last August, in neutral-toned hexagonal packaging with an emphasis on hair masks, as opposed to conventional conditioner. The brand’s initial lineup included two shampoos, two hair masks, a leave-in, a dry shampoo, a mousse and a “pre-shampoo” mask. Prices range between $18.99-$24.99. The brand is a joint venture with Give Back Beauty, which also incubated Florence by Mills with Millie Bobby Brown and manages licensing agreements for brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Zegna and Chopard.
At the time of launch, Lively told press she’d spent seven years working on the brand. Blake Brown became Target’s biggest-ever hair-care launch. WWD reported that the brand earned $16 million in EMV in the first week of its existence. According to Puck reporting in late September, the brand’s sales at Target totaled close to $5 million in its first three and a half weeks on the market.
But just four months later, The New York Times published a bombshell report alleging that Justin Baldoni, Lively’s co-star in “It Ends With Us,” had orchestrated a smear campaign against her ahead of the film’s August release. Lively formally filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on December 31. Within days, the dispute became a full-blown “he said, she said,” with everyday fans taking sides in the celebrity clash.
The movie, which deals with topics of domestic abuse, came out at the same time as Blake Brown. Lively faced criticism at the time for promoting the release of her hair-care products alongside the serious subject matter of the movie. According to the same Puck reporting, sales took a hit, dropping 87% between August 11, when they were at their peak, and September 15. The extent to which anyone can comment is limited, as the case remains open — the trial is scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026.
Still, as for how the lawsuit has impacted the brand, Blake Brown CEO Laura Tedesco said, “Part of launching any new product is that you’re going to be tackling both incredibly exciting moments, and then inevitably, there will be challenges that emerge, just given the early stage nature of a brand. … We view [this] as [some] of the challenges that we’re tackling in these early stages. What’s incredibly important to us, and what’s been the through line in these past nine months, [is that] it will always come back to having incredible products that are meeting the needs of [the] consumer. … [So] while there certainly have been challenges that we’ve navigated through, any new business deals with challenges.”
As for that sales drop, Tedesco said, “The dynamic of launches is that, oftentimes, you have a very, very big launch, and then you reset at a more traditional baseline. We have certainly had a nontraditional trajectory in terms of how big we launched, and now we’re really excited about where we’re settling. When we think about the fact that we’re only nine months old, we’re pleased with the growth we’ve seen. The biggest thing we just keep coming back to is that great products always win with customers, and we’re delivering that with Blake Brown.”
On Monday, Blake Brown delivers its next three products: a set of on-trend hair and body mists in the same three scents as its debut hair-care products: Sandalwood Vanille, Wild Nectar Santal and Bergamot Woods. The heart of the brand thus far has been about hair health, Tedesco said, noting that it is founded on the idea of “strength and stretch.”
“For your hair to be healthy, you need both moisture and strength. If you have too much or too little moisture, your hair won’t have the right level of elasticity, and it will snap. If you have too much or too little protein, [it] won’t have the right level of strength, and it will snap,” Tedesco said. Scent was always an important part of the story, too, and early reviews of the brand commented on its good-smelling products.
“Fragrance is at the heart of Blake Brown. It’s emotional, it’s personal, and it stays with you. We didn’t plan on making a stand-alone fragrance, but after hearing from so many people who wanted to carry our signature scents with them, not just on their hair, but on their body, we listened. Our Hair and Body Refresh Mists aren’t just about smelling good, they’re about feeling good — a little boost of scent and joy throughout your everyday,” Lively told Glossy via email.
“Probably the No. 1 thing we hear is, ‘We love your fragrances,'” Tedesco echoed.
Tedesco is aware that the hair and body mist space is experiencing a renaissance in real time, making it a crowded time to launch. That said, there is demand for these products. In fact, Target asked the brand to push up the launch.
“We’re trying to set ourselves apart in a growing and somewhat crowded category — [but we have an] accessible price point, at $18.99, [and are able to] deliver a true high-end perfume experience [with] these really complex, gorgeous, layered fragrances in beautiful packaging,” Tedesco said.
Through its marketing, the brand hopes to convey the complexity of the scents and encourage users to layer them. A campaign featuring Lively will live on social, on the brand’s DTC e-commerce site, in-store and on Target.com, and on CTV. The brand has also tapped a mix of macro, mid-tier and micro creators across TikTok and Instagram to promote the new products. Given the popularity of the hair and body mist trend with younger consumers, Tedesco imagines these products will provide a new opportunity to introduce younger customers to the brand.
In general, Tedesco said, in spite of the major awareness boost Lively gave the brand at launch — she has 43.7 million Instagram followers — the brand has a ways to go when it comes to building general awareness, whether customers know it’s affiliated with Lively or not. The new launches provide an additional opportunity to bolster that awareness.
But Tedesco is pleased with where the brand sits now, in spite of the surrounding controversy.
“Our repeat purchase rate is up 80% versus earlier this year. We know we’re delivering incredible formulas and incredible products to consumers. It’s about getting the word out there, driving awareness and getting more people to try the brand because we know they’ll fall in love with it when they try it.”
