Is rhode Actually Worth The Hype?

The Brand That Built A $1 Billion Empire In Three Years

Beauty acquisitions usually take a decade. The Ordinary's Deciem took eleven years from launch (2013) to Estée Lauder full ownership (2024). Drunk Elephant took six years from public launch (2013) to Shiseido (2019). Sol de Janeiro took six years (2015 to 2021).

rhode took three years.

Hailey Rhode Bieber, using her middle name as the brand, launched rhode in June 2022 with three products: the Peptide Glazing Fluid, the Barrier Restore Cream, and the Peptide Lip Treatment. By March 2025 (just under three years later), the brand reported $212 million in net sales for the trailing twelve months. In May 2025, e.l.f. Beauty acquired rhode for $1 billion comprising $800 million in cash and stock at closing, plus up to $200 million in earnout consideration over three years contingent on performance. Bieber became Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation, plus a strategic adviser to e.l.f. Beauty broadly. The brand was named #1 skincare brand in Earned Media Value globally in 2024, with 367% year-over-year EMV growth.

This is, in absolute terms, one of the fastest brand-to-billion exits in modern beauty. The cult is real. The cultural weight is real. The "glazed donut" aesthetic Bieber championed for years before launching the brand became the defining beauty look of the early 2020s.

The honest question for 2026 is whether rhode, eight months into e.l.f. Beauty ownership, is still the focused indie launch it was in 2022, or whether the trajectory has shifted from "celebrity-built skincare with three products" to "celebrity-fronted brand expanding into makeup with Pocket Blush and Lip Shape Contouring."

What rhode Actually Is

The brand DNA is built around three things, each substantively unusual.

First, a deliberately focused launch and the courage to stay focused for a while. Most celebrity beauty brands launch with a sprawling 12-15 product line trying to cover all bases. rhode launched with three products. The Peptide Glazing Fluid, the Barrier Restore Cream, and the Peptide Lip Treatment. That was the entire range for the first wave. Customers were left wanting more, the products had time to build cult status, and the brand grew in a way that focused launches typically do not.

Second, the "glazed donut" aesthetic. Bieber spent years before the brand launch promoting a specific visual: hydrated, dewy, almost-wet-looking skin with sheer makeup over the top. The aesthetic was widely imitated on TikTok before rhode existed. When the brand launched with the Peptide Glazing Fluid (a hyaluronic-acid-and-niacinamide serum that produces exactly this glazed finish), the marketing worked because the cultural ground had already been prepared. This is unusual brand-to-product alignment.

Third, mid-tier pricing as a deliberate choice. The Peptide Lip Treatment at £20, the Peptide Glazing Fluid at £20, the Barrier Restore Cream at £20: all entry-level products are accessible-tier-by-celebrity-skincare standards. Compare to Augustinus Bader (£80+ entry), Tatcha (£35+), Sunday Riley (£30+), or Drunk Elephant (£35+). rhode could plausibly have priced at premium tier given Bieber's celebrity profile. Choosing not to is a real decision and worth crediting.

What rhode doesn't lead with: the brand has co-founders other than Hailey Bieber. Michael D. Ratner (co-executive chairman) and Lauren Ratner (president and chief brand officer) are a married couple who co-founded rhode with Bieber. The Ratners run day-to-day operations alongside CEO Nick Vlahos. Bieber's role is genuinely creative-led, but the company structure is more conventional than the "Hailey Bieber's brand" framing implies. Customers buying rhode are buying from a small but real team, not from Bieber alone.

The e.l.f. Acquisition

This detail matters for understanding the brand in 2026.

e.l.f. Beauty (Eyes Lips Face) is a Nasdaq-listed accessible-tier American beauty company best known for drugstore-priced makeup. Their stock has been one of the strongest beauty performers of the 2020s, partly because they have built a reputation for taking smaller premium brands and applying e.l.f.'s mass-distribution muscle. Acquiring rhode in May 2025 for $1 billion was the largest acquisition in e.l.f.'s history.

For rhode, this means three things changed. The corporate parent is now publicly traded, which means quarterly earnings pressure on the brand's growth trajectory. The distribution will broaden: e.l.f.'s strength is mass-market retail, and we should expect rhode to expand beyond its current Sephora UK exclusivity into wider retail in the next 12-24 months. And the R&D pipeline is now plugged into e.l.f.'s product-development infrastructure, which is geared toward fast cycle times and trend response.

This is not necessarily bad. e.l.f.'s ownership has historically been founder-respectful (the Ratners and Bieber all stayed in their roles). But it does affect how to read the brand. The "celebrity-built indie" narrative is partly true and partly the marketing version of a mid-2025 reality where decisions are made within e.l.f.'s strategic framework.

The Range And The Price Ladder

rhode on Sephora UK in 2026 spans roughly 15 SKUs across:

- Hero launch products: Peptide Lip Treatment Nourishing Glaze (£20, multiple flavours/colours), Peptide Glazing Fluid Dewy Gel Serum (from £20), Barrier Restore Cream Comforting Daily Moisturizer (from £20)
- Newer additions: Caffeine Reset Sculpting Cream Mask (£38, NEW), Peptide Lip Boost Plumping Lip Mask (£23, NEW), Pineapple Refresh PGA Daily Cleanser (from £18), Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence (from £20), Glazing Mist Hydrating Face Spray (£30), Barrier Butter Intensive Moisture Balm (from £22), Peptide Eye Prep Depuffing Eye Patches (£28, 6 pack)
- Lip product line expansion: Peptide Lip Tint Nourishing Glaze (£20), Peptide Lip Shape Contouring Lip Shaper (£24), Peptide Lip Treatment Nourishing Glaze in multiple shades
- Makeup category expansion: Pocket Blush Buildable Hydrating Cream Blush (£25, 9 colour options), a recent move into makeup territory
- Sets and bundles: Mini Rhode Kit Glazed Skincare Essentials (£69)

A complete rhode routine for a typical user (Pineapple Refresh cleanser, Glazing Milk essence, Peptide Glazing Fluid serum, Barrier Restore moisturiser, Peptide Lip Treatment) lands around £100 to £120. Mid-premium tier, comparable to OUAI hair, slightly above Glow Recipe, well below Augustinus Bader or premium serums.

The pricing has stayed remarkably consistent since launch. The Peptide Lip Treatment was £18-20 at launch in 2022 and is £20 now. Products that have launched since (Glazing Mist £30, Caffeine Reset Mask £38) are slightly more expensive but the entry-tier products have not drifted upmarket the way most celebrity-acquired brands do post-deal.

What rhode Got Right

Three things worth crediting properly.

The Peptide Lip Treatment is genuinely a category-defining product. The peptide-based lip glaze with skincare-style ingredient pitch (rather than traditional lip-balm formulation) created an entirely new sub-category. The product has been in and out of stock since launch, the colour/flavour expansion has been steady, and the under-£20 price point makes it the most-shoppable rhode hero. This is one of the genuinely cult products of the 2020s.

The focused launch discipline was unusual and worked. Three products at launch, growing slowly to 15 over three years. Most celebrity brands launch with 12+ products and add aggressively from day one. rhode's restraint produced more cult status than the standard playbook would have. This is a brand-building lesson worth crediting.

The clean beauty + accessible pricing combination is real. Every product is fragrance-available, dermatologist-tested, vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and CLEAN-badged on Sephora UK. The combination of clean-beauty positioning + £18-£30 entry pricing is rare; most clean-beauty brands sit at £30-£70 entry tier. rhode's price discipline gives it broader accessibility than the celebrity peer group typically commits to.

So credit where it is due. rhode is one of the brands in this magazine where the founder credibility is real, the launch strategy was unusual and successful, and the products earn their cult status.

What rhode Missed (Or Is Drifting On)

Two things, honestly.

The range expansion into makeup is brand stretch. The Pocket Blush in 9 colours and the Peptide Lip Shape Contouring are explicit moves into makeup territory, beyond the original "skincare with skincare-grade lip products" focus. This is logical from a portfolio perspective (e.l.f. is a makeup company; cross-pollination is expected) but it does dilute the original "skincare brand built around the glazed donut aesthetic" identity. Customers who bought rhode for its focused skincare may find the makeup expansion less compelling.

The e.l.f. acquisition trajectory is the standard pattern. Three years from launch to $1 billion exit is a remarkable trajectory, but the trajectory itself is the indie-to-corporate playbook we have covered repeatedly in this magazine. Bieber's "I built this" narrative will increasingly compete with the reality of e.l.f. corporate structure as the years pass. By 2027-2028, the brand voice will need to evolve or feel inauthentic.

Neither is a scandal. They are just true.

So, Worth It?

Where we land in 2026.

The Peptide Lip Treatment at £20 is genuinely worth the money. Comparable peptide lip products at lower prices exist (The Ordinary, INKEY List), but rhode's specific formulation, colour range, and cultural cachet make it one of the few celebrity-skincare products this magazine recommends without hedging. Buy with confidence.

The Peptide Glazing Fluid Dewy Gel Serum at £20 is a credibly priced hydrating serum. UK indie alternatives compete at lower prices, but rhode's specific glazed finish is the brand's signature and worth the £20 if you want that look.

The Barrier Restore Cream at £20 is a fine moisturiser. UK indie alternatives at similar prices (Aurelia, Pestle & Mortar at slightly higher tiers; INKEY List at lower) compete credibly.

The newer mid-tier additions (Caffeine Reset Mask £38, Glazing Mist £30, Lip Boost Plumping Mask £23) are competently priced for what they deliver, but face credible UK indie alternatives.

The makeup expansion (Pocket Blush £25, Lip Shape Contouring £24) is functional but not category-leading. e.l.f.'s own makeup line covers similar territory at lower prices.

What To Buy Instead

If your reason for buying rhode is the cultural weight / Hailey Bieber association, that is a defensible preference. UK indie alternatives have different brand experiences but cannot replicate Bieber's specific cultural moment.

If your reason is the Peptide Lip Treatment specifically, alternatives exist but few replicate the colour range and formulation. Worth keeping rhode for this product specifically.

If your reason is the glazed-donut hydration aesthetic, the alternatives piece in this series goes deep on UK indie hyaluronic acid serums, ceramide moisturisers, and barrier-repair products that achieve the same finish at typically lower prices.

If your reason is clean-beauty + accessible pricing, several UK indie alternatives match the framework with similar or lower pricing and stronger UK founder credentials.

The Honest Take

rhode is one of the fastest-built beauty brands in modern history, with a focused launch strategy that worked, hero products that earned cult status, and a founder narrative that is more authentic than most celebrity brand launches. The Peptide Lip Treatment is a genuinely category-defining product. The mid-tier accessible pricing is unusual for celebrity skincare and worth crediting.

It is also a brand acquired by e.l.f. Beauty in May 2025 for $1 billion, with all the corporate-strategy implications that come with publicly-traded ownership, expanding into makeup territory in ways that dilute the original focused-skincare positioning.

If you have not tried rhode and want to start, buy the Peptide Lip Treatment. It earns its £20. If you love the glazed-donut aesthetic, the Peptide Glazing Fluid is a credibly priced entry point. The wider routine has UK indie alternatives that compete at similar or lower prices, and the alternatives piece in this series names them specifically.