The success of Harper Beckham's nepo baby beauty brand has already been decided – and not by her mum

The name of Harper Beckham's burgeoning beauty brand was unveiled this week. The moniker the 15-year-old has gone for? Harlo by Harper.

This wasn't Harper's first choice. It was widely reported that the skincare collection, aimed at acne-prone skin, was originally named HIKU BY Harper, but this was reportedly rejected due to similarities to existing brands.

So, Harlo by Harper it is. I wonder if the name hints at a nickname held by the youngest of the Beckham brood? We know Victoria and David are prone to giving their kids pet names. Before their estrangement, Brooklyn was always called 'Bust' by his dad, while Romeo is affectionately referred to as 'Roro' by his family.

Regardless of where the brand name comes from, it's interesting when compared to other nepo baby beauty brands – and could point to the success of the collection when we finally get our hands on it.

Will Harlo by Harper be any good?

I've had my doubts about how successful Harper Beckham's beauty brand will be. Not down to her passion - she was so keen to create a brand that she made a presentation for her parents to persuade them. It's not down to quality, either, as I'm certain Victoria wouldn't let anything associated with brand Beckham be subpar in performance. Surely Harper will have worked with her mother's formulators to create great products?

My questions over the popularity come from wondering whether Harper has her own audience who will want to buy her range.

She, of course, is one of the most famous teens in the world, but she doesn’t have an online presence of her own, or a fan base. Anyone interested in Harper is likely a fan of VB and David rather than the teen herself.

Harper's skincare range is aimed at teens, but I'm not sure people Harper's own age are interested in her… and not just because she's only 15.

Kylie Jenner was only a few years older than Harper when she launched her billion-dollar company, Kylie Cosmetics, but she'd been growing her fanbase for years, cultivating a look her followers wanted to emulate.

Harper, on the other hand, doesn't have her own (public) social media profile, and any makeup tutorials she has done, shared on her mum's account, have always been playful and childlike – fitting for a child! There is a reason I think Harper's collection will fly off the shelves, though. 

The key to celeb beauty brand success

I've been using celebrity beauty products since JLo released Glow by JLo back in 2002, so feel well-versed in predicting which will be a success and which won't.

Over my years working in beauty, I have seen celeb (and nepo) beauty brands come and go with varying success. Big hitters include Millie Bobby Brown's Florence by Mills, Hailey Bieber's Rhode Beauty, Rihanna's Fenty Beauty and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty (as well as Kylie Jenner's Kylie Cosmetics, of course, and Harper's mum's brand, Victoria Beckham Beauty).

Celeb beauty brands that we've seen fail? Gwen Stefani's Gxve Beauty and Item Beauty by Addison Rae, as well as Kim Kardashian's collection, SKKN, which proves a huge audience doesn't guarantee success. 

Middle-range success brands include Ariana Grande's REM Beauty and Halsey's About Face. Both profitable, but nowhere near the big leagues of Rhode and Fenty.

 With all of these in mind, have you spotted the difference between the hugely successful brands and the ones that have flopped, or limped along? It's all in the name.

It's all in a name

Brands that have huge success are built by people not only with a following, but also with a brand name linked intrinsically to them. Kylie and Millie Bobby Brown's are literally their names. Rihanna's is her surname. Rhode is Hailey's middle name (and the middle name of her mother and grandmother).

Rare Beauty is a little different, as it's named after a Selena Gomez album, but it was strong enough to launch with and has become beloved by beauty audiences beyond Selena's fan base for high-performing formulas.

Circling back to Harper, having her name, but not the Beckham surname, is interesting, as beauty editor Donna Francis wrote on her Substack, suggesting omitting the family name was a shrewd move.

"There must be a deliberate choice in the branding. The 'Beckham' name is missing. On the surface, it feels like an attempt to let Harper stand on her own feet. But the brand is managed by H7B Limited, a name referencing Harper Seven Beckham - a trademark Victoria registered when Harper was just five. By omitting the surname, are they protecting her identity, or are we witnessing the birth of a 'stealth nepo-brand' designed to bypass the scepticism of Gen Z?"

With no sign of when the brand is set to launch yet, I eagerly await the drop of the products. While it might not be aimed at me, I'm excited to try it and picture something akin to Millie Bobby Brown's age-appropriate, yet still aspirational, collection.