These moves suggest that sexual wellness is becoming the new frontier for celebrity entrepreneurship. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Lora DiCarlo folded in 2023; employees (including senior management) received text messages informing them that their positions were terminated, effective immediately. There were no severance payments, and many were shocked to discover their health insurance had already lapsed due to non-payment.
Much like the beauty industry before it, sex tech is attracting big names. But, also like beauty, a celebrity face doesn’t guarantee instant success. In recent years, several celebrity beauty brands have launched and folded, including Kristen Bell’s Happy Dance, Addison Rae’s Item Beauty, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s Rose Inc.
“Celebrity crossovers from fragrance and beauty to pleasure matter because it shows that sexual wellness isn’t a fleeting trend, it’s here to stay,” says sex educator Samantha Marshall, head of brand at Smile Makers Collection. “Unlike a lipstick shade or a popular, emerging workout trend pleasure isn’t seasonal and should be more mainstream. The fact that icons like Harry Styles are lending their name to vibrators pushes this category into everyday conversation, breaking through the censorship and taboo that has surrounded it for decades.”
Marshall believes that quality is what matters most: “The design has to invite you to keep exploring and to return to what genuinely gives you pleasure. And that’s where I see the parallel with celebrity fragrance and makeup lines: the ones that really last are the ones that invest in true quality and innovation, not something off the shelf.”
“Given Harry Styles’ audience, largely Gen Z and Zillennials, I think this crossover is especially interesting,” adds Marshall. “We often see reports about how little sex Gen Z is having, but those conversations tend to dismiss the rise of self-pleasure. The reaction to this news shows there’s a real appetite among younger people to explore their own bodies, to own their pleasure, and to build confidence in that. It’s a huge opportunity to make pleasure education more accessible for a generation that’s rewriting the rules around intimacy.”
Sexual wellness is an exciting, emerging space, but it’s already becoming saturated. What the industry needs now is purpose and fresh ideas. Harry Styles is a welcome addition, and others should take note: partnering with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America moves Pleasing Yourself beyond just another celebrity brand, and into something that could create real cultural and social impact.