Editors Test Jennifer Lawrence's Mes°: Three Products, Mixed Verdicts

Jennifer Lawrence's hair-care brand Mes° launched on October 28 with three dual-purpose products — and first hands-on reviews from Allure's editorial team land somewhere between "nice" and "didn't work for me." The line, pronounced "mess," debuted with the Multitask Repair Mask, the Off-Duty Restyling Serum and the Good Roots Volume Mist, each designed to style hair while improving its condition over time.

Lawrence didn't formulate alone. She partnered with Arcaea, a biology-focused beauty company founded by chemical bioengineer Jasmina Aganovic, who serves as CEO and previously launched the biotech fragrance brand Future Society, which revives scents from extinct flowers. Mes° bills itself as "biodesigned," a term even the reviewing outlet flagged as undefined on launch.

What happened at launch?

The announcement triggered immediate backlash. Commenters framed Lawrence's September Instagram debut — initially welcomed by fans — as a calculated marketing setup for the brand. Others speculated about an upper blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) rather than the products themselves. Alli Webb, cofounder of Drybar, posted an Instagram video noting parallels between Mes° and Messy, the hair-care line she launched last year. "I have been literally inundated with DMs and messages from friends and you guys being upset on my behalf about this new hair-care brand that recently launched called Mes°," Webb said.

The timing is tough for celebrity beauty. Scarlett Johansson's and Gwen Stefani's lines closed this year, even as Rhode, Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty continue to succeed.

How did the Multitask Repair Mask perform?

The mask is applied to dry hair, left for a minimum of five minutes before washing, and can double as a styler for wet-look or slicked-back finishes.

Beauty director Sarah Kinonen, who washes her highlighted, fine hair once or twice a week and normally masks in-shower, raked the "Elmer's Glue-like" formula into week-dirty roots and ends. "The verdict: The mask is nice!" she said — her hair woke up super-soft — but she wouldn't swap it for her current in-shower masks, and the dry-hair application doesn't fit her routine. She won't be styling with it: "You will never catch me doing that."

Social director Kassidy Silva, a daily hot-tools user, coated her full dry head with a generous handful, noting a "fishy, plastic smell" that didn't linger and a watery-goo texture that read as a shine oil rather than a cast. It left hair soft and silky, "but didn't do as much heavy lifting as I would like in a mask," she said, categorizing it as "a mini refresh" — vacation-worthy, not a weekly essential.

Does the Good Roots Volume Mist deliver?

The mist lifts roots while reducing scalp oil, usable on dry hair for a refresh or damp hair pre-blow-dry.

Senior staff writer Elizabeth Gulino tested it three times. On dry, day-four hair, her scalp stayed damp for nearly half an hour; after an hour it gave slight lift and a grippier texture. On damp roots before blow-dry — the brand's recommended method — it added volume without weighing hair down. "I'd definitely try this product again on damp hair," she said, though she noted it made day-four hair "look and feel even dirtier" and won't replace dry shampoo.

Silva, working with a fluffy bob and naturally flat hair, sectioned dry hair into four sections, massaged the mist into her roots and let it dry fully. Volume held through thermal round-brush styling — but the product added "a gritty texture" that skewed greasy-shiny rather than clean.

Is the Off-Duty Restyling Serum worth it?

The serum targets dry, dirty hair to smooth flyaways, reshape and restyle; it also claims detangling and heat protection.

Managing editor Alessandra Foresto, a frequent heat-styler, gave it three tries. On wet hair post-shower it detangled worse than her usual product, felt sticky on hair and hands, and left residue. "My experience was that the serum left my hair frizzier than normal," she said — a result that repeated on day two and after a flat-iron curl set.

Gulino had the opposite experience. Two drops worked through dry, thick hair subtly tamed flyaways and what Lawrence calls "floofs"; a repeat the next day confirmed it. "I'd continue to use this. It may work for me because I have thick, dry hair," she said. "I've officially stolen this from my coworker."

The early read: texture and hair type — fine and blonde, thick and dry, flat bob, heat-styled — determined outcomes as much as the formulas did, and whether Mes° survives its rocky launch will depend on performance data like this reaching buyers faster than the drama does.