Surprising 'nepo baby' star tops the list of biggest celebrity beauty influencers

The most impactful beauty influencers on social media of 2024 have been revealed and the results may surprise some people. 

According to influencer marketing platform Lefty.io, Hailey Bieber is the biggest beauty influencer in the business right now thanks to the success of her Rhode skincare brand.

The 28-year-old, who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, has an EMV (earned media value) of $2.2 billion. 

Rhode was also ranked the breakout beauty brand of 2024 thanks to its 'authentic influencer marketing and affiliate programs' and viral products, like the iPhone lip case.

Trailing behind Bieber is Ariana Grande, who has made an impact on the industry with her r.e.m. beauty brand and hugely popular perfume line.

Grande's Cloud perfume has consistently been ranked the biggest celebrity fragrance in the world since it launched in 2018, and in 2023, Grande's fragrances surpassed $1 billion in global sales.

Kylie Jenner came in third thanks to her multiple brands, which include Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin.

Jenner has had her cosmetics brand since 2015 and was one of the first modern day social media influencers to take the leap into makeup. 

Her famous sisters were noticeable missing from the list, but they fared much better on Lefty's top fashion influencers of 2024.

Kim Kardashian came in at number three, most likely due to the success of Skims, while supermodel Kendall ranked at number five.

Back to beauty influencers, Selena Gomez came fourth after Jenner thanks to her Rare Beauty brand, followed by South Korean pop star Kim Jisoo.

Jisoo is a member of the globally successful K-pop group Blackpink and is the longtime face of Dior and Dior Beauty. 

Surprisingly, Rihanna ranked at a lowly sixth place on Lefty's influencer list, despite the mammoth success of her Fenty Beauty brand.

The former pop star's position on the list may indicate that Fenty Beauty, which Forbes estimates is worth $2.8 billion, has become so big that it no longer relies on her celebrity status to be successful. 

Rihanna hasn't released an album since 2016's Anti, instead choosing to focus all of her energy on her various brands and businesses.

In addition to Fenty Beauty, she also has Fenty Skin and Fenty Hair, as well as her lingerie company Savage x Fenty.

At a Fenty Beauty event in her native Barbados last year, Rihanna told the crowd, 'Music was the thing that got the attention, but God had other plans for me.' 

The remark reignited fears that the singer will never finish her highly-anticipated ninth album and may never release new music ever again.

Gomez and Grande have also sparked fears that they're turning their backs on music to focus on their beauty brands.

Grande recently confirmed that she's not currently in the recording studio, but that she does have plans to release some old material as 'an attachment' to her last album, Eternal Sunshine. 

Meanwhile, Gomez said in December that she was more interested in acting than music moving forward. 

'I definitely think my strong suit is probably acting. But one thing I'm proud of in music is being able to tell a story — my favorite songs are mostly ballads, and they're very transparent and honest,' she admitted to Variety.

'But I think I might be a little too old for the pop-star life. I'm genuinely so happy to just be in this new era of my life, because in a lot of ways, it's just the beginning.'

She added, 'I love storytelling, and my music career is separate. However, I don't see that being a forever thing.'