Pleasing (brand)

Pleasing is a unisex nail care, beauty, and lifestyle brand owned, managed, and operated by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles. It was launched in November 2021. Pleasing initially launched as a direct to consumer e-commerce brand before expanding to pop-up stores and a permanent retail deal with the Selfridges flagship store in London, England. Temporary Pleasing pop-up stores have been located across the United States and the United Kingdom, including London, Margate, New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin.

History
In June 2021 Harry Edward Styles, alongside his executive assistant Emma Spring, filed a trademark for a company titled “Pleased As Holdings." Styles launched the brand on 15 November 2021 with a cover story for DAZED magazine. The initial products were available beginning that day for pre-order before officially dropping on November 29th 2021. In an adjoining press release, Styles stated the products were inspired by the things he uses in his own beauty routine as he "didn't want to make products to mask people, I wanted to highlight them and make them feel beautiful." The Dazed issue features an in-depth interview where Styles shares his goals for the brand and its unisex approach.

Speaking on the brand's conception and launch Styles stated:"“It was an idea I’d had for a while. I’d been talking with a couple of people close to me, like Molly [Hawkins, Styles’ creative director]. It’s starting with nail polish, because that was kind of the birth of what it was for. Me seeing a colour on a flower or a wallpaper or something and thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna put that on my nails’. It was a fun little project, but during the pandemic [...] I’ve always found that the moments in my life which have brought me the most joy are the small ones [...] I really think that the essence of Pleasing is finding those little moments of joy and showing them to people.”"In June 2023 it was announced that Shaun Kearney, former chief design and merchandising officer at Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop would become Pleasing's first CEO on July 17, as part of the brand's strategy to expand. Kearney joined the Pleasing team, consisting of co-creative directors Harry Lambert and Molly Hawkins, as well as Sophie Kerr-Dineen, head of Marketing.

Partnerships
Musician Mick Fleetwood acted as model and ambassador for the "Shroom Bloom" collection's campaign. Styles has cited Fleetwood Mac as an inspiration in his musical career and speaking to Vogue of the collaboration, Styles stated "there couldn't be a better embodiment of Pleasing, or a person who could so naturally capture the wizardry that we love."

The brand first collaborated with Brazilian fashion designer Marco Ribeiro as part of the "Pleasing x Marco Ribeiro" collection, revealed at the designer’s debut Spring/Summer 2023 presentation during Paris Fashion Week. The collection was the first launch of beauty products for the site, which Styles commented: “To me, the way Marco uses colour is so inspiring; everything he makes radiates fun, joy and playfulness. When we started discussing collaborators for Pleasing, Marco was the first person I wanted to ask.”

Charity
With each new collection from initial launch, Pleasing partnered with a non-profit organization which receives a portion of the proceeds of the collection as part of the "Do Better" campaign. Marked on the brand's webstore, Pleasing states that "Although we prioritize people and the planet, we know that we can always do better and we strive to do so every day." The brand has worked with:


 * Nest for the "Perfect Pearl" collection - supporting the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion
 * Cool Earth for the "Shroom Bloom" collection - dedicated to backing people who protect rainforest and fighting the climate crisis with projects that stop deforestation and cool the Earth
 * Queer Circle for the "Hot Holiday" collection - works at the intersection of arts, culture and social action to develop programmes with leading artists, curators and writers that befit the needs and aspirations of the LGBTQ community
 * Covenant House for the "Super Magic Family Time" collection - safe spaces in 34 cities across six countries for young people facing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking providing, housing, food, education, and workforce development, as well as counseling, and other trauma-informed services
 * Project Roots for the "Pollinators" collection - addressing food hunger in Arizona by offering fresh locally grown food to those with food insecurities.
 * GlamourGals for the "Fancy Friends" collection - high school and college student volunteers who visit senior homes and assisted living facilities to provide beauty makeovers and offer companionship