Blake Brown was Target’s biggest hair care launch on record.
Actress and entrepreneur Blake Lively is bringing her hair care system to the world, and it’s exclusively at Target. Seven years in the making, Blake Brown is inspired by Blake’s own personal routine of shampoos, hair masks and styling products. The secret: It’s based on the right balance of strength and moisture, and, notably, doesn’t include a traditional conditioner (more on that below). It’s a simple, innovative and affordable approach to hair care that’s vegan, cruelty-free and smells amazing. (Blake worked with master perfumers to develop the scents.) Oh, and did we mention the packaging? It’s beautiful enough to display in your bathroom, and the plastic is all 100% post-consumer recycled.
Here’s the full lineup of Blake Brown products:
- Sandalwood Vanille Fundamental Strengthening Shampoo
- Sandalwood Vanille Fundamental Strengthening Mask
- Wild Nectar Santal Fundamental Nourishing Shampoo
- Wild Nectar Santal Fundamental Nourishing Mask
- Milky Sandalwood Rich Reset Pre-Shampoo Mask
- Bergamot Woods All-in-Wonder Leave-in Potion
- Blackcurrant Vanille Glam Mousse
- Amber Vanille Dry Shampoo
Target’s just so cool. When I go into Target, I trust that the brands are going to be great. It’s going to be the best quality for the best price. Target, it was always you!
Let’s talk about iconic hair
At a special event celebrating the launch of Blake Brown at Target, Amanda Nusz, Target’s senior vice president of merchandising for essentials and beauty, sat down to talk with Blake (pictured below) about her hair care line, how it got its name and what’s in her Target cart.
What inspired you to create a hair care line?
My hair has always been important to me. The way I express myself most, whether at a red carpet event or just in my real life, is through my hair. But from red carpets to films to editorial work, my hair has been through a lot.
Combining a nourishing system with a strengthening system completely changed my hair, but I wanted something cleaner, more affordable and more accessible. I wanted something that looked nice in my shower. I wanted a fragrance that I loved. I also wanted something as sustainable as possible. All of these elements.
You’ve worked with the world’s top hair stylists. What have you learned from them that you’ve incorporated into your own life?
I learned that it’s not just the styling of your hair that matters — it’s the foundation of it. You have to “give back” to your hair before you take from it. I air dry my hair as much as possible and I don’t use a lot of heat on it. I do buns and ponytails. This resets your hair.
Blake Brown includes eight products. How did you decide on the products to include in your brand?
I like very simple systems. I admire people’s routines, but I don’t know how to do all that stuff. I don’t want 1,000 products. I want to be told all the steps; I don’t want a manual for it. Make it simple, make it easy, make it fast and I can DO it.
The in-store display (above) is based on Blake’s own bathroom.
Blake Brown doesn’t include a traditional conditioner. How does the system work?
To me, conditioner is like a diluted, watered-down mask. Masks work for me, so I use them instead of a conditioner. The way to use Blake Brown is to toggle between the strength and nourish products, either wash to wash or bottle to bottle. Here’s why: If you strengthen your hair too much, it becomes brittle and it snaps. Nourishing it provides moisture and softness. But if you only nourish, it stretches too much and snaps. So you need a combination of both.
Where did the name Blake Brown come from?
Brown is my dad’s last name. My dad took “Lively” from my mom, but Blake Brown is on my birth certificate. It was important for me to put my name on this brand because I worked so hard on it and because it is so personal to me, but I didn’t want to use “Lively.” I want the brand to stand on its own and earn people’s respect, and it felt like “Blake Brown” was the answer.
Target has done great work in beauty, and specifically hair care, which is why we’re so excited that you’re bringing your brand to Target. Why did you pick Target?
Target’s just so cool. When I go into Target, I trust that the brands are going to be great. It’s going to be the best quality for the best price. Target, it was always you!
Something we say a lot at Target, especially regarding sustainability and affordability, is “no compromise.” Your brand took seven years to create. You set high standards and didn’t compromise. How did you do it?
It was hard! At this price point, it was important to have the highest quality of fragrance possible, to make it as sustainable as possible, to make it as clean as possible and most of all, for it to perform well. And when we started, science wasn’t caught up yet with everything we were trying to achieve. We were part of the innovation that made these products possible.
What’s in your Target basket?
A lot! I love holidays at Target, I love the designer collaborations, and while it doesn’t fit in a Target basket, I also really like Target furniture … you have great stools and cool mirrors. Oh, and Colleen Hoover books! [Blake’s new movie, “It Ends with Us” is based on author Colleen Hoover’s book of the same name.]
Shop Blake Brown in stores and on Target.com, or with our industry-leading same-day services like Drive Up and Order Pickup, in as soon as two hours with no minimum purchase and no membership fee required. Or have your picks delivered to your door through unlimited same-day delivery with our paid membership, Target Circle 360.
