Written by Orla Lavery in Beauty on the 30th November 2020

With its enviably even tone and smooth-as-butter surface, it’s quite possible that Pharrell Williams’ skin couldn’t have aged better. We’d also be making musical proclamations about how Happy we were if our skin had that kind of glow-up at the age of 47. After almost 30-years mastering the world of music production, Pharrell is now bestowing us all with his skincare genius in the form of an all-gender, all-clean, fragrance-free skincare line, ‘Humanrace’.

The new line of skincare has been developed in collaboration with his longstanding dermatologist, Dr. Elena Jones. Pharrell hails his relationship with Jones, which started some 20-years ago, as the beginning of his deeper interest in skincare, alongside skincare tips from his wife and friend ‘Naomi’ (Campbell) over the years.

Pharrell debuts the line Humanrace in recent videos for American Vogue and GQ, breaking down the three-step regime; cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise, showcasing the core products of his line in their sleek green packaging and clean white typeface. The range is a line-up of Pharrell’s skincare regime essentials in three steps; ‘a good cleanser, a really good exfoliator and a great moisturiser.’ He starts his routine with the Rice Powder Cleanser ‘a couple shakes (on his palm) and a little bit of water’. Endorsing his new line, he asserts ‘your face is only as good as the energy behind it… you gotta take care of your face’. The rice powder is a powder-to-foam cleanser, activated with a little water and massaging the product in small circular, upward motions on the face. The rice powder is fine enough not to cause any tears on the skin’s surface and contains 51% kaolin clay, a natural ingredient to purify and detoxify. He then rinses with water and uses a cloth, which he cites as an important step to remove build-up of excess oil and to help exfoliate.

The next secret of Pharrell’s skincare arsenal? ‘Exfoliate like a madman’, he says. The second product in his routine is the Humanrace’s Lotus Enzyme Cleanser. The exfoliator, from the packaging to its chemical components, is inspired by his love of Japanese culture. The 8% glycolic acid allows the product to get to work immediately, gently removing dead skin cells for better absorption, while 2% fruit AHAs and micronized rice particles brighten the complexion and bring healthy skin to the surface, improving the overall texture and tone of the skin. Finally, Pharrell loads in moisture with a vitamin C serum, then lathering on the Humanrace Humidifying Cream and finishing with an all-important 100% mineral SPF. Not forgetting the lips, the final bow of the regimen is a little Chanel lip balm… because, of course he wears Chanel on his lips. On top of a routine that you stick to, Pharrell recommends plenty of water (no surprises there) and eating clean, but in the same breath confesses his love of all things sweet, especially cupcakes. He also recommends Epsom salt baths for opening-up and cleansing pores. Now we can definitely get on board with that. 

humanrace.com

Singer Pharrell Williams Just Dropped a Skincare and Wellbeings Line titled Humanrace and We're Here For It.