This is Pleasing: Harry Styles sets out to ‘dispel the myth of a binary existence’

I am a Larry shipper, a Larry believer if you will.

Gross.

With Lady Gaga, Pharell Williams, and Selena Gomez all in on the act, the marker of success in 2021 is not a star on Hollywood Boulevard, it’s the launch of a beauty line. Trust Harry Styles to blow the rest out of the water.

Yesterday, the boyband star turned cultural and style juggernaut announced the launch of Pleasing – described as a “life brand”. Styles’s first business venture includes a range of nail polishes, an illuminating primer serum, and a dual-purpose eye and lip oil.

With the tagline “Find your pleasing”, the mission of this venture is to “bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries”. Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”.

Pleasing is at odds with outmoded beauty industry ideas about masking and concealment. Instead, “illuminating” and “highlighting” are the buzz words for Styles. There is a sense that this brand is about celebrating what is already there and encouraging customers to be themselves.

Undoubtedly, the idea of this beauty line is to serve as an extension of Styles’s unique and much-revered aesthetic. His signature look spans everything from floral suits to feather boas and is the result of a long-running collaboration with British stylist Harry Lambert.

The new venture, which came as a pleasant surprise to fans, sent social media into overdrive when it was announced, along with an interview and cover shoot with Dazed. A shot of Styles by photographer Rafael Pavarotti, styled by editor-in-chief Ib Kamara, features on the front of the December issue. The image, which shows the singer straddling a vintage motorcycle while wearing lilac flares and singlet vest (slashed to reveal his torso) attracted more than 5m likes on Instagram in 24 hours.

Stylers (as Styles’s fans are affectionately known) will have to wait until 29 November to get their hands on the collection but can pre-order now. Prices start at £16 for Pearly Tops, a clear nail polish to give a “barely there” effect or painted over other colours, and £50 for the Perfect Polish Set, which comes with alphabet stickers.

While skincare also features in the collection – the Pearlescent Illuminating Serum and the Pleasing Pen will also be available – nails are an evident focus for Styles, whose playful use of polish has become something of a style calling card.

“It’s starting with nail polish because that was kind of the birth of what it was for,” Styles tells Dazed. “Me seeing a colour on a flower or a wallpaper or something and thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna put that on my nails.’” (cont.)

(cont.) Pleasing is Styles’s version of sourdough. He credits the pandemic for its inception. “It was a fun little project, but during the pandemic, it felt like it was so much more than nail polish,” he says. “I really think that the essence of Pleasing is finding those little moments of joy and showing them to people.”

If Styles plans to leap from musician to mogul, Pleasing is an excellent place to start. However, he is adamant that his venture is more than a celebrity endorsement. “I don’t think that putting someone’s face on something sells a bad product,” Styles says in the interview.

Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn, with celebrity brands taking an increasingly significant share of the market. Fenty Beauty, the product line Rihanna launched in 2017, is now worth $2.8bn. Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs is reported to be the third most successful celebrity beauty line in the world.

But god forbid he clarifies whether or not he's actually bi

I set out to dispel the myth of a binary existence FIRST!

Pay attention to ME!

He’s just trying to sell makeup. He probably lounges around in sweatpants at home.

So binary.

Big whoop. This has nothing to do with revolutionizing anything. He's just another pop star, in a long line (and continuing), to invest in other lines of business, particularly cosmetics or fashion, because music has no real monetary value anymore and no longer brings in the big money like it used to. And regardless of what he or press releases my say, it really is all about celebrity "branding". That's where the money is now. (And most at these various companies who do the actual creative work on these products will tell you the "star" rarely is as involved as they market themselves to be). It's merchandising. That's it.

[quote]But god forbid he clarifies whether or not he's actually bi

Because he’s not. He’s straight.

I am ‘Out’ of Styles here.

Billy Porter meltdown in 3…2…

I'm non-pleased.

He’s annoying but at least he’s not on crack and smacking Yolanda around

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH NONBINARY BLAH BLAH BLAH FLUID BLAH BLAH BLAH

give me your CASH unties! CASH CASH CASH CASH COLD HARD NONBINARY CASH CASH CASH

R10 Straight to the bank.

R12 It's the only good thing about it.

I'm sorry, Harry - David Bowie you ain't.

In a generation or so, people of the future will look back at this time and wonder how anyone thought Harry Styles was straight, just like many in the '80s did with Liberace who also had many female admirers in the '50s. They will probably think people today were stupid, just like we did about people from the '50s.

I think a lot of gays don't buy he's gay now because he has awful hygiene, no sense of style and keeps getting uglier in the face. Plus the way he tip-toes around his sexuality despite his brand being that of LGBTQ acceptance would make him a hypocrite. But when he was young in One Direction, gays wanted to claim him because he acted fruity, was cute, appeared affectionate to his male bandmates and seemed ambiguous about his sexuality to please his label.

[quote] Harry Styles sets out to ‘dispel the myth of a binary existence’

Already been done

And yet for years, he sang in a band called One Direction.

Harry Styles looks like the mom from Fargo.

He looks like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at OPs pic.

[quote] £50 for the Perfect Polish Set, which comes with alphabet stickers

So....she’s still confused....over how to get...to Sesame Street....

It's hilarious that his teenaged girl fanbase seem to genuinely think he's "queer" or anything other than plain ol' straight.

His dating history is literally only rail-thin white models and he doesn't ping in the slightest - but he tries SO HARD I'll give him that lol.

I agree with R9. Also, Harry looks like he has body odor issues.

[quote] described as a “life brand”. Styles’s first business venture includes a range of nail polishes, an illuminating primer serum, and a dual-purpose eye and lip oil.

The makeup industry is inherently misgoynistic, and commodifies female sexual subjugation. But I’m sure Styles knows that.

R24 you never give up on your delusion. You aren't convincing anyone here of harry supposed straight ness.

r27 Are you a gay man?

Frau here. Does anyone find this non binary stuff attractive? It's kind of a lust extinguisher for me but maybe I'm just showing my age...

R28. No. As a straight woman even I can see there is nothing straight about him. No I am not a fan of his music. I can't name one single song from his album. He should get back to bearding with Taylor swift.

If Harry was attractive like Shawn Mendes, Michael B Jordan or Jake Gyllenhaal. Gays would claim him.

He looks like a pre-schooler raiding his mother’s wardrobe while she’s busy making dinner.

Are there any young men who want to look like that? Who's his target audience?

I somehow don't think pink n' polka dots are modern. And who doesn't want to walk down the street with a jokey top hat...

Bitch stole my look.

R26 He seems like an airhead. I doubt he knows how exploitative these industries are. Unlike Rihanna, who at least has a noble cause with offering makeup shades for women of color. What can Harry provide?

Harry can offer an exciting array of nail polishes. You know how all the teen boys are clamoring for more choices of nail polishes. To go with their top hats and knitted corset minidresses.

Harry is actually getting too old. I don't think teens care about music stars that much anymore. Now it's all about TikTok celebs.

Nothing more enticing than a cross-dressing guy with a receding hairline. How does this get so much attention?

r38 nah a lot of teen girls like Harry. You'd be surprised.

Is he really some kind of fashion influencer? I just remember him as the boy in 1D that my 13y/o niece loved 10 years ago. She moved on some time ago.

We have a saying in the world of pro-football (or soccer, to most of youse)—‘you’re only as good as your last game’. And in the big leagues, you will be exposed with a quickness if you aren’t delivering something that’s vital and indispensable.

Styles is 27 years old, and walking with a schtick. He’s not improving significantly, making any leaps, or developing much in any interesting ways as a musical recording artist. He is what he is—a clotheshorse, a contemporary entertainer, and an industry puppet—and nothing more or less. And that’s fine, but he can’t keep up a charade that he’s anything bigger or better or more talented for much longer. It’s a big, cruel, ruthless and hungry stage he’s on, one that always wants fresher richer blood.

Sorry, Haz. You had a good run, and you made more money and garnered more praise & attention than you really earned. Take what’s left and run to the hills while you’re still young enough to enjoy it.

Wonder if it bugs HS that his old mates in 1D are all naturally better-looking and have more intangibles than him.

The hottest one is the dench posh boy desperately trying to seem like a roadman, he’s fucking fit. But even the crackhead anorexic and the dehydrated midget have Styles beat.

1D attractiveness ranking:

1. Zayn

2. Liam

3. Niall

4. Louis

5. Harry

They all look like trash now though.

Oh come on, Louis was a really cute twink, but he aged badly. Of course his life since 1D was defined by personal tragedy with his mum dying of leukemia and his really beautiful, 18 year old sister overdosing. And also his music career failing. It all shows. But still, unfortunately he's not cute anymore, the last time he looked fine was during his x factor stint some years ago.

Louis in his prime had that rough trade twink look. I could see him doing gay porn if he didn't get into 1D. His looks hit the wall fast though. I would still do him over Harry.

Zayn is the only one with talent and unfortunately he's lazy, mentally ill and never sober. I doubt he could revive his career. He's also pretty stupid too. Harry is probably the smartest of the group in that he knew how to make the right connections, fuck the right people and get an excellent marketing team.

He’s a stupid attention whore. He was never non binary as a teen he is just jumping on the bandwagon.

R48 Yep. He just looked like a teenage gay twink into pop punk stuff like Paramore and Blink-182. Not at all rare.

Dressed as a man, woman or in between, that guy is bland as hell.

R42 Harry is extremely successful right now, but I wonder if you're right about his lack of longevity. I think he had a really good chance to be something more, he had the most charisma and star appeal out of all the boys in 1D, good looks, a nice voice if used right etc. But as also others have pointed out in this thread, by now he mostly focused on forging a certain brand or shtick, which works really well with his fanbase right now, but it seems a little empty and makes you wonder how long he can ride that wave.

It feels like everything he does to focus on this brand works against his actual natural talents - he tries so hard to be edgy with his fashion, that he ruins his good looks, he tries so hard to be benign kindness personified that he comes across as boring and preachy instead of witty and naturally charismatic, he tries so hard to make "pop music with a vintage twist" instead of just making good songs that fit him and focus on his specific voice and so on.

It's like his team looked into what is trendy these days, what kind of pop star his target audience likes and then they created this image for him, non-binary aesthetic, ambiguous sexuality and all. Because they probably feared a friendly young man with a cocky grin, a slew of model ex-girlfriends and a bit of a rock vibe (despite being in a boy band), just wouldn't quite cut it with generation z.

Attractive and insincerely trendy, and completely corporate and taste free. Like stilly boutique hotel.

It's always boggled my mind how 1D became so popular in The US and lasted so long in mainstream attention. There are millions of other UK boy bands who never get famous abroad. How are they special? I don't think being on reality TV to form a group was rare. MTV had a million of those shows and the X Factor and American Idol have been around forever. I get New Kids, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC because they essentially took R&B music that was hot at the time and packaged it for a white suburban audience and had little competition. But 1D made mostly mediocre music that didn't stand out, I guess success really is random like a lottery...

R53 I never noticed them much in their heyday, I was too old for boy bands by then and thought they made similar music to Justin Bieber and such. But looking back I can totally see why they took off like they did. Not especially through their music (they had some catchy pop rock numbers in later days, but still), but their big strength from the start was that they seemed like very normal, funny, charismatic British boys. Not like a well trained pop product like BTS or the heartthrob coolness of 90s boy bands, but like the boys in the back row in school that have a grand ol' time disrupting class with their shenanigans. They were like lively puppies in their early interviews and that had a certain charm, so combined with their British accents and cute boy looks, it was a recipe for success. And later on they managed to somehow transition that lively boy charm into a more fitting cocky young men charm (and in hindsight I also think their stylist and team did a great job with visually representing this transition without being too on the nose about it).

I don't know what binary means.

harry styles charging €60 for nail polish is what everyone gets for making men believe they were destroying toxic masculinity just because they painted their nails

R33 girls and clown fish

YAWN. His career is one big gimmick.

He wears the same cut of high-waist pleated wide-legged trouser as my grandfather—young in the 1940s, a lounge jazz singer, conscripted as a pilot in WWII, now over a decade dead—always did. My grandfather looked far more stylish, of course.

So he’s the maknae of One Direction or?

Get that frau coin. Harry! He knows his market. The demented Larries are flustered because the nail polish bottles 'look like butt plugs'. Meanwhile Kinsey 5 Harry keeps on fucking his long term girfriend Olivia Wilde.

'So he’s the maknae of One Direction or?'

Yass he was the platinum maknae but he had no respect for any of the older ones, particularly the two eldest drug addicts, Louis Ratlinson and Zombie Zayn. Those two have no career in 2021.

'I'm sorry, Harry - David Bowie you ain't.'

I'm glad he's not PEDO Bowie, a massive sleaze who slept with half of London. Constant smoking and constantly high and skinny and ugly. Harry is much more appealing.

'In a generation or so, people of the future will look back at this time and wonder how anyone thought Harry Styles was straight, just like many in the '80s did with Liberace who also had many female admirers in the '50s'

You're a joke. Harry is like Bowie and Jagger were in the 70s - he's fucked a few men but he'll marry a woman and have kids with her. He's 90% het and only 10% homo. The opposite of Liberace.

This non-binary stuff appeals to zoomillenial women/girls who claim to be non-binary but are in all respects cis straight women. It's a trend.

'Harry is actually getting too old. I don't think teens care about music stars that much anymore. Now it's all about TikTok celebs.'

Harry has more tags on TikTok than any other western artist. 43 billion. He's a huge Tiktok celeb.

R65 They make no attempt to act androgynous either. I do know lesbians who identify as non-binary too. Again, they also make no attempt at androgyny.

Its like the 60s-70s-80s never happened. Men wearing womens clothing is hardly avant garde or groundbreaking. But I guess every generation thinks they are the 1st that ever did anything.

R68 I don't blame young people. They have been bombarded with the message that every single point in time before the day they reached adulthood was mired in starched collar Christian cis-hetero white supremacist patriarchy. Forget the 20th century, school curriculum barely covers ancient history anymore. The kids seem to think gays have been around for the past 15 years or so.

Personally, I reckon HS has done something really vile or even evil in the past, and/or had something vile or evil done to him. It’s all that explains the wildly-overcompensating ‘nice’ gimmick.

Why else is he so anxious that everyone see him as ‘pleasing’ and tolerant and kind? Truly philanthropic and caring people never advertise the fact.

I think he's just pandering to the infantilization of modern culture. His fangirls have Disney princess syndrome and can't fathom their object of desire being a chavvy promiscuous junkie.

R70 lol unlikely, but at least that would still make him more interesting than his current image, I guess. Obviously I have nothing against nice people and he always seemed like a pleasant young man, but as you said, it has taken over his whole image and makes him somewhat one dimensional. Where's the human aspect, the real personality (flawed or not), the spontaneous reactions and wit? It all seems carefully calculated these days.

R59 Your grandfather sounds a lot more interesting than Harry Styles these days. I'm sure he had great stories to tell. And that's the thing: no matter what style, people with lots of personality tend to wear it better and more fittingly. Harry on the other hand seems to hide his personality (whatever there's left of it) behind "style" instead of enhancing it.

For the most part the non binarys don't bother me as much as some of the posters here . I don't mind the ones who actually make an effort to be androgynous. But what gives me the creeps are selfies of some dead behind the eyes straight girl wearing a lace dress and thigh boots captioned something like " Sexy soft boi in a dress" or " Just a cute boy in a miniskirt". Something in me instinctively goes ewww. And I don't feel that way about femme men or butch women or straight feminine acting women who don't label themselves as anything else. Not that big of a deal at the end of the day but it just makes me cringe.

The "they and them" pronouns take getting used to. I legitimately do not understand the NBs who get so offended that they get misgendered by strange people. How is someone supposed to know they are non-binary? Even if you are androgynous or gender non-conforming that doesn't automatically mean you will be non-binary.

The dresses Harry Styles wears are just PR to keep him in the media cycle and to keep people talking about him. It's just a gimmick. In his private life he wears sweats and athleisure just like every other slob.

Does he even sing anymore or is it just all stunts

^^It's all about branding now.

He looks like a ridiculous clown.

[quote]I think a lot of gays don't buy he's gay now because he has awful hygiene, no sense of style and keeps getting uglier in the face.

None of that has anything to do with being gay.

I've never heard a single one of his songs. Are they any good?

He's wasting his good years.

He's getting older. Needs to go to back to what he was doing on his first album. This "Treat People With Kindness" shit is so juvenile and he needs to stop the queer minstrel act. His first album got a lot of attention because it was surprisingly good pop rock filled with tributes to Elton, Bowie and Prince.