Celebrity skincare lines are nothing new. Brad Pitt has Beau Domaine. Duane Johnson has Papatu. Idris Elba owns S'able Labs. Each focuses on issues important to the man behind them: lab-tested antiaging technology, serving underprivileged youth, and the needs of melanin-rich skin.
And then there's Jake Paul's new line, W (which stands for “win,” in case you couldn't guess).
The products focus not on skin needs or social good, but on giving Gen Z a “much-needed update to their personal care routines” and a new sense of confidence. That's right. For just $10 a bottle, available exclusively at Walmart, you'll have the confidence to be a headline-grabbing guy when you fight AARP-eligible undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson this November.
At first glance, the products are as loud and as loud as their namesakes. These include two-in-one shampoo-balm, soap, face wash, pomade, body lotion, antiperspirant, and essential products for every aspiring influencer: body spray and hair gel. After one breath, I knew that these products were a pass for me.
The original W fragrance, which claims to have “mood-enhancing fragrance technology”, is so overpowering it puts Yankee Candle to shame and clearly caters to guys who use their body lotion as a scent. (Please try one of my top cologne picks.) We haven't tried the other scents, Fresh Ice and Deep Woods, but given that they seem more like Powerade flavor and bug spray than the scents you want to stick to yourself, we did not consider it necessary.
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The products meet the minimum criteria for public consumption – they do not contain parabens, phthalates, sulfates or dyes. But the products themselves, like the body lotion, left my skin feeling a bit dry and tight. The scent also lasted much longer than I would have hoped. But overall, they were unremarkable, albeit affordable. But investors clearly saw the risk, as it had just raised $14 million in venture capital. But something tells me the bigwigs behind the cash infusion aren't using Wt in their high-rise home bathrooms.
I think perhaps the most disappointing thing about this line is that it's aimed at the very audience it's trying to help. “THIS generation has the lowest personal confidence and self-esteem of any other generation,” claims his PR pitch dubiously. It also goes on to say that Paul benevolently spreads this brand of domineering musk to a young generation that “craves encouragement and belonging.” And they believe—or the brand hopes—that Paul is the one to give them that.
I have more faith in Gen Z and their ability to sniff out shit. Pick literally every other product from the grooming aisle because they're less likely to make you smell like an energy-drink-loving, race-sniffing stunt king trying to help you through your supposed insecurities. There are much better grooming products out there.
Related: We tested the best men's grooming products in 2024