Kiehl’s and Brittany Cartwright are both starting fresh in 2024. The 174-year-old skincare brand recently ended its partnership with Equinox, a luxury gym chain. Around the same time, Cartwright, a Bravo reality star, separated from her husband and Vanderpump Rules castmate, Jax Taylor.
Now, Kiehl’s has chosen Cartwright to unveil its next chapter. On Wednesday, the L’Oréal-owned brand announced a new partnership with Life Time, a high-end fitness club. Cartwright leads the social media campaign promoting the deal. Starting this summer, Kiehl’s popular products—like its Grapefruit Body Wash and Creme de Corps lotion—will be available at nine Life Time locations across New York City. Life Time calls these gyms “athletic country clubs.”
This collaboration marks Kiehl’s return to the fitness world since cutting ties with Equinox.
“There are so many things working for this campaign,” said Guillaume Monsel, U.S. head of marketing at Kiehl’s. “It’s like a triple threat: Brittany’s dating life, her role in Bravo’s The Valley, and the Kiehl’s-Life Time partnership. We’re tapping into four different conversations.”
To build buzz, Kiehl’s launched a playful teaser campaign. One week before the official announcement, Cartwright hinted at a “new man” on Instagram, posting a photo of herself playing pickleball with an unidentified man. Gossip account Deux Moi followed up with images of Cartwright walking with the same man in New York City.
Kiehl’s also partnered with popular Instagram humor pages like Overheard New York, Nolita Dirtbag, the Fake Rothko, and Dewy Dudes. These accounts will help promote the partnership throughout the week. The goal is to generate 1 million social media engagements across paid and organic content by June.
“We want more people to know about Kiehl’s,” Monsel said. “In the U.S., our brand awareness is still under 30%. This campaign is about growing that number.”
The strategy is similar to a recent campaign by another L’Oréal brand, La Roche-Posay. Earlier this year, the skincare company used tennis-themed content on Instagram, featuring players like Taylor Fritz and influencers such as Sabrina Brier. The posts created a broad network of engagement. According to Monsel, this type of campaign is needed in today’s crowded market.
“There’s a flood of ads and content on social media,” Monsel said. “To stand out, you have to take over the platforms. Marketing today means building an ecosystem—giving people multiple moments to engage with the brand and creating excitement.”
Life Time, founded in 1992, has been expanding quickly. It went public in 2021 and reported an 18.3% revenue increase in Q1 2025. The brand now operates 180 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The Kiehl’s rollout begins in New York but will expand to West Coast locations in the third quarter of 2025. A full spa experience is set to launch in early 2026.
Still, it remains to be seen if this new relationship can rival Kiehl’s former partnership with Equinox. After Equinox replaced Kiehl’s products with Grown Alchemist in 2024, many gym members expressed frustration online. Monsel said Kiehl’s continues to see thousands of social media posts mourning the end of that partnership.
“Wellness customers want high-quality products that deliver an experience,” he said. “That experience could be the scent, the feel, or the benefits. For years, Kiehl’s provided that. And when people lose it, they really notice.”
