Twentynine Palms
Jared Leto Is in a Desert State of Mind
Jared Leto’s hair is an atmospheric shade of pink. Not bubble gum or Pepto, but the washed-out color you expect to see softening the horizon line between sand and sky just as Joshua Tree is starting to wake up. Photographers and hikers set early alarms to catch those quick-burn pastels, floating above the park’s alien terrain. So it was unusual to come upon that pink earlier this week, during a video call from the actor’s New York hotel room. Afternoon city light filtered in from a nearby window, but on Leto’s head—a rakish desert souvenir.
“The desert’s really interesting because from afar it’s certainly vast, and it can seem bleak and oppressive,” the actor says. “But when you look closely, it’s full of life.” Leto is sketching out his connection to Twentynine Palms, which acts as the gateway city to Joshua Tree and also supplies the name for Leto’s new lifestyle brand. (Between sentences, he’s casually snacking on what seems to be trail mix, minus the trail.) “I’ve been going there to climb and explore and spend time in that beautiful place for decades now,” he says, explaining that his home in the nearby Mojave Desert overlooks mountains he can reach in a 12-minute drive. “That’s the reason I live there, so I can be close to nature.”
A cross-section of the lineup, including the Cosmic Cypress Facial Cleanser (far left), Mesquite Springs Hydrating Serum (center), and Santa Ana Salve Facial Moisturizer (far right). The brand’s shampoo and conditioner, along with its hand and body washes, come in the squat pump bottles. CREDIT TWENTYNINE PALMS.