Latest news with #HaulofFame
Business of Fashion
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Sunscreen to Shoppers: Pick Your Poison
Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and the ultimate wife guy in skincare. Included in today's issue: Byredo, Burt's Bees, Charlotte Tilbury, Cyklar, Decorté, Dermalogica, Diptyque, Dr. Shereene Idriss, Eva NYC, Inkey List, Kylie Cosmetics, Kimchi Chic, Kylie Minogue, Lush, Lux Unfiltered, MAC Cosmetics, Maybelline, Milk Makeup, Murad, Native, Nette, Nuface, Philip B., Snif, Senegence, Soshe, Tarte, Thrive Causemetics, Truly Beauty, Typology, Violette_FR, YSE Beauty and VIP barbecue sauce. But first… There's a gas station and car wash in downtown Los Angeles that will check your car for smog-causing emissions. Above the price chart for toxic fumes is another kind of sky smear: A giant billboard that reads, 'the sun isn't poison but your sunscreen is.' Next to the message is Primally Pure's Sun Cream SPF 30, a $38 beige tube of beef tallow, zinc oxide and the radiant smiles of women who have 'done their own research.' Primally Pure is a brand by the conservative influencer and podcaster Bethany Joy McDaniel. An entrepreneur and mom of two, McDaniel makes some truly excellent points in her content. She encourages faith-based communities to take a more active interest in their members' physical health; she wonders if fillers are making everyone look the same; she encourages young women to explore the connection between gut health and skin health, especially in the context of alcohol. This is all great! But then McDaniel throws out the baby with Sydney Sweeney's bathwater by saying SPF isn't always necessary, and it's better to go bare-skinned than use something 'chemical.' Phew. Naturally, there's been big backlash from dermatologists, social media users, and Blue State moms trying to force a tube of Supergoop onto their kids before they leave for Governor's Ball. I'm not here to litigate that, because: Science. Instead, let's talk about what happened after Primally Pure threw down its billboard gauntlet: The brand got (sun)burned. On Wednesday, Australian skincare label Ultra Violette decided to turn the momentum from its recent launch into the US via Sephora into a clapback. The brand's social team photoshopped their own version of a sunscreen billboard onto the car wash space. 'Warning,' it reads. 'This SPF contains chemicals, hydration and common sense.' Similar posters blare 'This SPF is 100% poisonous to premature aging' and 'Save the beef tallow for your potatoes, not your pores.' On Instagram, Ultra Violette's billboard reveal landed over 4000 engagements and increased the brand's online engagement sixfold, according to the online analytics platform Keywords Everywhere. Primally Pure's unveiling had some skeptical shoutouts in the New York Post and on the morning news program KTLA, landing 3440 engagements and an engagement rate of less than 1 percent. From Primally Pure's POV, the campaign 'was designed specifically to spark conversation, create transparency, and increase awareness,' said founder McDaniel by email, who included a link to a 2020 JAMA study that begs the FDA for more sunscreen safety data. Ultimately, both brands stand to benefit from a clash of ideals (and formulas). Like Wendy's tweeting insults at Katy Perry, digital swipes can turn up the heat on both brands, within reason. But even though neither Ultra Violette nor Primally Pure really 'loses' from their online billboard wars, the American public does lose when they're led to believe that sun care is more harmful than the melanoma it strives to prevent. In that sense, only one brand wins here — the one that uses proven data to keep its customers healthy long enough to shop another day. What else is new… Skincare On March 28, Rachel Antonoff made the near-impossible happen and had an actually fun fashion party at the Margaritaville in Times Square. Among the swag was Vacation's SPF oil, which was promptly swiped off every patio table and bar counter by enthusiastic editors (and most of the SNL writing staff). On March 29, Lux Unfiltered launched its own $44 SPF oil, a scented formula with notes of neroli. The brand also did a Sephora exclusive — a Blurring Body Glow with sunflower seed oil and vitamin C that's $25. Murad's Biome-Balancing serum arrived on May 28 with 'biome-sensing technology' that doesn't actually feel your breakouts coming, but it does use salicylic acid and glutamic acid to help prevent flare-ups. Real Housewife of Atlanta cast member Cynthia Bailey has entered the beauty brand chat. On May 29, she launched Glowissima, a skincare label co-founded with Dana Hill-Robinson, the chief executive of subscription beauty service Cocotique, which specifically focuses on Black-owned brands. It's got two hero products, a $64 face oil and $46 face cream. Welcome to Sephora, YSE Beauty! The brand founded by actress Molly Sims entered 361 doors on June 1 with four of its key formulas, including vitamin c serum and moisturiser. Online, you can get eight more items, like YSE's first foray into colour cosmetics, a tinted lip gloss. (I just tested it: Super-thick, pigment rich, crazy shiny. Nice one, Molly.) Do you want to smell like The Great British Bake Off when you sweat? Native launched a body care range on June 1 called Piece of Cake. It's got notes of frosting, buttercream, and sprinkles, and comes with a deodorant, body wash, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Everyone knows Mike's Hot Honey is the real MVP of a backyard barbecue, especially when grilled chicken is involved. Now it might be a CVS all-star, too. On June 1, the brand revealed its limited-edition collaboration with Burt's Bees, debuting a Hot Honey lip balm for $4. And it's not sold out yet… Typology's A40 Cryo Plumping Stick hit shelves on June 2 with 'an immediate cooling, plumping effect' and the promise to de-puff and energize skin; its mostly applied around the eyes. It's got polyglutamic acid, a soybean extract that can hold five times its weight in water, plus spirodela, which is better known as duckweed. If you enjoy watching super-graphic content of zits being… uh… un-zitted, pay attention to the Japanese skincare brand Decorté. Its AQ Pore Blackhead Dissolver Deep Pore Cleanser launched June 3 for $90 and claims to 'dissolve keratin plugs' for a more effective detox. The brand sent some lab close-ups of stressed skin to prove the effectiveness, and let's just say Dr. Pimple Popper would be proud. Time to ask your chatbots about Sunday Riley. On June 3, the brand introduced AI Retinoid Serum, a high-tech formula that helps restore skin clarity for optimum filter-free skin. The drop is part of a new acne-treating quartet including a cleanser, mist and salicylic acid serum called 'Peace Keeper.' This is especially fun for Danielle Brooks and John Cena fans, though I fear the name is incidental. On June 3, Dermalogica introduced a star-shaped carabiner that clamped onto a sunscreen stick from the brand's younger Clear Start line. (Think: The Clinique to Derm's Lauder.) The whole set goes for $30. On June 4, Truly Beauty dropped its Cherry Baby shimmery body oil as a TikTok Shop exclusive. The $38 moisturiser is a sister scent to Vanilla Baby, an iridescent white shade that's been spotted all over the University of Arizona sorority houses, according to my 19-year-old niece. (The same girl, who is a competitive dancer and science major, reported LoveShackFancy perfume is 'the absolute most popular thing' last year. I trust her.) Lush took its #1 best-seller, Super Milk Leave-In Conditioner, and turned it into a body shimmer. On June 4, the eco-based brand introduced Super Milk Glitter Mist Spray, a $26 bottle of shiny moisturiser that swaps plastic-based glitter for flecks of titanium dioxide. Why should Rhode have all the fun? On June 4, Cyklar launched its own body milk, Ceramide Milky Essence, for $30. It's got hyaluronic acid and amino acids, but remains dairy-free. Should pimple patches have a doctor co-sign them? Hundreds of millions in Starface revenue says 'nah.' Still, Dr. Shereene Idriss debuted her own version on May 29 that claims to handle both blemishes and discoloration. Face Reality introduced its 'professional grade' pimple patches on June 4 for $10… but what are 'amateur grade' ones? A gold star sticker from Staples and a prayer? Nuface has distilled its skin-lifting tech into a disposable, squishy sheet. On June 4, the brand dropped its Ionplex Hydra-Gel mask, a one-and-done face mask which blends electrolytes and glacial minerals. It's $37 for a pack of five. Face mists are TikToking along, with a 178% increase in mentions from April to May of this year. Inkey List wants in on the trend with its June 6 drop, the Hydro-Surge Dewy Face Mist, a $13 formula that includes aquaxyl, a moisturising compound that comes from sugar molecules, and 'earth marine water,' which comes from… like… the ocean. Inkey List is also debuting a Cream-to-Milk Cleanser ($19) with rice extracts and hyaluronic acid. Makeup Remember back in October, when Maybelline sponsored SNL's 50th anniversary season and got a surprise 'bonus' sketch that featured Ariana Grande and Jennifer Coolidge applying its lip gloss? This week, NBC revealed that the fake Maybelline commercial was the third-most watched SNL skit of the season, coming just behind the unstoppable 'Domingo' jingles. Let's see if sales for Maybelline liquid lipstick get a lift from the ratings. 'Shine first, safety second.' That's the tagline for Caliray's Lipguard, a glossy balm with SPF 31 that comes in five surf-inspired shades. It launched on May 29. Tarte's brand trips are some of the beauty industry's most viral. On May 30, they embraced the jetsetting notoriety with a 12-shade palette of new shades inspired by their tropical destinations. It's called the #TrippinWithTarte palette and retails for $47. Remember the '90s sleepover staple Caboodles? On June 2, Kimchi Chic unveiled a collab with the beloved neon makeup cases, including a limited-edition mini tote stuffed with four highlighting and contour crayons and a sheet of cutie-pie stickers. It's $32 and adorbs. Teen dreams do come true! On June 2, MAC Cosmetics created its first-ever Viva Glam Lipglass, a gleaming red shade called Kimmitment after brand ambassador Kim Petras. It's $26 with 100 percent of proceeds going to charities for LGBTQ+ rights, AIDS prevention and environmental justice. Mwah! Kylie Cosmetics has gone into the gloss. On June 3, the Coty-owned makeup brand introduced four Dew Balm Sticks, which combine the shimmery warmth of a blush and the shiny finish of a skin glaze. They're $28 each, and yes, they resemble Haus Labs' Glassy Highlighter Balms quite a bit, but they cost a teeny bit less. Get your Jelly Tints with free delivery. Milk Makeup hit Amazon Premium Beauty on June 3 with a robust selection of primers, mascara, brow gel and skin tints. It's hard to get a good, singular product name but Violette Serrat has done it. The Guerlain creative director and makeup artist behind Violette_FR debuted 'Lip Nectar' on June 3. It's a $29 hydrating lip stain that comes in four colours, including a deep plum and a rich caramel. The blurry cheek trend continues. On June 3, Soshe debuted Blurring Pillow Blush, a $28 cream-to-powder formula available in four shades, including some deeper hues for richer skin tones. Thrive Causemetics dropped illuminating eye serums and loose powders ($32 each) on June 4. They're meant to compliment the brand's best-selling Brilliant Eye Brighteners, which are basically cream shadow crayons with some shimmer. Pro tip: You can use the darker shades to make a smoky eye in 10 seconds. The lip oil wars continue. On June 6, Senegence debuted Lipsense, a line of three super-shiny lip slicks with jojoba, meadowfoam and vitamin C extracts. Charlotte Tilbury is hitting the thunder road. On June 6, the makeup artist for Kate Moss announced she was officially joining the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders as the squad's beauty partner. When I interviewed several DCC stars last year for the Wall Street Journal, they mentioned the brand's setting spray as a favorite… then admitted they also used $3 cans of hairspray because Tilbury's formulas can be pricey. Hopefully now these female athletes — who do so much, so well, and still make around minimum wage — can spritz without going broke. I got a little nervous when Dazzle Dry announced a Carnival-themed collection, out June 6, but thankfully it's got colours inspired by toffee and jelly beans and not clowns. Phew. Hair Care Just in time for the Wicked's new trailer, Eva NYC introduced Beyond Gravity, a volume and texture spray that promises hold without any crunchiness and a dose of shine-boosting Vitamin E. It hit shelves June 6. Philip B. had multitasking in mind for its latest formula, a Weightless Miracle Serum that acts as both a deep conditioner and a flyaway smoother. It's $75 and comes from the eponymous hairstylist brand's own own client base — they wanted a leave-in that worked for finer and thinner hair, and still allowed for movement and bounce. Fragrance Pretty obsessed with Diptyque's new 'Vinaigre de Toilette,' a multi-purpose drizzle of lavender, thyme and rosemary that can be used as a home or skin fragrance. After Loewe's tomato situation and Bath & Body Works' summer Off the Vine collection, a perfume vinaigrette feels just right for the summer salad trend. It's $92 and arrived on June 1. I just can't get eau out of my head. (Sorry.) Kylie Minogue dropped a new fragrance called Lovers on June 2 with the nose Ilias Ermenidis, who made everyone's ninth grade obsession Vera Wang Princess back in 2006. More recently, he did a 2023 stint with Parfums de Marly. For Kylie, he's concocted a mix of honeysuckle, tuberose and coconut milk; it's being made by Scent Beauty, the team behind Sabrina Carpenter's fragrance line. On June 2, Nette's Lemon Puff perfume hit Sephora. The day before, a line around the block formed for the fragrance at New York's Fluffy Fluffy Dessert Cafe, a pancake and souffle shop in the East Village. Looks like their social media campaign, which saturated Instagram with buttery toast and cream-dolloped pastries that flanked bottles of their fragrance, paid off. A month after Tory Burch's craveable collab with the Swedish candy company Bonbon, Snif debuted Swede Tooth, a perfume 'inspired by the Swedish candy craze' that features notes of watermelon, raspberry, violet and cedarwood. All good choices but guys, where's the salted licorice?! Byredo debuted Absolu versions of its Rose of No Man's Land and Bal d'Afrique scents on June 5. Each ultra-concentrated formula retails for $385 and has a formula that's been engineered for longevity and amplified scent complexity, which means the brand's subtle papyrus notes can finally give out their full 'Library of Alexandria' vibes. And finally… Carter Reum is a venture capitalist whose portfolio has included Classpass, Lyft and Shake Shack. He's also the husband of Paris Hilton, and on June 2, he posted to Linkedin in search of a VP for her new skincare brand, Parivie. 'She's sold $4BN of products with her name the last decade so this is a great opportunity for the right person to be in on the ground level of her latest innovative brand!' wrote Reum. Here's the official listing, which is under the umbrella of Hilton's media company 11:11. Put Reum's name down as your referral and see what happens.
Business of Fashion
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
How Fara Homidi Uses Cool to Sell Cosmetics
Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and an eyeliner resurrection. Included in today's issue: Aora, Beauty of Joseon, Danucera, Dermalogica, Fenty Beauty, Florence by Mills, Flower Knows, Guerlain, JVN Hair, Haus Labs, Isle of Paradise, Key West Aloe, Matière Première, Maybelline, Naturium, Ogee, Portals Perfume, Revolution Beauty, Saltyface, Sandy Liang, Sweed Beauty, Teletubbies, Trixie Mattel, Wild, Zure Solaris and feminist dinosaurs. But first… What do beauty shoppers want from their brand founders? It's a question Fara Homidi has been pondering lately. 'I have this crazy point of difference,' says the makeup artist, who began her career doing fashion editorials for cultural gatekeepers like i-D and The Gentlewoman before becoming an on-call makeup artist for Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen at the Row and Hedi Slimane at Celine. 'As a professional artist, I have access to nearly everything on the market. I understand what you're going to keep grabbing for,' she says. 'On the other hand, there are celebrity brands that have a kind of name recognition.' Homidi is more of an IYKYK figure. Beauty junkies worship her. But she does not have the universal fame of a founder like Hailey Bieber — although the Rhode founder certainly enjoys her products. Homidi became something of a celebrity makeup whisperer in the mid-2010s when she handled runway beauty looks for It Girl labels like Proenza Schouler and Celine. We first met backstage at the Off-White show in Paris circa 2018; she was dusting powder across the bridge of Bella Hadid's nose. The beauty look was the type that dudes describe as 'low maintenance' and women know as 'deft artistry,' with eyelids just a notch darker than their normal colouring, a 'kiss-me-here' white glimmer at the very edge of the top lip and super-sheer peach bronzer used in place of pink blush. At the time, Homidi told me, 'I'm not really thinking about if the look I do is pretty. It's more like, I want it to be alive.' The idea of 'makeup with a pulse' is harder to find than it used to be. In the '90s, labels like Prescriptives and Stila pushed its limits with super-flush cheeks, lips that looked like they'd just bitten a plum, eyelids that glistened like they'd been blinking back sweat at a rave. 'I loved that era,' said Homidi, who emigrated from Afghanistan as a young child and grew up in the San Francisco Bay. When it came time to launch her own line in 2023, Homidi wanted to channel that kind of visceral appeal with her formulas. She started with a now-famous $88 lip palette that looked like a powder, but pressed into the skin like a plush cream. It came in an electric blue compact that became something of a status accessory for fashion folk, along with Homidi's famous clientele. In February, Sandbridge Capital acquired a minority stake in Homidi's brand. On June 4, she'll launch a powder-to-cream bronzer in a rich brown compact. Homidi's new bronzer, which launches June 4, is a powder-to-cream formula, and launches alongside a brush. (Holly Gibson) 'There are a lot of bronzers on the market, but honestly, they're off. They're too orange or brown, and they're sparkly.' Instead of mimicking the showgirl look, Homidi's blush has a suede-like texture and pink undertone. 'The dead matte look isn't going to work for me. Instead, it makes you look like you've been out in a humid climate. It's the golden sun-kissed look and tightness your skin gets from salt and sand at the beach, and that bit of pink. It's like a toasted pinkness. That's what you'll get.' She's been testing the product backstage at fashion shows and magazine shoots for almost a year. 'We're slowly working our way toward building a collection of essentials you can do a full face with,' says Homidi, who takes the phrase 'slow beauty' more literally than most. Two years in, she's made just four colour cosmetics, a move that has helped create a cult-y mystique around her products. Homidi swears this isn't for scarcity's sake; it's just because it takes a long time to make a product that lives up to her definition of 'perfect.' Still, the impulse to hold back instead of crank out helps her brand feel more genuine, and certainly more valuable. Could you say this is a similar vibe to Rhode's constantly sold-out lip peptide shades, or even the Row's carefully limited stash of Margaux bags? Sure, but both those brands have paired product scarcity with cultural ubiquity — social media photos of the Olsens and Hailey Bieber count billions of 'likes' on Instagram alone. Homidi has the same wavy flaxen hair and cool California gaze as Ashley, Hailey and Mary-Kate (all of whom she's worked with) but she's not exactly a celebrity outside the world of beauty. Still, her expertise, point of view and dedication have commanded both sales numbers and Sandbridge megabucks that are outpacing some celebrity beauty brands. I ask Homidi if the recent capital infusion has added more pressure to her role as a brand founder. 'It's more that I'm very, very competitive with myself,' says Homidi. 'I look at metrics from year one, year two. I ask, 'How can we move into new spaces without completely changing who we are? How do we tap into a market that isn't into the things we naturally excel at?' And I stay really involved in every single thing: Every piece of copy. Every campaign shot. … Your community pays attention. If it doesn't feel real, it doesn't work.' But though Homidi has ready access to the inner spheres of fashion and celebrity culture, she isn't planning on becoming a famous face any time soon. 'There's so much room for trained artists to thrive just by doing their best work,' she insists. 'Not everything needs to be on camera.' And as Homidi's shoppers prove, not everyone wants to buy makeup from somebody famous. Sometimes, they'd rather just get it from someone really cool. What else is new... Skincare Designer Sandy Liang stars in the campaign for Beauty of Joseon's tinted sunscreen. (Sandy Liang) Congrats to Cerave on the launch of its new mascot, Sarah Vee. It's a giant goat, because the brand claims it's the GOAT of skincare. Baa-hahaha. 🐐 Sandy Liang is a skincare girlie now. The New York-based designer (pictured) is the new face of K-beauty label Beauty of Joseon, modelling the brand's tinted sunscreen ($20) while wearing her own Spring 2025 collection. Cute, but Sandy — where's the powder-pink lipstick from the runway show?! Clear Start is trying to make sunscreen a Gen-Z necessity. The Dermalogica sub-brand launched its Golden Hour Hydrating SPF 30 Stick on May 25 with jojoba seed extract and squalene, plus the tagline 'a breakout-free glow' to help teens dispel TikTok myths about sunscreen breakouts. On May 27, Key West Aloe launched Sunsorb, an SPF that's water-resistant for 80 minutes. It's available on Amazon and doubles as a makeup primer — but really, anything does if you believe hard enough. Wild has partnered with UK accessory label Cath Kidston on a printed case for its refillable sticks. It hit stores on May 27, but if you're not into little illustrated birds, the brand continues to have solid colours and Kusama-ish polka dots on offer, too. Saltyface is known for its self-tanning formulas, but on May 27, the Vancouver brand introduced its first mineral sunscreen. Called Daily Shield, the $42 formula has chamomile and green tea extracts along with SPF 30. Danucera dropped D7 Glow Serum on March 27. Created by aesthetician Danuta Mieloch, better known as the founder behind Rescue Spa, the formula 'mimics the effects of vitamin D without sun exposure' and includes ashwagandha and chicory root in its $155 formula. Life finds a way… and so does luxury skincare. On May 28, clever girl Scarlett Johansson launched The Outset Skin Survival Kit, a Jurassic World Rebirth tie-in that includes a cleanser, moisturiser, serum and skin balm. Alas, no dino DNA inside, but maybe that's for the best. Isle of Paradise introduced an SPF 50 body mist and a face serum on May 28. They promise a 'glow-enhancing finish' along with UV protection, and retail for $26 to $30 at Sephora. There's a lot going on at Zure Solaris, the British 'post-sun' brand that uses words like 'skin longevity' and 'ancient botanical wisdom' to explain its formulas. The tl;dr is this: There are four products from $58 to $148 that promise to nourish, repair and supercharge skin that's been damaged by the sun. That includes a cleanser, serum, moisturiser and something called a 'cooling infusion' that promises to even out the skin tone. Naturium would like you to know that its Revealer Sulfur Body Wash, which drops on May 30, can also double as a face cleanser. I would like Naturium to know that I've been using their $16 body washes on my face for months. Oops? Makeup More screen time = more lip gloss? Fenty Beauty is betting on it with Grape Splash, a limited-edition shimmer gloss that you can only buy inside Roblox. The product debuted on May 15. It's very cute, but I'm old-school, so I'm waiting for Jennifer Behr to drop a cherry red Miss Pac Man hair bow inside a boardwalk arcade… Meanwhile at Maybelline, five shades of Lifter Honey'd Lip Gloss hit shelves on March 15, including honey, caramel, maple, toast and toffee. The $11 formulas look a little basic in the tube, but on lips, the shine is undeniable. It's kind of amazing that Millie Bobby Brown didn't start her beauty brand with a flavoured lip balm, but at least it's happening now. On May 15, Florence By Mills unveiled Butter Crème Lip Balms, a quartet of $15 glosses in Glazed (clear), Watermelon Sherbert (light pink), Angel Food Cake (deep pink) and Toasted Sugar (caramel). The brand photographed each shade to look like piped icing, an effective and fun visual that likely didn't cost much. Cute. Swedish makeup brand Sweed Beauty's bronzer and highlighter hit shelves on May 21, with buildable, sheer formulas and 'elastic and lightweight' textures. Each palette is $45. Do mermaids have their own version of Versailles? Flower Knows is like, 'Yeah, duh.' The over-the-top makeup brand dropped its Shell's Jewel collection on May 27 with shimmery shadows and glosses, all packaged in gilded and pearlized compacts and tubes that go for Baroque. The highlight is a $20 highlighter balm that doubles as a bag charm. I mean… can your Labubu contour? Revolution Beauty's Super Dewy Blush Burst hit shelves on May 28, costs $9 and claims to be so portable, you can fit one inside a tiny Jacquemus bag for summer. (Did we just turn those little guys into bag charms or…?) Bienvenidos, Aora! The Mexican cosmetics line arrived in America on May 28 with plastic-free packaging and includes a solid lip serum, eyeliner and a spacey gold shadow palette that you could stick in a contemporary art museum, or an episode of Andor, with zero reservations. Guerlain's Terracotta Blossom launched on May 28 with a tortoise-shell palette and floral doodles stamped into the pressed powder by artist Laura Gulshani. The press brief says it's 'too pretty to use,' but for $60, please swipe that sucker if you want a bronzy blush. Over the hills and far away, Trixie Mattel came out to play. On May 29, the drag queen and makeup maven introduced a Teletubbies collab with eye shadow, lip gloss, blush, lashes and brushes. Big hug! Ogee's Perfecting Concealer arrived on May 29. It's a $38 formula available in 30 shades. Born this way? Shop this way. Starting June 1, Lady Gaga's Haus Labs will donate $1 from every one of their products purchased at Sephora to the Born This Way Foundation, which funds community spaces and support networks for the LGBTQ+ community. Hair Care On May 28, JVN Hair debuted Perféct, a $28 dry shampoo with a French accent and a formula that includes micellar molecules, which are also found in Bioderma and Garnier's best-selling makeup removers. Fragrance Created by Gucci's former nose Aurélien Guichard, "Vanilla Powder" includes palo santo and coconut, and comes in a traditional perfume, hair mist and lotion. (Matière Première) The pop singer Melanie Martinez has been quietly building a fragrance brand, Portals Parfums, since 2023. It's a partnership with Flower Shop Perfumes, an indie shop by Isaac Lekach, the former fragrance consultant for Paris Hilton, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. On May 15, Portals launched a quartet of concentrated extraits in metal pendants that look a bit like vintage Christmas ornaments. They're $82 each. On May 21, Matière Première said 'bonjour' to its newest fragrance range, Vanilla Powder (pictured). Created by Gucci's former nose Aurélien Guichard, the scent includes palo santo, coconut and white musk, and comes as a traditional perfume, a hair mist and a lotion. And finally… At Caviar Kaspia last night for Assouline's Santoni book launch, I counted no less than five women wearing liquid cat-eye liner, including actress Michelle Monaghan, Editorialist founder Kate Davidson Hudson and art strategist JiaJia Fei. Meanwhile at a New School graduation event, a 60-something documentary photographer asked me to redo her liquid eyeliner in the bathroom before she gave a speech. Gen-Z may not be into it, but if you're over 30, start practicing your Lauren Conrad eye-corner flick ASAP. Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day's most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.
Business of Fashion
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Want to Sell Lip Gloss? Get Boys to Do It
Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a record nine body mists dropping on one day. Included in today's issue: Amika, Athena Club, Blake Brown, By/Rosie Jane, Coppertone, Ellis Brooklyn, Essie, Facile, Florence by Mills, Glamlite, Iris & Romeo, Laura Geller, Glossier, Kayali, Parfums de Marly, Parívie, Phlur, Roame, Sol de Janeiro, Tarte and an unforgivable Eowyn erasure. But first… Close your eyes and imagine which Lancôme ambassador you think is capable of selling the most $25 lip gloss. Is it Zendaya? Olivia Rodrigo? Julia Roberts? According to this week's data dump, it's actually… Ed Westwick. The 37-year-old actor is most famous for playing Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl. This week, he's the internet's main character in a throwback video shot in the Empire Hotel — where Chuck Bass lived in decadent sin on the 2008 hit show — for a new Lancôme campaign. Called the 'Juicy Tubes Kissing Web,' the ads enlist Y2K icons like Mischa Barton, Paris Hilton and Christina Millian, all gushing about Juicy Tubes flavoured lip gloss, which first launched in 2000. Lancôme says the campaign has been one of the brand's top 10 social media launches, but even with that metric, Westwick's wink-to-camera video is exceptional. As of this writing, it's been viewed over 1 million times and boasts nearly 400,000 engagements. All the videos are a blast, but about 30 percent of Lancôme's total follower count has seen the content from Westwick's video alone. (The average engagement rate for makeup brands is closer to 3 percent.) Lancôme says Westwick's video is the most-engaged social media content they've ever made. 'Obviously, we're very happy with the performance,' says Julie Selig, Lancôme's head of consumer engagement. 'We know that nostalgia is a huge conversation and a huge trend in the beauty industry.' Juicy Tubes first debuted in 2000 and appeared onscreen in formative teen content like Mean Girls and The O.C., shows with surprisingly broad and lasting appeal. 'Y2K teen nostalgia hits all the strings,' Selig added. 'Gen Z is just discovering it now and they think it's cool. Millennials remember it vividly because they were teens or college kids. Gen X watched shows like The O.C. as a guilty pleasure, because they were in their 20s. Everyone can relate.' Lancôme began planning the videos in November, and used a content strategy that mixed slickly-produced content with DIY footage shot by the stars themselves. 'I went to the Mark Hotel right before a party to shoot Gabrielle Union,' said Selig. 'When she said, 'There must be some juicy in the atmosphere,' like in Bring It On, I died.' The Juicy Kissing Web, which rolled out as a series of social media videos, "ties together your favorite 2000s celebs... and unites them with a kiss," the brand claims in a release. (Lancôme) Part of Lancôme's nostalgia play is engaging Millennial women's fantasy best friends, like Union and other beloved girl's girls, including Amanda Seyfried and Hilary Duff. But with Westwick and fellow Kissing Web recruit Chad Michael Murray, along with the adorable tagline 'kisses are better with Juicy Tubes,' the brand is capitalising on a different kind of Y2K throwback: Encouraging women to wear makeup because of men. Murray's video talks about kissing his Cinderella Story co-star Duff and his current wife Sarah Roemer when they wore the lip gloss. Westwick recalls a throwback hookup who tasted of Juicy Tubes' 'vintage' Marshmallow Electro flavour. 'A guy on the L'Oréal team brought it up during a brainstorm,' said Selig. 'Men have nostalgia for it too. They remember the taste!' This U-turn from the beauty industry's modern insistence on 'self-care' and 'empowerment' was a risk from a mega-brand like Lancôme. Choosing Westwick, who is most famous for playing a snobby sleazeball with a root-for-me redemption arc, was equally touch-and-go, especially since the actor faced assault allegations in 2017. (They were dismissed but Westwick lost work from the episode.) Today, it seems like both the flirty messaging and the casting choice is paying off. After his smash-hit campaign, Selig hints that Westwick will appear in more Lancôme content this year. As for the idea that you might purchase beauty items to please, or at least tease, a guy? It's been the marketing subtext for Sol de Janeiro's Bum Bum Cream and Phlur's Vanilla Skin for years. Now with the return of ultra-femme beauty aesthetics — as seen earnestly on Carrie Underwood and subversively on Sabrina Carpenter — Lancôme is saying the quiet part out loud: Glossing up is one way to go places. They're hoping brand fans will shop accordingly. What else is new… Skincare Coppertone unveiled a new ad campaign with Olympic rugby babe Ilona Maher on March 4; Instagram and TikTok ads began hitting my feed this week. The cutest is Maher getting chased by a puppy and showing off her taglines, just like the sun-care brand's original cartoon mascot did in 1953. Erewhon's newest arrival is By/Rosie Jane. On May 15, the Aussie brand debuted its Every Day range of body care, including deodorant, body wash, body milk and moisturiser. It's all under $25, which is considered a bargain at the L.A. grocery store. ($80 tote bags, anyone?) Iris & Romeo's Weekend Skin tinted moisturiser is now available in Cool Glow, a shade for pale girls. The colour hit shelves on May 16, with the same SPF 50 and Vitamin C as its original formula. E.l.f. Cosmetics introduced its Sheer For It Blush Tint on May 17. The $5 formula comes in five colours, including a cherry hue called Left on Red. (Adorbs!) Athena Club hit Target stores on May 18, which is great, because I cannot keep taping their single razors to a chopstick while I wait for replacement kits in the mail. Fran Drescher wants to pave your pores. On May 19, the Nanny icon paired with Laura Geller to launch Spackle Skin Perfecting Primer, a $38 formula with SPF 30. As part of the campaign, the brand will make a one-time donation to Drescher's charity, Cancer Schmancer. Paris Hilton's skincare line, Parívie, has arrived in full force. On May 19, the range dropped with a cleanser, serum, moisturiser, overnight mask and neck cream, along with an 'essence' for brightening. The range goes for $38 to $125, and comes packaged in gleaming fuchsia bottles. If only Kitson still existed so this thing could have a proper Melrose Place launch party! Julianna Christensen is the type of home influencer who organizes her fridge on camera. On May 20, she launched Roame, an extension of her tidy aesthetic bubble that includes soap sheets, wipes and even toilet-seat covers. Welcome to Sephora, Facile! The skincare brand by Los Angeles derm Dr. Nancy Samolitis launched in 273 doors on May 20 with four products; 'West Village Girls' can also buy it at Happier Grocery, the closest thing New York City has to Erewhon. Sol de Janeiro's Body Badalada Vitamin Infused Lotion dropped on May 22 with an ad campaign starring Brazilian influencer Juliana Nalu, along with online it girl Samyra Miller, dancer Nick Pauley and Bretman Rock. Makeup Glamlite's Lord of the Rings collaboration hit Middle Earth, and actual Earth, on May 16. It's got a shadow palette, a lip scrub, a highlighter and a gloss — but zero products named Eowyn, so just throw the whole thing off the Rohan castle drawbridge, because come on! Has Tarte made every possible Maracuja Lip product? Not quite. On May 19, the cosmetics giant dropped a $27 lip stain in two pink shades, Lolli and Ice Pop, meant to mimic the effects of lip blushing. (Or at least the effects of sucking on a cherry popsicle until your lips turn bright red.) On May 19, Glow Recipe launched Glass Balm, a four-shade collection inspired by the Korean shaved ice dessert bingsoo. The $22 formula has 'hyaluronic microspheres' that 'help to fill lip lines.' Does this mean there are also hyaluronic megaspheres? Or is that just, like, a regular drop of serum? Chemists, help a girl out. Glossier Lip Glaze arrived on May 20 with six colours, one for every member of the K-pop group Katseye, which fronts the new product campaign. They're $22 each. Kylie Cosmetics debuted its Hybrid Blush on May 20 with a balm-to-powder formula in eight shades. The launch imagery includes Kylie with high, teased hair and a white lace push-up bra — very Priscilla-coded. Essie has re-released Clambake, a red-orange glaze from 2008 that influencer Meredith Hayden of Wishbone Kitchen has been hunting down on eBay for the past decade. The shade matches the checkered plastic tablecloths at the seafood shacks in Maine and Massachusetts; it hit shelves on May 21. Makeup By Mario's SoftSculpt Blurring Bronzer hit Sephora on May 22. It's a buildable contouring compact available in six shades and retails for $38. Hair Care Amika's Frizz Me Not collection debuted on May 20. It's a trio — shampoo, conditioner and treatment spray — that claims to be 'a $30 replacement for a $300 Brazilian blowout.' I'm gonna take my coarse, bleached-fried 3C curls and test it. Stay tuned. Hair & Body Mist Overload Everybody's doing a hair and body mist, starting with Millie Bobby Brown, who named hers 'Love Core.' It's a perfect choice for her audience and personal brand, which is basically 'What if your fave Love Island contestant was also capable of winning an Oscar?' It's $18 at Ulta Beauty, and debuted with notes of cherry nectar and candied mandarin. Meanwhile at Target, Blake Lively's hair care line Blake Brown released three new hair mists on May 19, including bergamot, vanilla and santal options. They're $19 each and come in gilded bottles that resemble Parfums de Marly's take on modern decadence. And speaking of Parfums de Marly, did you know Amal Clooney's blowout was spritzed with the stuff before stepping out onto the Cannes red carpet in her vintage Galliano dress? Hair stylist Dimitris Giannetos did the honors. Phlur dropped two summer mists, Beach Skin and Peach Skin, on May 19. The former has notes of coconut milk and salted tiare flower; the latter launched with a special drink at the vegan cafe The Butcher's Daughter called Peach Glow. And just in case you want another flavour, Ellis Brooklyn's Milkshake trio includes banana, lychee and mango scents. They're $35 each, and debuted on May 19. Kayali's Vacay in a Bottle collection hit Sephora on May 20. It's kind of like the destination wedding of fragrances, with scents named for Maui, Capri, Marrakesh and the Maldives. And finally… Between this Jimmy Choo relaunch and the Row's $690 flip-flops, it's going to be a double-duty pedicure season. Birkenstock foot scrub, this is your time. Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day's most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.
Business of Fashion
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
How to Make Millions Selling Temporary Tattoos
Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a teen drama with its own blush brush. Included in today's issue: Bella Hadid, Colourpop, Dune Suncare, Essie, Goop, Hourglass Cosmetics, Jenna Perry, Hairitage, Half Magic, Iris & Romeo, Kopari, Lancôme, Laneige, Laura Geller Beauty, Legendairy Milk, Lush, Mienne, Naked Sundays, Nakedbeauty MD, Olive & June, Paris Hilton, Pleasing, Reframe, Schwarzkopf Professional, Sonsie, Steve Madden, The Lip Bar and the second coming of Gen-X beauty directors. But first… When small children use your body as a human jungle gym, you begin to notice things. The arm shoved against your cheek is covered in unicorns and planets. The leg plopped onto your shoulder is spangled with stars and Spongebobs. 'I like to leave mine on for as long as I can because it looks cool,' said Oscar, an 8-year-old in Brooklyn who can name every mineral in the Museum of Natural History, of his temporary tattoos. Oscar said some boys in his class prefer to paint their nails (blue and purple, mostly) but he thinks the tattoos 'are more interesting.' His mother confirms they buy them all the time from CVS; bookstores and toy stores also stock them now, along with museum gift shops. 'It's girls and boys who like them,' said Oscar's little brother Mattis, 6. Adds Julian, a 7-year-old in California who loves playing drums, 'We get temporary tattoos in gift bags at birthday parties. They are everywhere.' In the 1980s and 1990s, Bonne Bell Lipsmackers or cherry Chapsticks were goodie bag staples, and usually only for girls. Those have been replaced with temporary tattoos, which appeal to all genders and can provide hours of Gen Alpha entertainment. They're not the only ones who love them. Gen-Z and Millennials are also using temporary tattoos as an 'activity,' said Fazit co-founder Aliett Buttelman. Pore strips and face masks hit an algorithmic sweet spot for skincare, which prompted the New York-based entrepreneur to wonder ''What does that look like in cosmetics?'' Fazit debuted a series of temporary tattoo glitter freckles at Coachella in 2024; by festival's end, they'd sold 100,000 packs of the product and gained 10 million organic views on TikTok. 'Of course little kids love them,' said Buttelman. 'But our demographic also spans into Gen X, because there's that nostalgia factor. Putting stickers and glitter on your face is joyful. And unlike makeup, you don't have to worry if it's going to smudge at the end of a party.' A number of entrepreneurs are scaling whimsy into beauty businesses. Danielle Egna, the founder of Inked by Dani, launched her temporary tattoo company in 2019. Unlike Fazit's more glittery, cosmetic-like takes, Egna's designs are truer to the original form. Inked By Dani designs span ultra-realistic motifs like stick-and-poke stars to wacky collaborations like an official 'Emily in Paris' croissant. 'It does feel like magic when you see it applied, just with water,' she said. In six years, the brand has partnered with Paramount Pictures and Netflix on custom motifs that click with kids and tweens; this spring, for its older audience, the label debuted a semi-permanent range based on popular line-drawn tattoo styles. 'When I wear them, people ask me if I finally got a tattoo,' said Egna, who is 32. 'I'm like, guys, I own a temporary tattoo company. I literally cannot get a real one!' The brand's first big retailer was Walmart; on Sunday, it'll launch into Target's incubator space, Beauty Minis, and be available at Fazit's glitter freckles enjoyed viral boosts in 2024 from Coachella and Taylor Swift. Fazit began as a 'skin patch' company with zit stickers and ingrown hair treatments circa 2022. But after last year's Coachella debut of glitter freckles, they were approached by both CVS and Urban Outfitters. In October of 2024, Taylor Swift wore Fazit's glitter freckles to a Kansas City Chiefs game, causing sales to skyrocket over 3,500 percent in less than 24 hours. 'We knew immediately we had to diversify,' said Buttelman, who began creating designs for collarbones and shoulders, 'snowflake freckles' for skiers and holiday collections for Valentine's and St. Patrick's days. Fazit also developed 'game day' patches that let sports fans and players wear their team's colours as metallic 'paint' smears across the cheeks, and have become popular during sorority rush events on US campuses. In June, Fazit will launch its most makeup-adjacent product yet: A temporary tattoo designed to mimic a red carpet cosmetic trend that's tough to pull off in person. (Buttelman wouldn't reveal the exact design, but sources say it's a take on eye makeup.) They are projecting $40 million in revenue for 2025, up from last year's earnings of $10 million. Buttelman attributes the brand's profitability to its mass appeal: 'Everyone can participate in the product,' she said. 'It's not an age thing or a trend thing. It's just fun.' What else is new… Skincare On May 8, Lush announced a major milestone: The brand has now donated over $100 million to advocacy groups for human rights and environmental protection. They celebrated with spokes-babe Dylan Mulvaney at the brand's charitable Resist Ball in New York. Dune Suncare unveiled the Slip Stick on May 8. It's a swipe-on SPF 50 formula with a cooling effect on skin that retails for $30. Besides retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, Dune has made it into Pacsun's doors, which speaks to their appeal with younger shoppers who may not always have sun protection as a goal. I'll be honest: I thought Legendairy Milk was one of those 'designer Lactaid' brands. Apparently, it's actually a breast milk supplement brand, and now it's expanding its focus to include hair growth, hormonal stability and sleep care. LM's extended range of five women's wellness gummies hit Walmart on May 12. If you watch too much TV, good news: Iris & Romeo hit QVC on May 12, so you can buy their absolute banger of a lip balm without changing the channel. Laneige is spilling the (bubble) tea. On May 13, the K-beauty brand debuted matcha (flat green) and taro (hazy lilac) shades of its best-selling lip mask and balm, each photographed next to a giant cup of boba. Adorbs, etc. On May 13, Mantle Skin dropped The Lite Cream, a summer-weight moisturiser with niacinamide and panthenol. The Swedish-made moisturiser retails for $49 and has the same butter yellow hue that's popular with cashmere cardigans right now. Nakedbeauty MD has hit Violet Grey. The Los Angeles brand entered the ultra-luxe retailer with a new launch, Biopeptide Growth Factor Eye Therapy Serum, on May 13. Created by plastic surgeon Dr. Catherine Chang, the formula includes 'peptides and growth factors' to help reduce puffiness, fine lines and dark circles. It retails for $180. Want to smell like a celebrity yoga studio circa 2005? Head to Bliss. On May 14, the spa brand expanded its signature Lemon & Sage to include hand cream and hand wash. Mienne has enlisted Julia Fox, Parris Goebel and Lola Leon as its first campaign faces. The brand makes both body care and lube — called 'Sex Serum' and retailing for $55 — and the packaging asks the question, 'What if the Pleasing nail polishes by Harry Styles looked even more like adorable sex toys?' It launched on March 14. Sonsie launched updated formulas of its Basic Balm ($22) and Multi Moisture Cream ($48) on May 15. The skincare range first launched in 2023, then brought Pamela Anderson on board in 2024 as a co-founder. Anderson would be stunning even if she slathered Crisco on her face and called it a day, but it's still intriguing to see someone known for her pared-down makeup going hard for a skincare brand. It's a girl! On May 15, Reframe was born. The skincare line was created with influencer Savannah James in partnership with Howard University's College of Dermatology, and includes three core products ranging from $95 to $115. James worked with Nick Axelrod, the man behind Nécessaire and Courteney Cox's Homecourt brands who began his beauty career at Glossier. Spotted: Half Magic makeup on 'Overcompensating," the new LGBTQ+ show from A24 and Amazon starring comedian Benito Skinner as a closeted jock heading to college. The move represents another baby step into beauty-tainment from the film studio, which has also done Half Magic tie-ins with 'Priscilla' and 'Euphoria." This time, it comes in the form of an 'Overcompensating' makeup kit including an eye crayon, lip gloss, face gems and a blush brush. Colourpop's wicked cute Lilo & Stitch collab debuted on May 15 with eyeshadows, matte blush and three lip gloss shades packaged in giant popsicle applicators. Mahalo! Makeup Roll out the welcome matte. The Lip Bar dropped a new shade of its $15 Nonstop Liquid Matte Lipstick called Mastermind, a deep, warm brown. It debuted on May 13. After Naked Sundays released its blush and bronze serums, they realised they could do more (and make more revenue) in the space. Enter Blush & Bronze Glow Balms, which come in creamy sticks and have SPF 50. They launched on May 13 in three shades, and go for $25 each. We love a multitask. Laura Geller Beauty's Spackle Skin Perfecting Primer has SPF 30, so while it's blurring pores it can block rays. It hit shelves on May 13 and retails for $38. Juicy Couture, meet Juicy Tubes. On May 15, Lancôme introduced its newest brand buddy, Paris Hilton, with a video showing the Y2K icon applying the Y2K makeup staple in her all-pink-everything closet. She's got one of the $24 glosses dangling from her handbag like a charm; this is a nice touch, and Lancôme should sell it that way! Let the games begin… or, uh, continue? On May 15, Olive & June dropped its Big Play collection, a tennis-themed range of nine shades including neon yellow, pastel green and deep purple. Hourglass Cosmetics launched its Ambient Lighting Edit, a series of makeup palettes that flank the brand's bestselling highlighter. A+ for the name but I'm a little less bullish on the price: $70 per quad. Wow. Hair Care The bouncy curls keep coming. On May 8, Hairitage launched Rise & Shine, a thermal brush with a 1.25-inch barrel and four heat settings. It retails for $50. More than a few group chats erupted with news that Bella Hadid had gone blonde at Cannes on May 13. It turns out, the process took two days, and was handled by stylist and Schwarzkopf Professional ambassador Jacob Schwartz. The brand's messaging got a little messy — since Bella was apparently a blonde baby, they've called it 'a return to her roots,' even though Schwartz was using synthetic chemicals to alter her roots in an intense, 48-hour process. The finished look is stunning, but maybe it's okay to admit that red carpet beauty isn't 'natural' or 'authentic.' Making a bold choice about how we want to look is, after all, its own type of power. Bella, lean in! Welcome to the East Village, Jenna Perry! On May 15, the celebrity stylist responsible for the locks of Chloë Sevigny and Kendall Jenner moved her salon from New York City's Soho neighbourhood to the grittier and more easygoing Alphabet City. The salon will reserve space for walk-ins, so go early and you might end up getting highlights next to Em Rata. Fragrance Shoe brand Steve Madden (really) debuted Rose Goldie, a bergamot and amber scent, on May 10. It comes in a metallic heart bottle and retails for $78, but I'd buy two if the gift-with-purchase was the Row-adjacent jelly weirdo. Will guava dethrone strawberry as 2025's summer scent? Kopari is coming for the crown with its Pink Guava Hair & Body Fragrance Mist, which dropped on May 15. It's in a bright pink bottle at Ulta and Nordstrom and goes for $29. And finally… Goop has its next editrix! Congratulations to Amy Synnott, the beloved former beauty director at InStyle who later figured out how to herd all the craziest cats — er, visionary forces — as a whip-smart executive editor at Harper's Bazaar and Elle. (Full disclosure: Synnott had the good / bad luck to edit my crazy stories about sex during Covid-19. I found her to be masterful.) Synnott joins Gwyneth Paltrow's empire as its editorial director, overseeing all content. She marks the empire's first big media hire since parting ways with staffers like Jean Godfrey-June, its former executive beauty director, in November. Tellingly, Godfrey-June remains something of a mystic figure for Millennial beauty writers in various industry group chats; you can see her invisible fingerprints on a lot of current 'voicy' pieces. Meanwhile, have you noticed that former Elle beauty director Emily Dougherty now cultivates Cultured's playfully artful — and super-shareable — beauty coverage? Print editors aren't dead, they're just cooler than we'll ever be.
Business of Fashion
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Is Homemade Shampoo a Recession Indicator?
Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and new makeup influencers: NBA players. Included in today's issue: Benefit Cosmetics, Blue Lagoon, Cocolab, Decorté, Dr. Dennis Gross, Eadem, Fenty, Glossier, MAC Cosmetics, Murad, Nyx, Obagi, Omnilux, Osea, Ouai, Parfums de Marly, Pat McGrath Labs, Paul Mitchell, Paul Reacts, Redken, Saie, Saint Jane, Sol de Janeiro, Sol Labs, Tarte, 5 Sens and Hello Kitty's bikini beauty routine. But first… A few minutes after therapy, I opened my phone for some more immediate mental health care: A TikTok video of a woman making her own shampoo from onions. Her name is Ify Ekwelem, and she's a holistic healer based in West Africa. In a lulling tone, Ekwelem narrates tiny videos about DIY beauty routines made from kitchen staples — an olive oil 'bum scrub,' a lemon juice and baking soda deodorant paste. She boasts a few hundred thousand followers on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but by far, her most viral content is this onion shampoo video, which counts over 1.5 million views and 20,000 shares on TikTok alone. She's joined by a young woman in Mexico named Geneva who has 4.5 million views on her similar recipe. By TikTok standards, this video shouldn't 'work.' The majority are just close-ups of a plain plastic bottle with a few loops of red onion and some cinnamon. Nobody is wearing a teeny Brandy Melville camisole and talking to you like a homeroom flirt. There isn't any choreography. It's just a straight-up example of ancestral knowledge transformed into cheerful, anyone-can-do-this service content. In this way, the onion shampoo video is brilliant. It's also an example of what's coming next — or what could come next, if tariffs and stock swings keep scaring shoppers away. In every moment of economic panic, there is a DIY beauty boom. After 9/11, we saw the emergence of at-home manicure kits enter the luxury space, a trend led by Rescue Beauty lounge owner Ji Baek. In 2008, the collision of big bank freakouts and YouTube curiosity led to extreme contouring, 'baking,' and other makeup tricks cribbed from drag queens and your old babysitter who went on to work at MAC. The lockdowns of 2020 caused a skincare explosion where being a '12 stepper' connoted an at-home serum routine. We're seeing the DIY push now with haircare. Onion shampoo has a 70 percent spike in Google searches since May of last year. There's also the #ricewater trend, a Tiktok situation with half a billion views (?!) where girls boil a pot of rice, leave the water sitting overnight, then douse their hair in it. And heatless curling techniques can happen with socks ($1.99) when needed. Obviously, you can buy elevated versions of this stuff. Fable and Mane uses onion juice in its top-rated $48 ayurvedic shampoo and conditioner set; Oribe and Augustinus Bader employ rice extracts in their best-selling hair care formulas, which retail for between $50 and $90. For soft and bouncy curls, the Shark Beauty dryer is a $200 marvel. But when you can pull off a beauty look without really buying anything, you feel like you're getting away with something. And in a world where creators of colour have been suppressed by various algorithms, seeing holistic formulas from South America, Africa and India triumph on Tiktok has an additional grace note. But even if the systemic subtext isn't part of one's personal beauty equation, adopting these home remedies, one can feel more resourceful. That isn't exactly the same as powerful, but it's closer than just pretty. You can buy all these DIY hair ingredients — even the cheap socks — at any big supermarket or big box store. In a sense, it's the beginning of the Pretty Preppers movement, where a 'make-do' ethos supersedes our belief in financial safety nets, but not in basic beauty standards. Considering our prestige TV calendar has just swapped the wealth-porn paradise of White Lotus for the apocalyptic root network of The Last of Us, and the gilded magic of Wicked has given way to the underworld hypnosis of Sinners, it's not entirely a surprise. Perhaps it's a relief. Visibility is the closest thing we have to currency right now, especially since our actual currency is having a more volatile moment. And if you can be seen for your practical knowledge instead of your eerily symmetrical smile, some would consider that progress. You, dear readers, are likely too cynical to embrace that ethos wholesale. But at least you'll consider it a change in your market strategy. What else is new… Skincare It's literally captivating. Obagi's Retinol + PHA Refining Night Cream has 'entrapped' its retinol for a longer release period, which allegedly reduces skin sensitivity and prolongs the whole 'less wrinkles' situation. It hit shelves on May 5 and retails for $135. Double cleanse? They don't know her. Osea launched its Ocean Wave Cleanser on May 6, and it's meant to be both a makeup remover and a pore cleanser, all in one bottle for $38. Nobody's mad. Plant mucus is a thing now. On May 6, Saint Jane debuted Rich Rescue Phyto Mucin Cream, a tube of hydrating goo made with mucin proteins derived from yam roots. The cream retails for $48 and claims to boost skin elasticity and volume. Omnilux is one of those gizmo brands that straps a Friday the Thirteenth hockey mask on you, then floods it with LED light to mimic the effects of a laser facial at home. On May 6, the Napa Valley-based brand alerted press that you can now buy the $395 gadget on a payment plan. Old: Swiping on Bumble matches. Now: Swiping on self-tanner. On May 9, Dr. Dennis Gross dropped Alpha Beta Glow Pads, a range of pre-soaked wipes loaded with face and body self-tanner. They're $48; a Sephora exclusive. Blue Lagoon wants to make summer clothes for your skin. On May 8, the brand introduced BL+ The Cream Light, a 'warm weather moisturiser' made with a less dense formula. It's got microalgae in the formula, and you know what that means — pondscum alert! Is TikTok Shop a development or a retail site? Murad will find out. After its Deep Relief acne treatment went viral this winter, the doctor-fronted brand developed a whole new product — Biome-Balancing Clear & Prevent Acne Treatment Serum — to launch exclusively on TikTok Shop starting May 8. It'll hit two weeks later. On May 7, Japanese luxury skincare brand Decorté introduced Sun Shelter, an SPF 50+ formula with rosemary extract and aloe. It's $42 and found at the Big Three — Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and Saks. Makeup It's a bronzer! It's an SPF! It's a wrinkle treatment! It's $36. Sol Labs debuted Lumibronze, its new 3-in-one sun serum, on May 2, in three shades. Tarte's latest Maracuja extension: A Juicy Lip Tattoo product that stains lips with 'no pain and no regrets.' The dual-ended colour tint costs $29 and comes in five shades of 'yes, great, I'll have that.' Glow-La-La is the newest Benefit Cosmetics compact. The powder highlighter launched on March 5 with six shades including Raya, a luminescent pale peach. It's a tiny indication that dating apps are declining — four years ago, if you named anything 'Raya,' you would have had to make a joke about swiping with Ben Affleck. Ellie the Elephant is gonna dance to 'Umbrella (Ella, Ella).' On May 7, Fenty Beauty announced a partnership with the New York Liberty. Fenty founder Rihanna says, 'We're excited for them to get their game faces on.' Does that mean we'll see you courtside, Ri? Fingers crossed! Bring the kids! Saie Beauty had three Dew Blush shades — Lady (mauve), Hottie (peach) and Flirty (pink) — hitting shelves on May 7. They're $25 each. Rather put pink on your lips? Eadem's Guava Fresca gloss also hit May 7. Glossier's new campaign stars Katseye, the K-pop group birthed on Netflix and brought to cutie-pie life by revered creative director Humberto Leon. Did I report in 2024 that a beauty brand should scoop them up? I did, though to be honest, I'm surprised that a label as big — and as Millennial-driven — as Glossier would be the one to do it. Still, great. Now we just need justice for Emily Kelavos!!! Blurred lips for less. On May 9, Nyx launched Smushy Matte Lip Balm, a 12-shade range with a chubby font, a $9 price tag and a lot of dessert-scented formulas named for cakes and pies. Hair Care Paul Mitchell debuted its Clear Collection on May 2. The line for extra-sensitive skin includes shampoo, conditioner, smoothing serum and styling 'glaze,' each with 10 ingredients or less. Ouai introduced a Thickening Spray on May 6 that doubles as a heat protectant and smells like ginger, basil and tomato leaves. (Your move, Loewe.) Fragrance Lychee is gaining steam in the gourmand wars. On May 6, Cocolab introduced Lychee Breeze as its new flavor for Cocoshine and Cocofloss. Wear 'em and weep? On May 6, fragrance brand 5 Sens, founded by Wander Beauty's Divya Gugnani, launched Happy Tears, an orange blossom and jasmine fragrance that claims to be 'serotonin in a spritz.' IDK though — my bottle of Lexapro is free with insurance, and this stuff is $65. Paul Reacts is a TikTok channel where a dude smells perfumes and tells you if they're good. On May 8, the brand debuted its own scent, Strawberry Sensation, a $65 formula with vanilla and sandalwood. The press release says the scent 'isn't a dupe or riff' and namechecks strawberry motifs from Rhode, Glossier and — wild card — Simone Rocha as proof of concept. (But the real proof is whether this thing sells.) Met Gala Learnings Parfums de Marly would like its red carpet callouts, please. The French label spritzed Tyla and Joey King with its hair scents and even secured quotes from their stylists (Yusef Williams and Rena Calhoun, respectively) to reinforce the message. Expect more #ad attempts like this in the future, especially with Cannes coming up. Sol de Janeiro also dipped its toe into the celebrity space, lathering up the model Paloma Elsesser in body oil and Bum Bum Cream. Meanwhile, men's grooming went big on the carpet, with Avène Eau Thermale, MAC Cosmetics, Nyx, Pat McGrath Labs, Redken and Vaseline getting their spotlight via male celebs like Lewis Hamilton, Shaboozey and Law Roach (whose matched his Vaseline partnership to a blue-and-gold crocodile Hermés Kelly). And finally… The K-Beauty brand Amuse launched its Hello Kitty collaboration on May 2. To celebrate, they gave the beloved cartoon a tan. If Hello Kitty had a mouth, she'd be laughing so hard right now… Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day's most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.
