Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a slow-burning “Shark Tank” success story.
Included in this issue: Bondi Boost, Brunello Cuccinelli, Clean Classic, Curie, FAQ Swiss, F. Miller, Fekkai, Good Chemistry, Hard Candy, Ideo, I Dew Care, Hard Candy, K18, Loops, Mama Sol, Mara, Milk Makeup, Murad, Oribe, Pat McGrath Labs, Saie, Skin Memory, Starface, The Ordinary, Thrive Causemetics, Tonymoly, YSL Beauté, Wild and Thin Mint supremacy.
But first…
They’ve figured out a way to take more of our money. “They” are luxury fashion brands and “more” is about $200 – $600, which we’re now spending on — apologies for this — hair brooches.
There’s been small explosion in actual brooches this season, with brands from Prada to Anthropologie sticking them in their jewellery offerings and Bode, JW Anderson and Carolina Herrera using them in recent runway collections. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a brooch-wearing guide by Freya Drohan; Harper’s Bazaar did a refined shopping pull by Julie Tong. Then Town & Country editor-in-chief Stellene Volandes copped to hating them in her new Gems of Wisdom newsletter but admitted she’s coming around on the super-size versions worn by Michelle Yeoh and Adrien Brody. We’ll likely see even more laden lapels at the Oscars on Sunday.
Now gems are migrating north for the winter, and spring, with Chloe and Valentino debuting costly hair adornments that look a lot like regular brooches, but with a bobby pin or clip instead of a stabber. (Saint Laurent’s gilded hair pins are basically mini-versions of their $550 logo badges.) Hair-forward accessories brands like Jennifer Behr are also minting investment pieces like crystalline butterfly and snowflake barrettes that mirror recent runway pieces from Erdem and Simone Rocha. Elle recently pointed to Khaite’s $580 gold hair cuff as a must-have street style accessory. (“Always give them a new detail to look at!” was how paparazzi magnet Chloe King put it before tonight’s Fendi show in Milan.)
At a preliminary hair and makeup test this week for a big Paris fashion show, giant hair baubles — brooches, basically — were stuck onto the models, waiting for designer approval. To quote Taylor Swift’s 2009 “Saturday Night Live” song, I’m not gonna comment on that in my monologue … because said designer would kill me, and I fully intend to die after glamorously taking up smoking in my 80s, not because a French luxury conglomerate strangles me with a $950 monogram belt. Besides the hair brooches on influencers at Gucci, Marni and Fendi this week, designer Corrada Rodriguez d’Acri took some of her label’s signature logo buttons and pinned them into the updos of several models, creating branded buns. Antonio Marras bejewelled his models’ hair, too; the effect was almost striking enough to pull focus from front-row guest Sharon Stone. (Wow!)
Why are hair brooches a good call for retailers? Well, some industry sources peg the hair accessory market pegged at a current value of over $20 billion, with expected growth up to $33 billion by 2034. After Ashley Williams created solid brand growth with her caustic bedazzled hair pins in 2019, Gucci branded barrettes, Prada scrunchies, and Miu Miu clips took off, along with the Emi Jay kawaii claws that hit Sephora on Feb. 11. But bows and scrunchies are hitting a saturation point, and brooches let you telegraph a logo pretty literally, helping spread brand awareness and status while taming flyaways. This is hair’s equivalent of a Burberry check scarf, but it’s a lot cheaper to manufacture. And as TikTok and YouTube Shorts push people toward 360 beauty looks instead of static imagery, these clips can be the eyes — or at least the Valentino “i” — in the back of the head.
What Else Is New
Skincare
I Dew Care introduced an Aqua Kitten Mask on Feb. 20 with hyaluronic acid for a “dewy, post-facial glow.” It’s $23 at Ulta Beauty, and my one critique is that there are no kittens pictured on the jar.
Tonymoly’s first-ever body care line, Plum Bum, debuted with a range of seven SKUs on Feb. 21.
Target is digging deodorant. On Feb. 23, the superstore introduced five scented sticks from Curie, the “Shark Tank”-famous brand, going for $12. The next day, the natural UK brand Wild hit the bullseye with starter packs going for $20 and refills priced at $10.
Murad’s two face oils, Retinol Youth Renewal ($72) and Cellular Hydration Repair ($65), hit shelves on Feb. 24. They’re meant to be used alone or dropped into your normal serum or moisturiser, which is a nice touch as temperatures finally increase — but so do rainy, windy days.
Skin Memory is a moisturiser that “functions on a cellular level” to make skin “remember” how to bounce back from sun damage and fatigue. Meanwhile, I can’t remember where my last five Starface lip balms went… (Sorry, Julie.) If you’re intrigued, the formula from Ideo dropped on Feb. 24 and retails for $135 — so, more than lip balm.
Speaking of Starface, its cleanser and moisturisers hit shelves on Feb. 25 with electric blue “splat!” graphics that bring to mind the YouTube slime of yore. See also: A swirly, sweet video that mimics the aesthetic of an ‘80s cartoon.
On Feb. 26, F. Miller introduced Support Serum, an $82 “cloud-like” formula with tremella mushroom extract and floral stem cells that promises more elasticity and firmness, plus relief for sensitivity. Founder Fran Miller is also one of the creative directors at Literary Sport, the clothing line which occupies a liminal, fascinating place between High Sport and Sporty & Rich.
Even your jewellery has peptides now. On Feb. 26, Mara launched Pearl Peptide Glaze, an all-in-one liquid that doubles as both toner and moisturiser, and counts pearl powder as a key ingredient, along with algae. It’s $54, which is fairly premium — but not the $400 of a Monica Vinader version. (Still: wow.)
FAQ Swiss made a “glass skin” face mask that launched Feb. 26. It’s meant to be used underneath an LED light therapy mask to “achieve that glossy doll-like appearance.”
The Ordinary’s first-ever essence debuted on Feb. 28 for $12. It has propanediol, a hydration booster and solvent that’s also used in antifreeze. Please do not panic about this; even the stern scolds at Environmental Working Group say it’s fine.
Loops launched a sheet mask on Feb. 28 that’s just for the lip area. (There’s a slit you can breathe through.) It’s called the Weekly Reset, sells in $25 packs of $5, and looks just wacky enough to be a potential selfie trend.
We don’t think of mid-priced hotel boutiques as launchpads for beauty brands but… well… maybe we should. Case in point: The Four Seasons just added Mama Sol, the independent sun care brand, to its St. Louis spa and pool menu. The line entered Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas and the Fairmont Hotels in California last year, along with a Florida Keys golf club and a massage therapy spa in Venice Beach. Consider this the beauty equivalent of an actor signing with a boutique agency instead of a massive talent firm: Mass exposure is smaller, but the potential for one-on-one attention is greater. In the “if you know, you know” economy, that could ultimately be a big boost… and if you’re only making 50,000 or so units a year, that might be all you need.
Makeup
Over 255 million people play Candy Crush daily; now they can wear it, too. Pat McGrath Labs has teamed with the block-and-break video game on a limited-edition range of lipstick, blush and nail polish with swirly packaging. In a Wonka-worthy twist, three random buyers will also win a $10,000 diamond ring from Basliq, which is one heck of a gift-with-purchase. This is the first time Candy Crush has entered the runway realm since 2017, when Moschino did a streetwear collab with the game during Coachella. Then-designer Jeremy Scott told me that he didn’t get any free lives or unlimited game codes from the partnership — I sure hope Pat got them to cave on that!
Milk Makeup’s Hydro Grip added a “gel skin tint” with 15 shades and a dewy finish. The $36 tubes hit Sephora on Feb. 21 and offer buildable coverage, so you can go a little sheer or more selfie-proof.
Saie gave its Sephora fans an exclusive on Feb. 24: The chance to buy their SuperSuede Baked blush a day before anyone else. It comes in six shades, including three — Stella, Mia and Bella — named after many of their Gen-Z customers.
YSL Beauté is so smart to design its Hyper Blur Soft-Focus powder, which premiered on Feb. 24, with a lid that resembles the brand’s signature leather Loulou bag. More fashion brands should have this kind of hyper-literal integration with their beauty packaging. Charity awareness may start at home, but brand cravings often get planted at a teen Sephora visit.
Thrive Causemetics dropped a clear brow laminate that’s $26 and launched on the 26th. (Symmetry!)
Girl Scout Cookie Season officially kicked off on Jan. 7, but it wasn’t until Feb. 26 that Hard Candy dropped a collaboration worthy of a jamboree (or at least a “Troop Beverly Hills” rewatch). The range includes lip oils, eyeshadow palettes, a primer and cookie-scented body oils. Now we just need Boy Scouts to collab with Merit on a badge.
Hair Care
BondiBoost’s Long Barrel Infrared Thermal Bounce Brush hit Sephora on Feb. 25. The $110 brush uses infrared light to “gently heat hair from within” and “lock in moisture with negative ions.” It’s $110, or two Drybar blowouts.
The higher the hair, the closer to TikTok? K18 is testing that theory with AstroLift, a $46 volumizing spray that launched Feb. 25 with peptides — yes, they’re even in hairspray now — meant to protect against breakage and dullness.
Beauty sleep hits the hair care aisle. On Feb. 25, Fekkai rolled out its Super Strength PM Repair Serum, a $30 overnight treatment meant to stop split ends during your REM cycle.
Oribe’s Densifying Collection debuted on Feb. 25 with a $52 shampoo, $55 conditioner and $76 densifying spray. The formulas use red clover and pea sprout extracts, making this the most cottagecore luxury drop since Loewe decided tomatoes were really for soap.
Fragrance
Good Chemistry’s Not That Vanilla fragrance hit Target and Amazon on Feb. 19. Despite the name, it is indeed loaded with vanilla, along with cedar, cocoa bean and forest chestnut.
Cherries are getting their flowers right now, but strawberries are starting to bud, too. Clean Classic’s Strawberry Fields perfume launches tomorrow, Mar. 1, at Ulta Beauty and Macy’s with notes of jasmine, linen and amber. It’s $44.
Brunello Cucinelli included its fragrances in its Feb. 26 presentation at Milan Fashion Week. The glass-and-matte-metal bottles were lined up alongside the brand’s small leather goods, and just across from the new collection of must-haves for capable heiresses and too-focused-to-fuss CEOs. It was a nice touch, but hardly a surprise for a label that’s made a killing understanding the coded details of wealth.
And Finally
Neutrogena flew beauty editors to Aspen last week. Shiseido is playing host in Tokyo this week. At least five editors I know are touring the spa at the Four Seasons in Thailand as I write this. After a cooling period because of Covid and mild FOC (fear of cancellation), the miles game is clearly back on! Plan your frequent flier periods accordingly.
