Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and so much salmon sperm. (Is a lox shortage imminent? Discuss.)
Included in today’s issue: Abib, Alex Cooper, Aprés Nail, Being Haircare, Billie, Bvlgari, Henry Rose, Knesko, Kylie Cosmetics, L’Oréal Paris, Lancer, Literie, Natasha Denona, Native, Ôrebella, Ogee, Olive & June, The Ordinary, Rael, R.e.m. Beauty, Saltair, Saje Natural Wellness, POV Beauty, Skin Laundry, Valentino Beauty, Wet Brush, YSL Beauty and Bella Swan vs. Bella Hadid.
But first…
Bright green hair is a teenage thing — at least, we all assume so. But this month, Manic Panic founders Tish and Snooky Bellomo realised with a jolt that their Instagram followers had spiked nearly 20 percent among people over 45. Meanwhile, some of the hair dye brand’s biggest points of online engagement came from men and women between 55 to 65, which skews far more Billie Joe Armstrong than Billie Eilish.
“There’s long been this unspoken expectation that at a certain age, we should just fade quietly into the scenery,” said Snooky. “But that’s never been the Manic Panic way.” Instead, the brand famous for Angela Chase’s red bob on My So Called Life and Clementine Kruczynski’s orange curls in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind leaned into the message with “Aging Disgracefully,” a curated collection of “amplified” dyes with 30 percent more pigment than the brand’s typical formulas, which look best on grey or white hair.
Neon tresses were once an office no-no for most professions. But after athleisure conquered the workplace — and anti-discrimination laws were more strictly enforced by HR departments — a few lilac streaks in the boardroom aren’t quite as unusual, especially in a hybrid work environment. Meanwhile, rainbow hair’s original fans — 1970s punks and 1990s teens — are now in their fifties, sixties and seventies, making them senior enough at work to buck convention, if they’re still showing up at the office altogether. “Generation X, the latchkey kids, the DIY masters, the ones who taught themselves how to thrive, grew up fast and learned early on to march to their own beat,” said Tish. “Then life happened. The Great Recession hit, responsibilities piled up, and many found themselves pushed into conformity by jobs, family, and the grind of survival.” One pandemic and several political lunatics later, Bellomo says her older shoppers are saying “f*** it” and returning to their neon roots.
L’Oréal’s Feria has added 50+ women to their boxes and web content and Bleach London, which began 15 years ago as a watering hole for youth culture, just added a bleach-free formula that can deposit its shocking blue and orange colours onto older hair without the same level of breakage. Founder Alex Brownsell has posted photos from the salon with Dame Vivienne Westwood, then 80, before her death. For vivid haircare brands and their marketing teams to pivot entirely to a 50+ customer would be unnecessary, but to leave them out of their messaging and imagery altogether would be leaving money on the vanity table, especially on platforms like Facebook and product placement opportunities on network TV, which still skew heavily older with audiences.
For example, this month on BritBox, a new BBC dramedy called “Riot Women” debuts. It follows a nascent punk band of women over 50 playing across West Yorkshire and discovering they’re louder — and perhaps more destined for the spotlight — than they ever knew. The show features actress Lorraine Ashbourne, 65, transforming her mop of grey hair into a purple-pink tangle. The colour was a match for Manic Panic’s Purple Rose, named for a 60-something customer in Canada who sent a fan letter to the brand saying “she wasn’t invisible anymore.”
What else is new…
Skincare
Jan. 14
Who: Skin Laundry
What: Cell Regenerator
Why: Is the salmon DNA craze going to turn into a Jurassic Park situation, where suddenly giant fish are showing up in our spas? Let’s hope not, for Skin Laundry’s sake. The facial hub is using PDNR with the fishy stuff, synthetic exosomes and plant stem cells in its new serum and mask, to be applied after a laser treatment for more glow, less redness and a smoother texture.
Jan. 15
Who: Saltair
What: KP Body Smoother Exfoliating Milk
Why: Unlike Rhode’s Glazing Milk, this creamy formula is loaded with glycolic and salicylic acids along with urea and allantoin to gently brighten and soften the limbs and torso. It’s $22.
Jan. 16
Who: Native
What: Whole-Body Shave Cream
Why: Available in three scents, this $20 foam is Native’s entry into the men’s shaving space. The tagline is “for your chest and the rest” which would have raised an “ick” flag in many boardrooms, but I guess not this one.
Jan. 20
Who: Billie
What: Ice Sparkle Razor Starter Kit
Why: An “icicle” product without a Heated Rivalry reference? Amazing. Billie’s shimmery razor is here just in time for the winter Olympics… which the Heated Rivalry guys will absolutely be attending, right?
***
Who: Rael
What: Blemish Recovery Mask
Why: It’s hard to be mad at a $4.50 mask that’s targeted for acne-prone skin. The “gauze-to-gel” formulation makes it less slide-y than other face masks, though this one is purely utilitarian — no kooky colours, just a clear matte sheet filled with actives.
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Who: Saje Natural Wellness
What: The Vibrance Collection
Why: A cachet of four “face and aura mists” and four body oil mists, this drop blends essential oils like lavender, spearmint and rose with distilled water, coconut fatty oils, palm kernel oil and sugarcane.
***
Who: Noble Panacea
What: The Exceptional Repair Reset Cream
Why: The luxury skincare line — famously co-founded by a Nobel Laureate — launched its latest: a calming moisturiser that targets cortisol inflaming the skin. All you have to do is use it daily for a month.
Jan. 21
Who: POV Beauty
What: Snatch It
Why: More from the salmon sperm front: A $42 serum ampoule and $38 eye serum intended as a youth boost for skin, and brought to us by Mikayla Noguiera.
Jan. 22
Who: Ogee
What: Complete Cream
Why: Call it moisture multitasking. This face and body lotion has a rich texture with a cushion-y feel.
***
Who: Lancer
What: Gravity Dark Spot Correcting Serum
Why: Formulated for more sensitive skin, this brightening formula also claims to have a “lifting active” that helps restore firmness to the complexion.
Jan. 23
Who: The Ordinary
What: Rice Lipids + Ectoin Microemulsion
Why: This lightweight formula claims to deliver the same benefits as a rich cream. Let’s see how the New Yorkers braving zero-degree windchill this week feel after a few drops!
***
Who: Knesko
What: Pearl Renew Collection
Why: A face mask and eye patches infused with mandelic acid, lactobionic acid and “hydrolised pearl extract” which is what happens when pearls get zapped with gentle acid to release their amino acids, peptides, and trace minerals including zinc and calcium.
***
Who: Abib
What: PDRN Intensive Crème and PDRN Glow Resum
Why: Korea’s most popular skincare brand rolled out its two strongest PDRN formulas, including a hardcore rich cream and a watery serum, on Amazon.com.
***
Who: Luna Bronze
What: Self Tanning Milk
Why: The Aussie brand debuts a moisturising formula that seems like an elevated Jergens Natural Glow situation. It’s got hyaluronic acid and niacinamide and retails at Amazon for $35.
Jan. 19
Who: L’Oréal Paris
What: Blufiller Blurring Lip Contour
Why: A $13 formula in eight shades that promises a semi-matte finish, glide-on application and the appearance of fuller, plusher lips.
Jan. 21
Who: R.e.m. Beauty
What: Sweet Dreams Eyeshadow Quads
Why: These talc-free, super-blendable shadows come in shimmers and matte satins, and got their debut on R.e.m. founder Ariana Grande at the Golden Globes. (They’re probably too glittery to wear as Dot in Sunday in the Park with George, but maybe Jonathan Bailey can sport them as he finishes the hat.)
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Who: Milk Makeup
What: Hydro Grip Gel ConcealerWhy: Building on the brand’s best-selling primer, this creamy stick gives blendable, buildable coverage in 15 shades.
***
Who: Natasha Denona
What: Hy-Blush Cloudy Cream Cheek Duo
Why: A double compact with two creamy pigments, this $42 offering can also be used as an eye colour wash — a relief if, like me, you live in fear that Glossier discontinues its Lid Star franchise.
***
Who: Aprés Nail
What: Liquid Death Press-Ons
Why: Do you love canned water? How about coffin-tipped nails, which are basically a rectangle French manicure situation? How about heavy metal-themed nail decal sheets? Then yay, this $100 box is for you. It’s packaged like an “evidence kit” that plays into the True Crime But Make It Pretty trend.
Jan. 22
Who: Colourpop
What: The Twilight Eclipse Collection
Why: It’s cornball. It’s problematic. It’s great. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie debuted 16 years ago, but this week, you can get new eyeshadow and lip gloss inspired by the emotionally tortured undead teens.
Jan. 15
Who: Wet Brush
What: Frizz-Free Detangler
Notes: Is climate change shifting the design of hair tools? Wet Brush says this $15 detangler uses “patent-pending ionic infusion technology” to smooth out frizzy hair in “unpredictable climates,” which is… every climate, right now. You can buy it on TikTok Shop along with Amazon.
***
Who: Being Haircare
What: Ulta Beauty entry
Why: Technically, Jaimee Lupton’s haircare brand has already rolled into Ulta; Her first one, Monday Haircare, launched into the retailer in 2021. This week, its curl-focused sister label Being Haircare joined the stock party.
Jan. 22
Who: OGX
What: A shampoo and conditioner commercial with Josh Peck
Why: A new campaign starring the actor and funnyman Peck — endeared to Millennials as half of the duo “Drake & Josh” — features Peck “mansplaining” OGX’s bond protein repair shampoo and conditioner to his wife Paige O’Brien Peck; it’s also the latest attempt by a beauty company (OGX is owned by Kenvue) to use comedy to drive brand awareness.
Jan. 19
Who: Valentino Beauty
What: Born in Roma Purple Melancholia
Why: The maestro is gone but the rockstud glass spritz goes on. This time, it’s a plum and vanilla blend in a deep violet bottle, with a campaign starring Adut Akech and Anwar Hadid.
Jan. 20
Who: Literie
What: Fifa World Cup Collection
Why: The World Cup doesn’t have an official fragrance (except spilled Stella Artois, maybe?) but now it does have three sanctioned candles. Canada smells like amber and maple; Mexico smells like dahlia and pepper; USA smells like eroding human rights… wait, no, sorry, it smells like grass and bergamot. They’re $50 each.
***
Who: Henry Rose
What: London 1983
Why: Michelle Pfeiffer’s “clean” fragrance brand debuts a fig scent inspired by a perfume the actress bought from a King’s Road street fair in her youth. (Cool, right?) Pfeiffer did a minor promotional tour for the new launch and told Jenna Rosenstein at Bazaar that she hated her Scarface bob!
Jan. 21
Who: Kylie Cosmetics
What: Cosmic Intense
Why: By now, you have likely seen the mesmerising imagery of Kylie in a Britney-esque red latex bodysuit, standing alongside her red-lacquered perfume bottles, which look like a MoMA and vintage Fisher collaboration. Now you can smell the vanilla, blood orange and benzoin (balsamic resin) that Jenner wore to the Golden Globes last week.
Jan. 22
Who: Bvlgari
What: Le Gemme Tygar Extrait
Why: Grapefruit, ginger and ambergris make up the heart of this super-concentrated fragrance, which is packaged in a tawny tiger’s eye bottle instead of a giant crystal cat. (The right move.) The nose is Jacques Cavallier, LVMH’s in-house master perfumer, who also created Louis Vuitton’s entire fragrance line, Jean Paul Gaultier’s classic bustier scent, and my favourite fragrance ever, 2003’s Stella by Stella McCartney. (Bring it back!)
***
Who: YSL Beauty
What: Libre Berry Crush
Why: Raspberry, coconut and French lavender make up this flanker fragrance, which buttresses YSL’s best-selling Libre but looks like raspberry liqueur and hits shelves for just one month at Sephora and Macy’s.
Jan. 13
Who: Unwell
What: Target Capsule Collection
Notes: Spotted next to the Hanes undershirts: Alex Cooper’s sweatshirt, graphic tee, shorts, tote and baseball hat created to hype her Unwell Energy line of functional wellness drinks. An interesting tidbit: Unwell is represented by Full Picture, the same branding agency behind Kylie Cosmetics.
Jan. 16
Who: Cyklar
What: Perfume Oil Bag Charm
Why: For $15, you can get a branded silicone cap for your Cyklar Perfume Oil that clips directly onto the handbag, backpack or lanyard of your choice. Founder Claudia Sulewski — who is now famous enough that she gets mentioned in random Deuxmoi posts — wears hers on a Bottega Intrecciato tote. Cyklar also dropped a new hand cream.
Jan. 18
Brand: Olive & June
Launch: Ulta Beauty launch
Date: Jan. 18
Notes: We could have sworn that this ubiquitous, cheery nail brand was already at Ulta Beauty, but alas — the manicure juggernaut didn’t hit the orange shelves until this week, when it entered 600 doors as well as e-comm.
***
Who: Ôrebella
What: Mayfair Group leisurewear collection
Why: You thought Bella Hadid’s first fragrance partnership would be with Gigi’s sleeper hit knitwear line, Guest in Residence? Nope. She’s pairing with BFF Sam Abrahart’s Mayfair Group, which makes graphic-print sweats, on a collection of hoodies, pants, a long-sleeved tee, a hat that says “Aura Donor” (fun!) and scents packaged like wizard elixirs. Two days after the launch, nothing is sold out quite yet, which is good news for TikTok acolytes.
I’m sorry, but even if Brooklyn Beckham is telling the truth, we must be Team Victoria, because the Satin Kajal Kohl Eyeliner pencils are frankly unmatched. Your move, Nicola — maybe there’s a lip stain you could make that would move the needle in your favour?
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