Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a Lindsay Lohan comeback prediction.
Included in today’s issue: Clarins, CND, Dossier, Fazit, Farmacy Beauty, Fenty Skin, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Gisou, Hourglass Cosmetics, Kai Cenat, Kylie Cosmetics, La Prairie, Laneige, Lindsay Lohan, Luna Bronze, Peach Slices, Rare Beauty, Rhode, Sacheu, Schiaparelli, Schwarzkopf, Uni and hand sanitizer charms. (Sorry!)
But first…
The beauty industry is on a roll. Literally. Bread has become a recent source of inspiration at “cool girl” labels like Snif, which just released its Crumb Couture fragrance in 1,400 Ulta stores. It’s happening on Amazon, where Holler & Glow has partnered with the strip-mall saints at Panera on a leaven-scented lip balm. This spring, the upstart Norwegian fragrance brand Son Venïn unveiled Pain Nouveau, an eau de parfum that smells like Parker House rolls. Inked by Dani includes cake and croissant-shaped temporary tattoos in its so-called Picnic Pack. And Los Angeles brand Mochiglow has an “Asian Bakery” scent that has notes of salt, yeast, butter and flour.
“I think this rise of bread-themed fragrances actually speaks to the idea that many people are looking for ways to engage with food—especially food that is considered “bad”—without the act of eating it,” says Ruthie Friedlander, a branding consultant and former fashion editor. Friendlander is the co-founder of The Chain, an advocacy group for people in fashion and media who deal with eating disorders. “Whether that’s rooted in disordered thinking or just a complex relationship with pleasure, scent is being positioned as a ‘safe’ way to experience desire,” Friedlander continued. “It’s like a less-guilty version of what society tells us is a guilty pleasure.”
It sure is on TikTok, where over 7,000 videos are scored with a “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” clip where Kourtney holds up a sugar-dipped donut and tells Kim, “I can’t eat this, but how exciting is it to smell it?” The E! Entertainment post alone has over 25,000 comments saying (icky!) things like “this is self control” and “literally me.” To be fair, some TokMoms have also repurposed the clip’s audio over videos of adorable babies, but overall its been used by skinny girls flaunting their uneaten food.
Enter #SkinnyTok… at your own risk. Since the days of Blogspot and Tumblr, so-called #pro-ana content has flourished in dark internet corridors and message boards; sadly (but unsurprisingly), the practice lives on with TikTok. (Not officially: The app has banned the hashtag, and you can report content that suggests disordered eating). There’s an element of #SkinnyTok at play in these bread-themed scents, even though that type of explicit “thin or nothing” content itself has been wisely banned from the platform. Smelling bread isn’t the same as eating it, after all, and wearing a carb-y beauty product lets one participate in bakery culture without scarfing a croissant.
Ironically, the bread-scented trend is also rooted in comfort, safety and the preservation of health. A new report from Mintel says that brands are gearing up for the rise of “comfort commerce,” a phenomenon where consumers gravitate toward fuzzy textures in clothing, softened edges on furniture, and nurturing — home-based smells to combat the political friction and social anxiety of our post-Covid world. Rooting the senses in visible, tactile things can also help combat the screen fatigue of Zoom calls and text messages. You can’t touch the food made on Roblox — or even on “The Bear” — but you can certainly see, feel, and smell a warm baguette.
Rooting fragrance in this simple reality, instead of a complex emotional world with seven top notes and a weird narrative about a lost fairy, might be balm for shoppers trying to chill out. And in this ever-shopping “anxious generation,” which experienced a COVID-era childhood that linked stay-at-home activities like baking to safety and good citizenship. Essentially: DIY bread is a virtue, and since sex is scary, it feels more fun to smell like toast than musk. For shoppers who don’t enjoy sugary scents but still love the idea of a gourmand, these bread-scented options are also an easier way into the trend, and one with just enough Instagram clout.
Skincare
On July 3, Laneige hit over 1 million TikTok followers. The Amorepacific-owned K-beauty brand is a tween dream — expensive but not (totally) unattainable — but what’s notable about their social media is how deliberate the posts are. They veer from the “chaotic neutral” of a typical TikTok video and ensure the colours are vibrant, the formulas are gleaming, and the faces stay steady in their frames. Let’s see if this more polished approach becomes the new normal for beauty brands, especially as purchasing power decreases due to economic anxiety. If you’re going to spend $40 for a lip balm, it now has to feel special.
Kai Cenat is on the cover of Time; the breakout livestreamer is also introducing a new men’s grooming brand, a “fragrance-forward” line called Tone offering deodorant, lotion and lip balm; it’s about $10 per product and you can find it at Target.
With its luminescent clear bottle and gleaming oval cap, La Prairie’s Revitalizing Essence looks like a ‘90s “beauty secret” — the kind you’d sometimes see when InStyle toured a celebrity’s Malibu beach house. Today, the peptide-heavy formula is $530 and definitely not a secret… at least not on Instagram, where five beauty editors have already posted about it. (Get that spa trip to Switzerland, girls!)
Clarins Total Eyelift debuted on July 7 with a formula that claims to “visibly lift the eye area in 30 seconds.” It’s $95, which feels like an appropriate price for an under-a-minute promise, and comes with a refillable aluminum bottle.
Uni’s Skin Soothing Deodorant hit shelves on July 8 with bio-fermented sugar cane enzymes and green seaweed. It’s a $32 formula and the brand claims it’s so mild, you can even use it on your face. Will report back…
Peach Slices is the Skipper to Peach & Lily’s Barbie. On July 8, the K-beauty sub-brand dropped Super Fade Discoloration Moisturizer, a brightening lotion with 5 percent AHA and niacinamide to help even skin tone. It’s $14 a tube.
On July 8, Luna Bronze launched Instant Bronzing Cream, which claims a slight blurring effect on skin along with its golden colour deposit. The tube goes for $29 and the formula includes quandong, an Australian wild peach loaded with antioxidants.
Those hands are fast! On July 9, CND introduced Lightningoil, a cuticle and nail treatment that delivers vitamins and protection in a few seconds.
Kylie Cosmetics dropped its Peach Mango lip butter on July 9 with a corresponding Van Leeuwen peach mango sorbet flavor. It’s $20 per tube, which is about the same as a Van Leeuwen cone with toppings purchased in New York 😉
Speaking of ice cream parties, Laneige debuted a Baskin-Robbins collab on June 10 with a rainbow sherbert sleeping mask, allegedly inspired by brand ambassador Sydney Sweeney’s favourite flavour.
On July 11, Fenty Skin introduced Dew N Plump, a “hydrating nectar glow serum” that promises to boost hydration and glow with vitamin B3, hyaluronic acid and cherry juice extract. It’s $38 per bottle and boasts a “lightweight, grippy texture” that helps it double as a makeup primer.
Makeup
Rare Beauty dropped its first lip gloss on July 8, but don’t worry guys — it’s not a peptide glaze! Instead, Positive Light Luminizing Gloss is a shimmer-infused formula that appears to already be a hit. Some shades have already needed restocking when we visited the Sephora in Soho.
It’s always Strawberry Girl Summer somewhere. On July 9, glitter freckle pioneer Fazit and skincare label Farmacy Beauty teamed up on a Blushing Strawberry bundle that includes Fazit’s strawberry speckles temporary tattoo (think: freckles, blush, and strawberry stickers) plus a jar of Farmacy’s new Strawberry Lip Smoothie. It’s $34 for the set and would look amazing with a LoveShackFancy dress.
The brown mascara rush continues. On July 9, Hourglass Cosmetics debuted Unlocked Instant Extensions Mascara in Espresso. It’s a $33 formula that claims 16 hours of flake-free wear, which is useful if — like me — you only pretend to go to bed with no eye makeup on.
Make it stick! Sacheu’s liquid shadow, liquid liner, and brow and freckle pencils hit TikTok Shop and Ulta Beauty on July 11. The products range from $14 to $16 and promise the same longwear as the brand’s infamous peel-off lip liner. (Please don’t peel these eye products off, though! Use makeup remover like normal…)
Hair Care
Gisou’s Honey Gloss Ceramide Therapy hit stores on July 7. The line includes a shampoo and conditioner, with fermented honey in every formula.
Lindsay Lohan was named Schwarzkopf’s latest ambassador on July 8. This is a savvy — and likely very expensive — move by the hair colour brand, which rests on Hollywood hue master Tracey Cunningham and one looming truth: Disney’s Freaky Friday 2 press tour is coming up, and Lohan will be campaigning for not just the movie, but for her future place in Hollywood as a reliable, show-up-and-look-healthy A-lister. Cunningham’s gleaming locks will help Lohan in that department, along with the star’s once-in-a-generation magnetism. She’ll be working with stylist Andrew Mukamal, who also helmed Margot Robbie’s Barbie tour. Sources tell me he’s pulling a ton of iconic Y2k runway pieces, so expect a Murakami x Vuitton bag and some “Crazy In Love”-era Versace.
Fragrance
Dossier’s It Factor is a blend of ginger, cardamom, violet and incense. It dropped on July 7 and promises “to have everyone eating out of the palm of your hand.” So… uh… wear the $49 spray the next time you have a performance review and report back, ok?
And finally…
We all know that super-stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson is behind Rhode’s upcoming beach club campaign, right? Hailey picked a winner.
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