Welcome back to Full Coverage.
Despite my scepticism, the weekend’s consumerism wasn’t a bust. Online shopping was the real winner this week, with US shoppers spending a record $11.8 billion on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics. Beauty saw some wins, thanks to larger-than-average discounts for Cyber Week (38 percent for makeup and 31 percent for skincare, compared to an average 26 percent across categories), per Salesforce.
But I do wonder who was buying for whom? Liberty, the London department store, relayed that most people were buying for themselves, especially in the pricey fragrance department.
I, too, shopped online this weekend, mostly for my son, who turns four today. Happy Birthday, my dream boy Jack! I grabbed a few Todd Snyder sweaters for my husband and I bought a hat, platforms and yes, some K-beauty for myself, which you’re going to read about right now.
In this newsletter:
- A meditation on the “product-first” strategy that K-beauty brands are using to win worldwide.
- A scoop on Sephora shuttering its supplement section, exclusive to Full Coverage.
- My take on what good brand merchandise looks like, featuring Lady Gaga.
What ‘Product-First’ Actually Looks Like
Let me start with an aside: I love a lip stain. I am perpetually hunting for them. My favourite was an inky Vincent Longo shade of popsicle that I wore for most of my twenties. The product is long gone and in its wake, I’ve tried everything — Benefit, Kat Von D, Wonderskin, E.l.f. — the only thing that comes close, but not exactly, is Dior Addict in Natural Berry (771).
But for the past few months, I’ve been served a lot of content from Fwee, a South Korean makeup brand, best known for its viral and tactile Pudding Pot blushes. (You can either stick your finger in or use an applicator, but either way the blush bounces back.) So in the midst of buying “Paw Patrol” toys last weekend, I ended up picking up four of Fwee’s Stay-Fit Lip Tints on sale for $8.99 each from $17 on Amazon. The brand is also sold at Ulta Beauty and TikTok Shop.
I thought the lip stains might be drying, poorly pigmented or glossy (which I also dislike). Instead, the colours lasted all day, gave me an anime-esque pout and came in the cutest little flacon-esque bottles — the perfect marriage of longevity and trend. My favourite shade was Tag Pink.
Unlike K-beauty’s first global wave back in 2014, which was so overtaken by gimmicks (panda bear lip balms or animal sheet masks), this second boom has put innovation at its forefront. Think of Beauty of Joseon’s incredible SPF texture or Anua’s powerful double cleanser and Medicube’s Booster Pro device. But this attention to detail isn’t at the expense of speed: Insiders have told me that turnaround times to create new K-beauty products range anywhere from two to four months (shorter than E.l.f.’s already super-fast times), and retailers are making decisions decisively on what to amplify or delist in about 30 days.
The algorithm helps. Unlike the K-beauty boom of the 2010s, brands can now fuel the Amazon and social media machines before they ever have to set foot into stores. (And these fun product formats look better on TikTok than they do on Instagram anyway. I mean how else would you see and hear that Pudding Pot bouncy ball effect without TikTok?)
Basically since I’ve been alive, beauty (and many consumer product companies) has always been about the brand and I mean brand with a capital B — the brand story, the brand’s community, the brand’s look and feel. Now, thanks to K-Beauty, we are in an age where product might surpass brand. Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask has created an entire franchise, without many people buying much else from Laneige, and CosRx’s Snail Mucin essence is by far the best thing it’s known for.
This is clearly reflective of how stores look right now. Walk into Ulta Beauty (mine is up on 86th Street), and its K-Beauty sections don’t feature one brand and its million SKUs in an endless aisle. Medicube and Anua do have larger assortments, but I’m From, a “farm-to-face” skincare brand, has just one shelf. It proves that even retailers are waiting to figure out if a K-Beauty brand is a viral hit or something to invest in long-term.
In a way, limited shelf space lets the consumer decides who wins — and I mean that down to a single item. I don’t need to know Fwee’s founders or fall for a mythical shade of pink or green or yellow, or adhere to a certain beat to know I want to buy a lip stain. I don’t necessarily think you do either.
Sephora To Wind Down Supplements
After hearing from a few insiders and taking a look at Sephora’s website, where only a handful of Nutrafol and Moon Juice ingestibles remain, the retailer confirmed to me this week it was shutting down its supplement business.
Once a growing category at Sephora, peaking in the 2010s with brands like Hum, its delisting follows similar moves in the wellness category. When I got my start in beauty and personal care, it was by covering its fringes — ingestibles, CBD, sexual wellness and so many wipes. Though people still love to flash the trillion dollar size of the wellness industry, many of the consumer product segments it spawned never really panned out.
While supplements remain a growing segment at places like Target, the churn of relevant brands remains fast and furious, and claims around efficacy and safety persist. The category’s lack of FDA approval makes it a risky gamble, especially in light of the agency’s recent upheaval. Sephora staying focused on its core segments — cosmetics, fragrance, skincare and hair — seems like a safer bet.
The Magic of Cool Merch
There was a time not that long ago when every beauty label had a branded sweatshirt, baseball cap or bucket hat. (I wound up with all of them.) We still live in those times, but some lines are getting more creative with their merch — thankfully.
This week, Haus Labs released its first drop, a limited-edition T-shirt imprinted with the 1970s actress, makeup artist and Warhol muse Jane Forth. (Each shirt comes with a tube of the brand’s PhD Hybrid Lip Glaze in “Guava.”) The current and upcoming Haus Labs’ drops are meant to honour unusual beauty muses throughout history, which makes sense since the label has gone more avant-garde in its marketing. Remember Lady Gaga’s epic “We love foundation” campaign when she doused herself in buckets of paint?
I’m loving the new artistic vibe of the brand, brought to life by chief brand officer Katharina Korbjuhn, who came to the line earlier this year. I know these T-shirts aren’t expected to be some big volume play, but they’re cool! They gave me old concert vibes, which I’m especially into as I just bought another Stevie Nicks tee last week.
What I’m Reading
Ancient Budapest bathhouses have become a Eurosummer staple — but many of them have been left to crumble. Where will the city (and bathers) go next? [The New York Times]
Inflammation has become wellness’ latest boogeyman. [The Cut]
World building was once reserved for the most luxe labels, but not anymore. In our latest case study, Liz Flora examines the shift. [The Business of Fashion]
The best way to find out what men want? Ask the brands selling to them. [The Wall Street Journal]
Thanks, everyone. Until next time!
Priya