Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a teeny “Severance” fan theory. (It’s beauty related, I promise.)
Included in today’s issue: Almay, Biotyspa, Calista, Crown Affair, Dior, Element Eight, Estée Lauder, Gisou, Glossier, Herbal Essences, Kiehl’s, Natasha Denona, Noteworthy, Nudestix, Olive & June, Parallelle, Parfums de Marly, Prequel, PSA Skincare, Rare Beauty, Rem Beauty, Tarte, Vacation, Victoria Beckham and cheap beer.
But first…
It’s not just you.
Around the world — or at least, around the algorithm — people are asking, “What’s with the weird metal tips on lip gloss?” I get this question in my DMs, at cocktail parties, on the phone with my mom. It coincides with another common query: “Why is lip gloss so expensive now?” The answers, of course, are linked.
The “weird metal tip” in question is a rounded applicator that screws onto a typical plasticine gloss tube. You can find it on the new $25 Nécessaire lip balm, which launched on Jan. 5, along with Natura Bisse’s $85 Diamond Lip Booster, Hourglass’s $56 Lip Treatment Oil and La Mer’s $90 Lip Volumizer. Anfisa Skin’s is $45, and seems determined to invade my Instagram feed — the ads are everywhere, but at least they’re very pretty.
“The applicator is traditionally used for eye serums,” said Tina Chen Craig, the U Beauty founder whose $68 Lip Plasma was one of the first to employ a metal-tip tube. The product launched in 2019 at the height of Filler Mania, promising a fuller and glossier pout with no needles. Advisors told Chen the metal “allows for better stimulation and absorption to plump and hydrate.”
Is there science to back up the metal-tipped advantage? “Absolutely,” says Dr. Marnie Nussbaum, a New York dermatologist who uses zamac — a zinc alloy of aluminum, copper and magnesium — for her brand Lines’ $45 tinted lip serum. Nussbaum likes the metal tip because “it doesn’t tug at the skin, it stimulates blood flow… and it limits bacterial contamination” better than plastic.
Nussbaum admits the shiny tube is more expensive, while Craig is more blunt: When U Beauty chose a metal tip for its Lip Plasma, the choice “ultimately doubled the cost.” In Craig’s case, the investment was worth it: After debuting as a glossy clear lip treatment, the product was so popular, it spawned 15 other colours. It remains the brand’s top-selling item.
Nécessaire co-founder Randi Christiansen is a fan of metal tip’s“precision,” as well as the sensory boost activated when the balm’s mint oil slides along the “cooling metal tip.” Like Craig, she confirms that the packaging jacked up production prices — she estimates by half — but getting a metal on the product was so important that her team sourced a new US-based vendor “with significant experience” just for the upgrade.
By using a skincare delivery tool for lip gloss, prestige beauty brands can signal their product isn’t just shiny, it’s science–y. That lends the gloss both credence and a justification for spending a lot more money. Still, affordable brands are coming for the trend. UK-based brand Refy has a $20 gloss with a similar top; Eadem’s $24 versions get lots of love on TikTok.
But while Naturium did their own $12 version in 2021, they reverted back to a plastic top a year later. (Sad-girl Reddit and TikTok threads followed, but so did a price reduction: They’re now $10 each.) In that way, the metal tube might be like bug repellant for the luxury lip gloss market — not foolproof, but helpful in preventing big stings. It also looks gorgeous on social content: Necessaire reported a fivefold increase in organic engagement and impressions during their lip balm’s launch phase. Anecdotal? Sure. But definitely related.
There’s also the simple fact that status is shiny and a gleaming tube of $40+ makeup is the perfect silent signifier. In this case, the pro tip on how to look more successful is a literal metal tip — one that (allegedly) increases blood flow every time you re-apply.
What else is new…
Skincare
On Jan. 16, PSA Skincare launched Dew Halo, a $31 mist with blackberry extracts and niacinamide. It’s only available on the brand’s site and comes with a 20 percent commission on affiliate links, so prepare to see the spray in multiple Substack shopping lists.
Element Eight has paired with the French alpine brand Fusalp on a little Après Ski pouch, which contains a serum and moisturiser and launched Jan. 21. The product duo claims to help protect skin in the “oxygen deprived environment of high-altitude ski slopes” and costs $325 — about the price of a daily lift ticket at the Stratton trails in Vermont.
Biotyspa’s exfoliating shower gel hit shelves on Jan. 21. It uses biodegradable jojoba particles instead of microbeads to get the job done, and swaps argan oil, cucumber and aloe vera for a traditional foamy soap.
Vacation’s much-hyped Orange Gelée sun gel now comes in a $25 spray-on form. It dropped on Jan. 21 with SPF 30 and — as of this writing — still hasn’t sold out. (Maybe because it’s hard to think about sunscreen in the middle of a blizzard?)
On Jan. 22, Prequel rolled out the Scar Stick, a silicone and onion-bulb formula meant to “optically reduce red and healing scars, stretch marks and post-blemish marks.” It’s $18, but I haven’t tried it because all my scars are on my soul.
If your hobbies include cuticle care and the E! Network, get ready for Olive & June’s new nail treatment range. It launched Jan. 23 with a “nourishing” polish remover ($10), cuticle oil ($12), plus a paint-on hardener that doubles as a base coat ($10) and separate strengthening serum ($15).
Set a calendar alert for Monday, Jan. 27, when Coors Light will drop a face roller that’s basically just a giant spool to hold your beer. If you’ve ever been hungover enough to actually roll a bottle of water across your face before you chug it, you know this (mostly) works.
Makeup
Victoria Beckham makes amazing denim. Now she also makes denim-inspired makeup. On Jan. 8, her beauty brand introduced a new shade of Satin Kajal liner called Jeans. It’s $34 and mimics the deep grey-blue softness of indigo.
Tarte’s Life Lock Setting Spray hit shelves on Jan. 17. It’s $32 and claims a 16-hour hold, along with extra hydration and the ability to “intensify the colour payoff of eyeshadow.” I’ve never heard this as an official claim before, but I have used Urban Decay setting spray to turn brown powder shadow into cake eyeliner for a ’60s-inspired winged eye, and it works great.
Glossier hit the Mall of America on Jan. 18, debuting its Black Cherry collection through a series of vending machines, customisable gloss charm stations and free Cherry Pepsi for all. (A nice touch.) The activation was built by Coffee ‘n’ Clothes, the experiential marketing agency that once made “Chanel” logo lattes on Lafayette Street.
Estée Lauder’s Ladurée collection has two “é” accents and three products: gloss, lipstick and a shadow palette. The trio launched on Jan. 14 with a softly glamorous campaign starring Karlie Kloss. Très cute… but also a bit O.G. “Gossip Girl.”
Digi Beauty is a new line of press-on nails. It retails for $11 per set and comes with names like “Frenchie” (an airbrushed French manicure) and “Purple People,” an ombré colour wash. On Jan. 21, the new brand — founded by the team behind Glamnetics — hit 450 Ulta stores.
Stunt beauty lives! Almay introduced a Color & Care Tint Stick on Jan. 21 that “adjusts” its shade based on your skin’s natural pH. It’s $10. The brand also rolled out a $10 mascara that claims to tint lashes over time.
On Jan. 21, Nudestix debuted three shades of Stax blush balm, including Fruity Punch (magenta), Cherry Pie (pink-red) and Boys N’ Berry (deep violet). They’re $24 each and have a pleasant early ’90s vibe, as if the girls from “A Different World” were shopping for makeup between classes. Only Whitley Gilbert would pay $24 for blush, though…
Parallelle’s $98 Brush Bag dropped on Jan. 21. It’s a cosmetics case designed to hold all your makeup brushes vertically, along with liquids like serums and setting sprays, without getting gross or smooshed. I shoved a bunch of Tarte brushes inside one, along with a bunch of foundation and blush, and it absolutely held up.
Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch contour tubes hit the Sephora app on Jan. 22. They come in seven buildable shades and retail for $28.
Natasha Denona has six powder blush compacts launching Jan. 23. They cost $42 each and come with names from the insipid (“Sweet Cheeks”) to the inspired (“Flustered,” a baby pink that looks like an actual “I carried a watermelon” shade of hapless flirtation.)
Haircare
Gisou’s $42 Honey Gloss Ceramide Therapy mask hit Sephora on Jan. 21. It has the brand’s signature honey blend, along with panthenol and “biomimetic” ceramides to help seal the hair cuticle. Clinical results say the mask leads to 59 percent more full-bodied hair and 85 percent more shine; my boyfriend says the mask smells “nicer than your other stuff,” which is the highest compliment.
Crown Affair’s two new shampoos and conditioners — a set for hydrating, a set for volumising — debuted on Jan. 21, along with a hand-drawn animation that harkened back to the glory days of 1970s Herbal Essences. Seriously, this commercial = art.
Welcome to Bloomingdale’s, Calista! On Jan. 21, the Pennsylvania-based brand introduced two electric brushes, hot rollers and a wave styler to the retailer, because the bouncy, reality-TV-worthy tresses known as “Utah Hair” can happen on 59th and Lexington Avenue, too.
Like Samantha Jones and the TikTok babes, Kiehl’s would like to celebrate a “full bush in a bikini.” The brand’s “Public Display Type” campaign debuted on Jan. 22 and showed models with visible hair peeking out their underwear, along with — of course — corresponding products like an ingrown hair serum and a full-body deodorant.
Fragrance
What’s even better than Cash Cab? Getting into a cab and realizing Robert Pattinson is sitting next to you. Dior Homme made the dream come true with their latest campaign, featuring Mr. Suki Waterhouse sharing a taxi ride with perfume maestro Francis Kurkdjian. The video debuted on Jan. 20, along with a series of giggle-inducing chats between Mr. Pattinson and Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. So far, at least, the French luxury house is still pairing its talent with legacy media and not Substack. I predict by September, this will change.
Parfums de Marly launched its latest scent, Valaya Exclusif, on Jan. 21. The clear frosted bottle is filled with a $410 potion of almond, orange and vanilla notes, described as “a powerful aura that embodies feminine elegance for contemporary aesthetes who desire it all.” So… Lydia Tár?
On Jan. 21, Boy Smells teamed up with Laneige on a Vanilla & Cream bundle featuring a Vanilla Era candle, plus moisturiser, toner, lip balm and an overnight lip mask.
Noteworthy unveiled its rose and lychee scent, called N,150 Blush Affair, on Jan. 21. The brand known for AI fragrance formulation says the perfume is “inspired by the rich tapestry of 150 rose species.” Alas, robots cannot smell any of them.
On Jan. 23, Noyz debuted solid versions of its five core scents, including Unmute, a woodsy Amber, and 12:00, a berry gourmand. They retail for $35 each and come in a balm form to moisturise wherever it’s applied.
On Jan. 23, Ariana Grande received her first Oscar nomination for Wicked. On Jan. 24, her new R.e.m. Beauty perfume, Cherry Eclipse, hit the brand’s website. Although it is not an official film collab, the bottle is a giant pink crystal that looks like Galinda’s magic wand topper.
And finally…
In a show as deliberate and diabolical as “Severance,” nothing is an accident. That’s why I’m wondering why Helly went from a subtly warm redhead in Season 1 to a blue-toned redhead in Season 2. Hey Lumon — can you get the Board on the line?
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