Gen Z’s New Humble Brag? Plastic Surgery.

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and status nylon pouches.

Included in today’s issue: Alexa Chung, Augustinus Bader, Boy Smells, Byredo, Clinique La Prairie, Colourpop, Cora, Cyklar, Estée Lauder, Francis Kurkdjian, Goop, Jlo Beauty, Laneige, Lemme, Lisa Eldridge, Métier, Pat McGrath Labs, Pattern Beauty, Prada, Rigaud Paris, Rite of Way, Sakara, Superegg, Tocca and Picasso candles.

But first…

When Nietzsche wrote “you will become who you are” in 1888, he was building a language of self-actualisation that happened through considered, deliberate actions. He was also, kind of, giving the thumbs up for Botox.

At least, that’s the interpretation of Dr. Michael Bassiri-Tehrani, a plastic surgeon on Manhattan’s Upper East Side who views procedures as personal choices meant to help uncover, not conceal, our identities. He tells me this as he’s stabbing my forehead with a needle full of neurotoxins while telling me to relax.

Dr. Bassiri is a millennial, but he says about 30 percent of his patients are Gen-Z, and among them, he’s noticed a curious shift: “They want me to take their photos to show the before-and-after results,” he said, bewildered. “I do a lot of very subtle procedures.” One of his specialties is a 30-minute “tip stitch” method that raises a “droopy” nose with minimal pain that went viral on TikTok last winter. “Some of my procedures are pretty undetectable,” he explained. “But Gen-Z is much more open about having something done! And I find it so interesting because even 10 years ago, there was still a stigma. You would never say, ‘I get this done.’ Now, my patients will share the clinical photos themselves!”

Bassiri’s young patients mirror celebrities like Kylie Kardashian and Jennifer Lawrence, women who are quick to admit they’re embracing plastic surgery as part of their beauty routines. “They want to own it,” he said, noting that because this younger generation spent its adolescence TikTok and Zoom, they’ve had more time to analyse their faces in motion. “If you don’t like what you see, and you have to look at it every day for school or work, why wouldn’t you make a small adjustment?” said Bassiri.

By copping to cosmetic surgery, celebrities and TikTok babes get to have their cake and sell it, too. On the one hand, they’re using the “celebs are just like us” trope to show fans that they have stuff they want to change, too. But unlike a magical fairytale where “inner beauty” wins, the moral of this tale is that if you truly don’t like something about yourself, take charge and change it — face included. And when a celebrity does go under the knife publicly, she gets the privilege of being even prettier, but with the good will of admitting she’s not even that pretty. In the words of Holly Golightly: “The mind, it reels.”

Because he gets so many requests from younger patients thanks to TikTok, Dr. Bassiri has strict limits on his practice. “I send them home if they want fillers everywhere. It can look too weird on younger patients, too frozen.” With Botox, he allows small injections but tells women in their 20s to return in one to three years instead of six months.

And as for Instagram friend requests? “Absolutely not! People even try to tag the practice in their before-and-after pictures, and it’s just too much of a patient violation. It’s amazing to me. They’re taking selfies of their plastic surgery appointments as if it’s a concert or a ‘get ready with me’ video. They want everyone to know.”

What else is new…

Skincare

Alexa Chung is Lisa Eldridge’s first-ever makeup ambassador, with a campaign video that launched Oct. 24. This is a great move that establishes Eldridge as the expert for cool, informed fashion women. But it’s also tough to determine how well the products work, because Alexa Chung is gorgeous no matter what you put on her face.

Laneige introduced a Hot Cocoa version of its Lip Sleeping Mask on Oct. 24. Meanwhile on Oct. 30, Colourpop unveiled Fresh Kiss Candy Cane, a trio including a lip scrub, lip mask, and glossy balm, all infused with mint. Put them together and you’ve basically got a dessert pack.

Lemme’s a sucker for vaginal health. On Oct. 26, the wellness brand by Kourtney Kardashian introduced a Lemme Purr lollipop exclusively at Target. It tastes like pineapple.

Love don’t cost a thing but Jlo first-ever eye masks are part of her $50 skincare kit, which also includes SPF 30 face cream and ABA/BHA serum. It hit shelves Oct. 27.

One day, perhaps the Glossier pink bubble pouch will return to its IYKYK dominance. Until then, Sakara has partnered with Dôen on a limited-edition floral pouch filled with gummies and vitamins, while Goop paired with Métier on a $690 toiletry bag made with natural linen and calfskin piping. (For $1,750, it comes filled with 17 products, including nine Goop label items along with Crown Affair scrunchies, Westman Atelier blush and a Fara Homidi lip compact.) Would you rather: The full Goop pochette or the empty Vuitton pochette at the same price?

Superegg dropped Soft Strength Rich Resilience Cream on Oct. 28. It’s got a formula “inspired by the regenerative structure of the eggshell membrane” to tighten and strengthen skin, and retails for $110.

Welcome to St. Lucia, Augustinus Bader! On Oct. 29, the cerulean skincare juggernaut launched its first Caribbean spa partnership with Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort. The collab includes four dedicated Augustinus Bader treatments, including a Jet Lag Facial to help fix “plane skin.”

On Oct. 29, Clinique La Prairie debuted two supplements — Regeneressence & Immunity, which claim to help with “overall vitality,” and Epinome for “gene regulation and longevity.” The brand is a wellness clinic based in Switzerland with no ties to Clinique and no relation to the current Beiersdorf-owned La Prairie skincare range (though they were founded by the same guy back in the 1930s) which is super confusing! Bergdorf Goodman is retailing the capsules; presumably, they’re placed far away from Skin Caviar creme.

Makeup

In 2015, Pat McGrath painted the models backstage at Prada with rich, golden lips, using the moment to officially launch Pat McGrath Labs. On Oct. 24, she relaunched the product that started it all — Gold 001 — with a $52 kit including a spatula and Mehron mixing liquid.

Futurist Blushmaker Dewy Cheek Tint is a long name for a long tube filled with glowing liquid promising the kind of flush that digital algorithms believe means happiness. It’s $32 and it comes out of a needle-like tube at the top, which is kinda fascinating. (Like a flower stamen? A tattoo stab? I’m not sure.)

Byredo’s “Polaar Harmony” is a makeup collection based on “the shifting light and contrasts of the Nordic sea.” It’s got an eye palette, an ice blue shimmer lip glaze called Sea Whisper and a mauve lipstick. They all hit shelves on Oct. 30.

Haircare

If mousse is helping your curl shape while drying out your actual hair, Tracee Ellis Ross can empathise. On Oct. 16, the Pattern Beauty founder dropped Repair 360 Leave-In Foam, which I’ve been using as a conditioning and sculpting spray — kind of a BB cream for textured hair that repairs damage while it glosses you up. It’s $49.

Fragrance

In 1959, Maison Rigaud created the first contemporary scented candle, coveted by clients like Jackie Kennedy and Diana Vreeland. On Oct. 22, the brand introduced a collab with the Picasso estate that wraps three candles in famed artwork like “Femme Assise.” Retailers include Printemps and Moda Operandi.

It’s a big week for the actor and influencer Claudia Sulewski. On Oct. 22, her Cyklar brand introduced two refills of her popular scented body washes and creams. The same day, the Chicago native starred in a Banana Republic campaign about holiday dressing. Let’s see if she can spin that into a Cyklar x BR partnership à la Aritzia and Salt & Stone.

Shine on, Boy Smells. On Oct. 23, the fragrance brand introduced Shimmer Mists, a combo scent and body shimmer for $32. The spritz comes in Cherry Slay (pink and silver glitter with amoretto) and Chestnut Cheeks (gold glitter and a peony / brown sugar mix).

Rite of Way debuted their second scent, Rising Sun, on Oct. 23. It’s got cardamom, sandalwood, tobacco and tonka, and claims to be “a story of becoming in three acts: the quiet of dawn, the triumph of daybreak and the power of light.” Obviously, this perfume is a Scorpio.

Tocca’s minimal-but-boho style had a chokehold on a certain type of 1990s girl. (I remember the most popular girl in 12th grade insisting on wearing a plain lavender Tocca shift to prom, for example.) Today, the brand is solely fragrance-based, and on Oct. 27, it launched Hand & Body Wash and Hand & Body Lotion in three scents. The collection is in Nordstrom, Ulta and Anthropologie, where Tocca’s original Gen X fans often shop with their daughters.

On Oct. 29, Francis Kurkdjian rolled out a new exhibit at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Called Perfume: Sculpture of the Invisible, it features 30 years of art, campaigns, bottles, notes, and many chances to take deep breaths. The show runs until Nov. 23.

And finally…

When Nobody Wants This hit Netflix on Oct. 23, social media chatter went hard on the apparent product placement, including Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum. A subtler moment: Bell stealing Cora tampons in episode 5. I asked Cora if they’d paid for the moment, but no — Sara Foster is just friends with Cora’s founder, Miranda Kerr. Ah, Hollywood!

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