The Business of Beauty Haul of Fame: Why Brands Are Roasting Their Customers

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and tequila. It’s truly just that time…

Included in today’s issue: Catherine Earnshaw, Davines, Glo Skin, Guerlain, Ilia, Jo Malone, L’Oréal, Lottie London, NEST New York, Pacifica, Peter Thomas Roth, Pucci, RéVive, Saint Jane, Saltair, Stix, Tweezerman, Valentino, Who Is Elijah and Blake Lively.

But first

At its core, skincare is about flaw reduction. Retinol “corrects” wrinkles and cleanser “manages” breakouts.

For years, brands believed they needed to blur this messaging, shouting about empowerment, self expression, innate glamour. Basically, anything but the brutally honest “how you look really matters — and you look bad.” Call it the fourth wall of skincare: We usually don’t acknowledge that if a brand claims to make you look better, the implication is that without it, you look worse.

Lately though, some are starting to chip away at that fourth wall, acknowledging and even teasing fans about their faults, goofs and obsession with perfect skin.

Take Kiehl’s, which just did a partnership with the online meme factory the Fake Rothko. The Instagram account claims its mission is to “stand up to toxic positivity,” and regularly roasts of-the-moment status symbols like Cartier Love bracelets, On running shoes, and Carbone reservations — signs of easy wealth that we all covet a little too hard, but refuse to admit are important. (Kind of like wrinkle-free skin, no?)

Last week, The Fake Rothko began posting their signature memes — “starter packs” of items associated with wealthy, carefree, cringe-inducing New Yorkers in high-rent neighbourhoods like the West Village and Tribeca — that included various Kiehl’s products. The memes were tagged with #KiehlsPartner (a euphemism for #sponcon) and referenced the brand’s summer pop-up shop in Montauk.

“It’s the first time we’ve done a true branded post,” said Brandon No-Last-Name, the anonymous editor of the Fake Rothko. He and a college friend began the account five years ago from their Ivy League dorm room. “We are not extremely wealthy!” he said, laughing. “But we’ve been around the lifestyles we spoof on the account quite a bit. And yes, lots of our classmates did use Kiehl’s! As do I, honestly. It’s very good.”

Brandon’s day job is in social media, and he says this collaboration — a respectable (but not ridiculous) six-figure deal — is performing well in terms of conversion behaviours like click-through rates to the brand’s social media pages. Engagement is about the same as a typical non-branded Fake Rothko post, which speaks to its seamless content integration.

Still, he cautioned that “when a brand wants to work with a meme page, it should be less about directly converting to sales, and more about being part of a conversation, or dare I say it, the zeitgeist.” Even getting the product in front of the account’s followers — most of whom are Gen-Z or young Millennials; all of whom are conversant in luxury culture — should be enough of a reason for brands to pounce on the opportunity, said Brandon.

“Some of these groups of people are really hard to crack,” he added. “Letting people see, ‘Ok, here are my options for skincare or for clothes or restaurants,’ even laid out as a satire, is extremely valuable.”

But isn’t this Kiehl’s ad just mocking its potential customers and their trust-fund, clear-skin aspirations? “A lot of our followers might be kind of loath to admit it,” said Brandon, “But they probably see a heightened or more dramatic version of themselves in these memes. It lets them laugh at themselves.” Harnessing that humour can be a key pathway to brand recognition and allegiance. Laughter lights up a different part of the brain than aspiration, broadening the literal mindshare.

Of course, not everyone wants to be spoofed — something the Fake Rothko learned after including a luxury fashion brand in a meme this Spring, then getting a strongly-worded objection to the roast. But the company also left a comment on the Fake Rothko’s post, which harnessed their existing audience at no cost to them.

Even those who truly revile the Fake Rothko’s spoiled archetypes seem invested in their product hauls, according to the page’s analytics. “When you’re thinking of a West Village trust fund princess, maybe she’s not the most fun to be around,” said Brandon. “But you better believe that she has good taste in skincare.”

What Else Is New

Skincare

As extreme heat waves continue, more skincare lines are (wisely) introducing intense moisturisers in a lighter gel form. RéVive’s Hydrogel Moisturiser Hyaluronic Acid Water Cream fits that bill; it became available on July 25.

On July 30, Saint Jane hit Amazon Beauty. I’m a big fan of their retinol cream, which works without causing peeling, but the label’s higher price point makes me curious how it’ll do on such a mass platform.

Also on July 30, Versed released a “hydration trio” including Soft Launch Gentle Hydrating Cleanser, Water Rush Intensive Hydrating Serum and Hydrating Eye Gel at Target. There’s a lot of aloe in those formulas, which retail for under $15 each.

Tweezerman released twelve Disney Princess tweezers on July 29. I find this hysterical, because although Belle, Jasmine, etc. have wonderful cartoon brows, I cannot picture them yelling “ow!” in the mirror whenever one goes astray.

Saltair introduced body oil with SPF 30 on July 25. It’s $26 and seems like a great way to get Gen-Z to help prevent sun cancer without feeling like it’s a chore. If you’d rather fake your sun entirely (smart!), Ilia Beauty’s new Sunshift Cream Bronzer dropped on July 30 in four shades.

Do very long names make skincare products sound more effective? Peter Thomas Roth’s two new products might make the case: Even Smoother Instant Reveal Facial Peel + Microdermabrasion Exfoliating Pore Purifier hit shelves on July 29.

Makeup

Pucci’s designer Camille Miceli and Guerlain creative director Violette Serrat have collaborated on a deeply gorgeous mini-range. Products include bronzer, eyeshadow palettes and lipstick, all packaged with the brand’s iconic swirly patterns. The items launch on August 26. I’m letting you know about it now, because this type of designer buy-in, at a much lower price point than sunglasses or shoes, will likely sell out fast.

Youth culture brand Lottie London dropped a Soft Grunge palette on July 25. This is unsurprising — we know teens are obsessed with the 1990s — but it’s still funny to see an $8 beauty palette named after institutional rage. But the actual shades are great.

Also on the 1990s beat, Glo Skin Beauty launched Satin Lipstick and Conditioning Lip Gloss on August 2. The products have seven “nude” shades for maximum “Living Single” beauty inspo. (For the Gen-Z readers among us: Queen Latifah’s character on the show Kadijah James was everyone’s lipstick muse circa 1997. Google her!)

Prefer your beauty references from the 1980s? Nudestix released Stax, a 3-in-1 cream-to-powder blush, on July 29. It comes in nine shades and retails for $24 each.

On July 30, Valentino’s new Colourgraph Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencils hit Sephora. It costs $38, expensive for eyeliner. But if you still mourn the loss of Marc Jacobs gel crayons, this is basically a resurrection. Shop in peace.

Haircare

Davines hit Sephora on July 30, making them one of the few B-Corp brands in the store. I’m a big fan of Davines in-house ingredient cultivation; like the fashion lines Maggie Marilyn and Christy Dawn, they’re obsessive about their supply chain to ensure no ethical boundaries are crossed.

Pacifica launched five (!) new collections at Ulta on July 29, including banana cream (texturising), pineapple papaya (curl care), jasmine agave (strengthening), coconut vanilla (moisturising), vanilla oat milk (volumising), and rosemary mint (scalp health) varieties.

Briogeo is doing a partnership with the spa brand Heyday; their newest signature treatment, a Soothing Scalp Revival massage, is now available to book.

TikTok moves the needle again: Google Trends reports after the “boots and a slick-back bun” chant went super-viral on the app, searches for “slick back bun” are at an all-time high. Gel and scrunchie brands, your time is now.

Will you try Blake Lively’s haircare line, Blake Brown, when it launches on Sunday, August 4? The concept is that conditioner doesn’t work, hair masking is the answer, and Hollywood stars like Lively have known this for years. I find the messaging shaky, since many masks and deep conditioners have near-identical ingredients. That said, those items can cost $50 or more; Lively is bringing them to Target at a cap of $25. If the formulas are excellent — fingers crossed — this might be a new must-have.

Fragrance

A quick scan through the news proves we all really need a drink right now. Fortunately, several new scents have mixology vibes, which hint at a luscious bar order while staying sober-curious. On July 30, Nest New York unveiled Vanilla Bourbon Eau de Parfum. It has a cocktail-y blend of brown sugar, orange bitters and whiskey. Meanwhile, D.S. & Durga launched a Jalisco Rain candle on July 31 in partnership with LALO Tequila.

On July 25, Who Is Elijah? launched Cherry Fiesta, described as being so good, “everybody will be asking what you’re wearing!” That’s the kind of messaging we love to see in fragrance — straightforward, fun, and with a clear benefit besides vague emotional promises.

Jo Malone London’s Sea Salt and Wood Sage fragrance is available as a home diffuser, starting July 31. It has “fresh mineral scents of rugged cliffs.” Which leads to two questions: Are they remaking “Wuthering Heights” again, and do they need a beauty sponsor?

On August 1, CK Fragrances launched CK One Essence, a new unisex fragrance that’s “offering a premium take on the original scent.” It has notes of Italian Bergamot and Blood Orange, and instead of Kate Moss, the scent is fronted by models like Abby Champion, Blesnya Minher, and Mathilda Gvarliani.

And finally, congratulations to Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, L’Oréal’s newest model!