Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a business proposal for Jenna Rink.
Included in today’s issue: Anonlychild, Boy Smells, Cécred, Clinique, Coach, ColourPop, Dwell212, Elizabeth Arden, Ellis Brooklyn, E.l.f. Cosmetics, Essie, Florence by Mills, Iconic London, Image Skincare, Iris & Romeo, Jones Road, Korres, Laneige, Lolavie, MAC Cosmetics, Marc Jacobs, Noyz, OGX, Saltyface, Scentbird, Sephora, Sheglam, Solawave, Ursa Major, and big bubble letters.
But first…
I fear we have underestimated Ariana Grande.
True, it’s tough to call the pop star an underdog. She has an Oscar nomination, two Grammys and half a billion social media followers. But despite worldwide adoration, the pixie powerhouse is rarely labeled a “beauty mogul” by industry trade papers. That’s odd since after buying back her cosmetics line, R.e.m. beauty, from Forma Brands in 2023, she secured a $15 million investment from Sandbridge Capital, sold one perfume every 11 seconds, and wore glitter eyeshadow without looking like a “White Lotus” boat raver. (Alas, Chelsea!)
Still, when we talk about the “celebrity” category, it’s almost always about the three Rs: Selena Gomez’s skyrocketing Rare Beauty, Hailey Bieber’s astonishing Rhode Skin, and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.
On April 9, R.e.m. Beauty became the fourth ‘r’ in the famous-girl cosmetics coven. That’s when the social analysis platform Dash Hudson dropped their annual Beauty Industry Benchmark Report, a white paper so in-demand, and so damn expensive, I had to put the moves on a tech executive just to get a copy. (Okay, fine, he’s my boyfriend. But still…) The 34-page brief breaks down the best uses for each social media network — YouTube for narrative short videos; Instagram for click-to-buy moments; TikTok for basically everything else — and spotlights the top-performing brands on every major platform.
Frankly, R.e.m. Beauty slayed harder than Fortinbras at the end of “Hamlet.” On Instagram, the brand landed a 1.8 percent engagement rate, higher than any non-celebrity beauty brand and double that of Rare. (Rhode Skin had a 2.3 percent rate — the highest — while Sol de Janeiro came in with 1.3.) On TikTok, Rhode and R.e.m. were nearly tied for engagement (7.7 percent for Hailey vs. 7.6 for Ariana), with Rare knocked off the podium completely by Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills line.
People love to make it look like women are fighting, so let’s be clear here: This is not a knock on the amazing success and accomplished formulas of Rare Beauty or the authentic and undeniable appeal of its talented founder Selena Gomez. As Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike told the newsletter Feed Me, “Everyone can eat.” (And look, their blush is sick.)
Still, it’s notable that R.e.m. skyrocketed so much in such a short amount of time, and it gives two interesting hints for growing a brand’s celebrity strategy in the future.
- It turns out, beauty consumers aren’t as cynical as we feared. The Wicked tie-ins and red carpet product promotion really worked. The trick was tying the R.e.m. exposure to a very real end-date, instead of making it seem like an endless rush. We knew that Grande’s constant TV appearances and product tie-ins would end when “Wicked”’s promotional cycle did, just like we knew Nyx’s “Barbie” streak was basically a summer fling — a good time, not a long one. In both cases, the brand’s awareness and revenue soared, and stayed high even months after the movie hype ended. (Eagle eyes will recognise a cameo of the brand’s Satin Matte blush compacts during the song “Popular.”)
- As an industry, we need to get better at accepting a hard truth: Social media success can certainly drive revenue, but it’s not a guaranteed jet pack. After all, it costs nothing to hit the “like” button, and $19 to buy a R.e.m. Drippy Gloss Balm. Witness the undeniable dominance of Fenty Beauty, which brought in $603 million last year and didn’t make these Dash Hudson rankings at all. (Neither did Glossier, actually, which is certainly something to think about.) Will R.e.m. Beauty make a record profit in 2025? Like a Magic 8 ball after you shake it five times, the data says “all signs point to yes.” Will it out-earn Rare Beauty, even though it’s out-performing the brand on social engagement metrics? To quote one of Selena Gomez’s own song titles, “Slow down.” There are other factors — namely, distribution partners, strategic ad spends, and product alignment— that drive sales even more than engaged TikTok fans.
Speaking of product alignment, an innocent question: Would it help if R.e.m. Beauty released a ponytail slick-back balm? It would be pop-u-lar. Just saying.
What else is new…
Skincare
Korres debuted its Men’s Athenium Grooming Collection on April 3, including moisturiser, cleanser, beard oil, after shave, and two kinds of cologne. The line includes yarrow extract, but they’re calling it “achillea” because of the Greek theme. Feels like a collab with the Madeline Miller best-seller “Song of Achilles” should be happening, right? BookTok, weigh in.
“Ozempic face,” meet “GLP-1 skincare.” On April 4, Image Skincare introduced Volulift, a $134 moisturiser that claims to restore fullness and bounce to skin that’s been zapped by rapid weight loss. Expect this category to increase; also expect me to scream into various voids.
Solawave is rolling into all 610 Ulta-at-Target stores on April 6. The inventory includes gizmos like its LED wand and its associated topical skincare.
Matcha has come for your lip gloss. On April 7, Laneige debuted a $19 Matcha Bubble Tea version of its Glowy Lip Balm, plus a $24 version of its Lip Sleeping Mask — amazing, considering matcha’s caffeine content.
Ursa Major introduced Forest Water Hyaluronic Serum on April 8. It has sequoia and beech tree extracts, plus ”lupine peptides”, which freaked me out — I thought the name meant it came from wolves, a la Professor Lupin in Harry Potter. Fortunately, these peptides were taken from the white lupine flower, which looks a bit like lily-of-the-valley and promises anti-aging benefits like firmness. Phew.
Saltyface’s first moisturiser hits shelves on April 10. It’s a self-tanning formula with hyaluronic acid, aloe leaf juice and a $48 retail price.
Makeup
MAC Cosmetics revamped its Studio Fix powder foundation on April 4, extending the shade range to 67 hues and taking talc out of the formula. The compact itself also got a makeover: It’s thinner and flatter than the original, which was slightly puffy — but easy to find in your handbag on the dance floor.
E.l.f. dropped Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm on April 4 in six dessert-themed shades, including wild cherry and java chip. Reddit fans are comparing the $9 tinted balm to Summer Fridays, but I think the formula stands on its own.
A moment for Iris & Romeo lip balm, which consistently performs well above its weight class for shininess and longevity. On April 4, it debuted Weekend Skin SPF 30 Moisture Lip Balm, which comes in three buildable shades.
Clinique’s Even Better Clinical Vitamin foundation launched on April 7. The $38 formula has SPF 45 and comes in 28 shades with no-nonsense names like “Deep Cool” and “Light Medium Warm.” (Helpful, thank you.) Clinique also added actress Meghann Fahy to its list of social media fans; she used the brand’s Quickliner eyebrow pencil in a Vogue video about her beauty routine.
Elizabeth Arden introduced its Hydroplay line on April 8. The range includes a cleanser and SPF built for lightweight hydration.
Jones Road rolled out Just Enough, a buildable tinted moisturiser, on April 8. It comes in sixteen shades that retail for $48 each, and a marketing campaign partially conceptualised by robots.
Colourpop’s Liquid Blush with Pearl hit stores on April 10. It’s a $10 buildable formula in six shades; I’ve been using Princess Ave (a cool-toned pink) for weeks and it’s so glowy! Sheglam’s Buttery Blush Sticks are less luminous, but they’re also less money — $6 each — and hit shelves on April 8.
Do you need a “tanning elixir?” Iconic London introduced its own version of April 10 — they’re calling it a “bronzing water” and selling it for $30. The label debuted a bronzing balm on the same day, in case you prefer your faux glow to feel a little thicker.
Essie has signed the best celebrity model of all time — Ellie the Elephant from the New York Liberty WNBA team. On April 10, the giant puffy mascot with the best dance moves in Brooklyn became the new face of the nail polish line
Haircare
Peptides became a mandatory lip-gloss add; now they’re coming for hairspray. On April 6, Lolavie introduced its Peptide Plumping Volume Spray, a $30 formula that promises fuller, more lifted hair and heat-styling protection. It’s available online and at Ulta Beauty, and yes, founder Jennifer Aniston tested the elixir herself before letting it hit stores.
Shay Mitchell is exciting enough to carry an actual spy movie, but for now, we’ll settle for a spy-themed commercial. The actress is the new face of OGX beauty, and appears in a series of videos where she hands over Bond Protein Repair spray as if she’s James Bond stealing a nuclear code. The ads debuted on April 8.
Congrats to Cécred, which entered Ulta Beauty on April 6! The haircare line by Tina and Beyoncé Knowles launched in 1,400 doors and Ulta Beauty Salons, where it will be used during hair treatments.
Fragrance
Coach wants you to know that its latest fragrance is male, okay? The scent is called Coach for Men, it comes in a tough obsidian bottle, it has notes of cardamom and leather, and basketball star Jayson Tatum is in the ads. Created by Julie Karagueuzoglou (who also developed a scent for super-bloke David Beckham), the $133 eau de parfum is “an invitation to freely explore all sides of oneself.” Except the girl sides, ew, because this is for men!
Guava Granita is a smoothie of a fragrance featuring banana, mango and almond milk (really). Ellis Brooklyn debuted it on April 6 for $115.
Millie Bobby Brown is bottling the beach. On April 8, she launched Coastal Chic, a body mist from her beauty line Florence by Mills that has “sea mist notes” and “ylang-ylang oil from the Comoro Islands,” which sit between Mozambique and Madagascar. The sprays are $18 each; the ads have Brown wearing giant canary diamond rings.
A personal shopper for fragrance? Neiman Marcus is testing the concept through Neiman Select, a partnership with Scentbird that launched on April 8 and distills the NM luxury fragrance selection into curated sample boxes for subscribers. Brands include DS & Durga, Vilhelm Parfumerie and Fragrance du Bois.
Marc Jacobs FTW! On April 8, the brand’s Daisy Wild perfume brought home a Packaging of the Year award from the Fragrance Foundation. It uses a sprig of Brat-green in the bottle, along with puffy, mylar balloon lettering that we also see at Coachtopia.
Bring in the Noyz, but hopefully not the funk. On April 10, the indie scent brand debuted Detour, a fragrance with mandarin, jasmine and musk that captures “the thrill of spontaneity.” It’s $85, which for most of us, isn’t a spontaneous price point.
On April 11, Boy Smells introduced three scents on Sephora.com: Rosy Cheeks (floral and rose), Coco Cream (coconut and tiare) and Sugar Baby (waterlily and musk), which they claim “smells like main character energy.” Each perfume is $78.
Welcome to the fragrance world, Anonlychild! On April 11, the independent label by former Public School designer Maxwell Osbourne launched its first scent, Studio, which boasts notes of citrus, saffron and violet. Osbourne told me he’s testing the product as a candle first, with plans to eventually expand into wearables.
And finally…
Life imitates Netflix. On April 9, Sephora announced a partnership deal with the WNBA team the Golden State Valkyries. Two weeks earlier, Sephora announced a fictional deal with the LA Waves, the fake NBA team on Kate Hudson’s hit comedy, Running Point. (Now can somebody please make the actual Runway magazine from “13 Going on 30” and put Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer on the cover?)
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