The Business of Beauty Haul of Fame: You’re Such a Tool

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a tiny shoutout to the Boston Bruins.

Included in today’s issue: Amouage, Beauty Creations Cosmetics, Biossance, Chanel, Drake, D.S. & Durga, Glossier, Gossip Girl, Guerlain, IGK, Iris & Romeo, Jennifer Behr, Jhené Aiko, Le Monde Gourmand, Montblanc, Murad, Nike, Nocta, The Outset, Peace Out, Rare Beauty, Sabrina Carpenter, Tatcha, Typology, Victoria Beckham Beauty and a pineapple under the sea.

But first…

There’s this TikTok by Shay Mitchell. The actress and luggage brand Beis founder is getting her hair and makeup done while lip-synching to an audio from tattoo artist and human meme bot Amani Tre Niner. She mimes the words, “I wanna be spending my entire life savings on this!” and points to a fluffy blush brush. And honestly, she has a point.

Global Market Insights had the makeup brush market pegged at $6.7 billion in 2023, which is about the same as the National Hockey League. By 2034, that projection is $11.3 billion. Precision Reports has the US and Mexico leading the sales boom, which counts brushes as “makeup tools,” a separate category from “makeup devices” — the electric face gizmos that are also growing.

As demand rises for brushes, so does their positioning, and plain old brushes are now considered part of the luxury beauty game. Japanese brand Clé de Peau sells a $150 foundation brush at Saks; Gucci Westman’s blender brush at Sephora is $125. Charlotte Tilbury has a $55 blush brush at Bloomingdale’s and Troy Surratt’s contour brush is $120 at Revolve.

Is it actually worth it? “The right brush helps your makeup get to a professional level,” said Anisa Telwar Kaiker, the founder of Anisa Beauty, whom I visited during New York Fashion Week in September. Besides running her own line, Kaiser is the secret brush-maker for brands I’m not allowed to name. “The right brush and the most expensive brush aren’t always the same thing,” says Telwar. “But the consumer obsession is still kind of new. People don’t yet know what to look for.”

In the land of $68 lip gloss, luxury makeup brushes might be predictable. What gives these tools the “whoa” factor is the rise… and rise… of skincare brushes, now sold by facialists, dermatologists, and J.Lo (you glow, girl!) specifically to apply serum, moisturiser, retinol, and masks. Recent arrivals to the category include prestige offerings from MAC, Byredo, and NuFace. Nyx and Sigma Beauty have entrants in the mass corner.

“Skincare brushes can help a little,” said makeup artist Vincent Oquendo, who counts Jenna Ortega and Nicole Richie as clients. Brushes can help get you better product distribution and less bacteria. “They also feel really luxurious, which is part of the experience with skincare. You want to feel special,” he explained. An artful ritual is, after all, more enticing than a routine appointment. That may be why Naturopathica sells the same $35 moisturiser brush on their website that they use in their exclusive Nexus Club facials in Tribeca. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian’s SKKN by Kim, has a remarkably conceptual take on the “treatment brush” that looks like a Rubell Collection sculpture.

Body lotion brushes are happening, too, and separate from the bristle-y “dry brushes” that claim to encourage lymphatic drainage with a side of skin burn. Instead, these new “body treatment brushes” are softer than an OG Old Navy fleece; some are also used for tanning gel, which makes them utile instead of just “luscious.”

Then there’s the undeniable surge in luxury hair brushes a la La Bonne Brosse, the French brand with $115 acetate brushes that appeared with the fully-formed hype of Venus popping open her clamshell. The brand opened its first Paris boutique this June, and they are already profitable, according to the brand’s PR rep. They are also unavoidable in the same Substack gift guides that claim Khaite jeans will change your life. Mason Pearson (the OG) and Crown Affair (a prestige newcomer) have similar models, but my favorite challenger is Celine’s new $490 acetate brush. A killer among us, non?

There’s a real argument to be made that buying random brushes is just buying stuff for your stuff. (See also: Makeup charms.) But as we focus on self-soothing behavior in unstable times, the creation of a personal ritual can help us feel more grounded. Tools are instruments to perfect and refine our human behaviour. They also help us define that behaviour in the first place. When it comes to making order out of chaos, a beauty brush is an ideal symbol, and it’s one you can buy.

Brushes are also great visual aids for content. They bring shape, structure, and sometimes that fun ASMR whoosh sound to the game. We can see how hair and makeup brushes propel the girlhood-bedroom narratives that begin with Rapunzel and continue through Degas’ portraits of ballerinas in hair and makeup prep, Audrey Hepburn getting ready at her “Roman Holiday” vanity table, Dionne Davenport telling Cher Horowitz “I’m trying to make you as white as I can!” while fluffing her cheeks in Clueless, and Sofia Coppola lingering gaze on Priscilla Presley’s hair routine.

When we reframe these dinky beauty buys as both ritual and storytelling tools, it gets harder to brush them off.

What Else Is New

Skincare

Biossance launched its Squalane + Firm and Lift Dual Serum on Dec. 6. They call the formula “active packed,” which is a nice phrase, and promise lots of lifting and firming for $68.

Peace Out’s Oil Control Roller hit shelves on Dec. 6. It looks like a tiny roll-on deodorant but comes with halloysite clay “to help reduce excess oil” and leave skin with a matte finish. It’s $28 and so cute, but I wish the packaging didn’t need so much plastic.

On Dec. 10, Iris & Romeo introduced Skin Cocoon, an all-in-one face oil, serum, and moisturiser that combines niacinamide, sea buckthorn extract, and glycerine. It’s $58.

The Outset just might be outperforming. On Dec. 11, the beauty brand founded by Scarlett Johansson debuted a $92 jumbo size jar of their niaciamide night cream for a simple reason: shoppers want more of it. Promising news.

Murad’s Retinal ReSculpt Body Treatment dropped Dec. 11. Press materials say “it’s a HIIT workout meets shapewear for your skin.” It’s actually an $88 jar of body cream that uses encapsulated retinol and bentonite, a “swelling clay” found in Alabama and Mississippi, to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks.

The R&B singer Jhené Aiko introduced Jhenetics, a line of CBD-infused lotions and tinctures, plus a body balm and powdered bath soak, on Dec. 11. Prices are $25 to $60.

Rare Beauty’s $28 Find Comfort body and hair fragrance mist and $36 scented Bouncy body cream made their retail debut on Dec. 12, but you could get them a day earlier on the Sephora app.

Tatcha thinks its new Brightening Serum and Eye Cream are so jinx-proof, the brand is launching them on Friday the 13th. The duo includes 13 times (!) the antioxidant power of ascorbic acid and promises brightness and firmness.

Makeup

If you’re looking for a step-by-step guide to the eclipse-moon eyeliner on Chanel’s Dec. 3 runway in China, InStyle beauty director Lauren Valenti has a great breakdown that also confirms liquid liner is poised to regain priority positioning in 2025 after 18 months of Total Blush Dominance. (See also: Olivia Rodrigo’s Lancome ads; Selena Gomez at the Emilia Perez premiere in Los Angeles…)

Typology’s tinted $29 lip oil got a new limited-edition color on Dec. 4. It’s called Luminous Glow and has tiny pearlescent particles for a shinier finish.

On Dec. 6, Victoria Beckham Beauty introduced Emerald Lid Lustre, a green pearlescent shadow with a deep pigment payoff and golden pearl shimmer. It’s $36 and definitely Elphaba-coded.

Nike and Drake’s apparel line Nocta released a nail collaboration with manicurist and Pretty Girls Club founder Dallas Jones on Dec. 6 on a line of custom acrylic nail designs and stencils.

Nyx has 10 shades of Buttermelt Glaze tinted SPF; they debuted Dec. 8 for $13 each.

Glossier’s Shadow Sticks dropped Dec. 10 in five neutrals with names like “Roadie” and “Stereo” that hint at the brand’s ill-fated past Play category. Let’s hope these $22 pencils do a little better at the cash register. They look easy and fun.

Vitamasques is unbothered if you call their Plump & Repair Lip Butter Balm in Candy Cane a “dupe” of a certain $18 sold-out gloss. In fact, they use the term themselves in their press materials! Vitamasques’ version is $5 and hits Target on Dec. 11.

If you’d like SpongeBob-yellow eyeshadow, here is good news: Beauty Creations Cosmetics revealed a new collab with Mr. Squarepants. The range includes silk lashes, blush sticks, a piña colada-scented lip balm, and an eye palette with 12 shades, including the signature hue of Bikini Bottom’s most famous resident. (Sorry, Patrick.)

ColourPop dropped bronzing drops. The Sol Liquid Sun Glow formula hit shelves on 12/12 for $12.

Haircare

Pink is for boys! Evan Mock is back to his “Gossip Girl”-era hair hue, thanks to stylist Jackson Heller. The occasion for his rose hair is a solo video for Blackpink’s Rosé, and can I just say, we called it?

On Dec. 10, IGK debuted First Class After Dark, a charcoal dry shampoo formulated especially for dark hair. It’s $32 and also includes white tea powder and “avocado-coated pigment.”

It gives me great joy to tell you that the Disney Channel hair gems of yore have grown up. Jennifer Behr now sells them as part of her holiday collection for $198. They are magnetic instead of velcro, made from Czech crystals, and will make all your “Hannah Montana” dreams come true.

Fragrance

Today in late-breaking inevitabilities, Sabrina Carpenter unveiled Me Espresso, part of her Sweet Tooth empire, on Dec. 8. It has notes of coffee, cocoa, vanilla, and “night blooming jasmine.” It costs $60 and will likely make the stealth beauty genius even more millions.

Le Monde Gourmand joined the affiliate network ShareASale on Dec. 9, so prepare to see your favourite Substack babe talk about her Palm Heights beach vacation and then link straight to the Le Beach perfume oil.

Welcome to New York, Amouage! The luxury fragrance house that operates via the Omani royal family opened its first boutique in Soho on Dec. 10 with red stone walls that pay homage to the Arabian Peninsula’s striking desert terrain.

The Montblanc Meisterstück pen is $570. The corresponding Montblanc Meisterstück perfume is $140 and launched Dec. 11. Honestly, it seems like the marketing team could be having more fun here — one writes notes of consequence, one has notes of amber; one makes a signature, the other makes a signature scent — but executive luxury has its own cadence and it’s not usually a gas. Anyway, the unisex fragrance is available at Nordstrom and Dillard’s, but only Nordstrom sells the pens.

Weighted blankets, meet scented blankets. D.S. & Durga has partnered with Cotton, Inc. to launch a perfumed blanket infused with its Wild Brooklyn Lavender fragrance, also used in their candles, hand sanitizers and car air fresheners. It’s available from Dec. 12 and costs $200.

And finally…

This resurfaced My So-Called Life ad is 30 years old, but the sentiment about beauty is still the same…

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