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It’s the grand opening of beauty aisle. If you’re reading this and you know me—hi! Thank you so much for your support. If you’re new, I’m Kareen, your beauty advisor, here to keep you up-to-date on all the major happenings in beauty space.
This newsletter was inspired by those first five (sometimes awkward) minutes of a virtual work call and the dread of not being in the know:
“How was your weekend?”
“Is anyone watching ‘Nobody Wants This’ on Netflix?”
“Did you see that one brand’s new launch?”
“What lipstick are you wearing?”
“Did you see that viral TikTok video?”
beauty aisle is dedicated to the skim-the-headline readers, the conversationalists, the one who fears of becoming an out-of-touch corporate dinosaur, the anti-TikTok, the busy working [parents, executives, gal] and of course, the beauty obsessed. I hope these five-minute reads inspire your next first five minutes.
📰 This Week in Beauty
The tides are turning. Estée Lauder has tapped Stéphane de La Faverie to take the reins as CEO, aiming to breathe new life into the company following the retirement of long-time leader Fabrizio Freda. Jane Lauder, the founder's granddaughter, will step back from her executive role at the end of the year. Hmm.
Speaking of Estée Lauder, they launched on Amazon last week. Adding the Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation** to my cart immediately.
There’s a new beauty boutique in town: Dior opened its first U.S. B&M store in SoHo. Charlotte Holman Ros, President of North America of Christian Dior Parfums, stated that the store will “offer the truest, purest expression of the brand”. Did you know that Dior had $530 lipstick? I think I might have to trek to SoHo to swatch that bad boy…
💲 Sales Report💲
Puig, the Barcelona powerhouse behind scents from brands like Jean Paul Gaultier, saw impressive sales this quarter, topping expectations with €1.26 billion. While growth in Asia was modest, the brand is thriving in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, where retailers are eagerly stocking up on fragrances for the holiday season. With strong performance in fragrance and skincare—up 10% this year—Puig is chillin’…unlike L’Oréal and LVMH who are seeing more challenges, particularly in China.
Beiersdorf, the company behind your fav body cream brand Nivea, had a solid start to 2024 with a 6.5% sales boost, bringing in €7.55 billion, largely thanks to a comeback in North America and skincare favorites like Eucerin and Aquaphor. While its luxury brand La Prairie took a hit in China (-7.3%), where demand is softening, Beiersdorf is betting on fresh growth in Japan, the U.S., and emerging markets.
Unilever had a great quarter, with a 4.5% sales increase that beat expectations, thanks to innovative products and ‘slower price increases’ that drew shoppers back in. While the company saw some growth in prestige beauty and its best volume increase since early 2021, it’s still keeping the full year outlook sales growth and margin modest.
L’Oréal, saw a modest 3.4% increase in third-quarter sales to €10.28 billion, which fell short of the expected 6%. Struggling with low consumer confidence in China, the company faced a 6.5% sales drop in that region, leading to a 20% decline in its share price since June and about €50 billion in lost market value, even as sales grew by 5.6% in Europe.
TL;DR: Global beauty brands are struggling as China’s economic slowdown and shifting consumer preferences take a toll. Once a key revenue source for global brands, it’s now an uncertain market due to economic pressures and (local) competition. Puig is okay though—shares surged more than 10% in Europe after they shared their earnings.
**This is a great foundation, idc idc go argue with ya mama
🎬 Aisle Spotlight
Best of campaigns
DUPE THAT! Our favorite lip oil and dupe brand is calling on other companies to join the “parade of goodness” and dupe their brand values. And I op.
“At e.l.f.’s core is democratizing access – to the best of beauty, to wealth creation, to level playing fields in sports and business, to wellness, to a better planet and, perhaps most importantly, to doing it all with kindness. Please, DUPE THAT!”
Kory Marchisotto, e.l.f. Beauty’s Chief Marketing Office
🛍️ Just In
launches you can’t miss (or can you?)
💄 Queen Bee has something new for her hive. For $160 you can pre-order Beyonce’s newest eau de parfum ‘Cé Lumiére’ (50 ml 1.7 fl). Hope you like black pepper. Do y’all remember Heat?
💄 Doing good, every day. evolvetogether and goop have partnered together to tackle hotel amenity waste by creating a travel-size exfoliating bar soap $20 (for two) with packaging that fully dissolves in seconds.
💄 She’s back! Huda Beauty launched their last ‘big palette EVER’. The coveted ‘Icy Nude’ palette that originally launched in 2019 will now be part of the Icy Nude Collection that will feature Icy Nude Faux Filler Lip Gloss, Icy Nude Blush Filter, and Icy Nude Face Gloss.
💄 You don’t need it. e.l.f. has teamed up with the tumbler company suburban teens lose their minds over. You can now match your e.l.f. Glow Reviver Lip Oil (the best lip oil on the market IMO) to one of the five exclusive shimmery, metallic 40-ounce Stanley & e.l.f. Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumblers at your local target. The lip oil, lip oil attachment and stickers are all sold separately.
💄 Spicy Chai. Anastasia Beverly Hills has teamed up with beauty influencer Aditya Madiraju to launch two lip combinations for Diwali.
💄 Another celebrity skincare brand. Pamela Anderson launched a new cleanser in her vegan skin care line Sonsie that launched earlier this year. The line currently has three SKUs under $65—a Multi Moisture Mask, Super Serum and a Basic Balm.
💄 Zara dropped a hair shine collection today. Nylon did a review on the current collection if you’re curious.
📱 Breakroom Banter
the latest chatter
Patrick Ta’s Major Dimension Eye Illusion Eyeshadow Duo caused quite the stir on TikTok this past weekend because the gurls felt that $42 USD for two shimmering eyeshadows was priced a bittt too high. In Patrick Ta’s classy reponse, he broke down the formula and pulled out receipts (a price / formula competitor chart) in a video that garnered 3 million views.
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Sephora’s Savings Event starts this Friday, 11/1 to Monday, 11/11 and my For You page is filled with beauty and lifestyle influencers’ recommendations. Speaking of recommendations, I finally opened the mailer they sent to my house and it’s…personalized. They “picked” items I’ve purchased within the last three months and those saved in my wishlist.
If I made a recommendation video, ONE/SIZE Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder and Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Grateful would be high on the list.
You’ve made it to the end of beauty aisle’s first newsletter. If you enjoyed this week’s recap, consider subscribing for the next restock.