Memorial Day Weekend-Eve Wrap Up
Clarins AI technology, new Cicaplast, Sephora Loves Glow, Amazon, and my dog
Well, summer is around the corner. How can you tell? My bathroom counter has six different bronzing formulations on it, many in shades way too dark for me. But hey, a pale boy can dream, right?
Here’s the Memorial Day Weekend-eve wrap up!
PRODUCT
Elle UK highlights the shift from ‘clean beauty’ to ‘accredited beauty’, as it looks like campaigns by The Ordinary around chemicals not being bad are starting to work. Refreshing to hear honest feedback on challenges of formulating natural, and brought to life with Glossier reverting back to their non-vegan Balm dot Coms this week.
ELC share latest RD work at SID conference in Texas.
Self-assembling Peptides, Penetration and Barrier Strengthening
BHT and Vitamins E and C as Antioxidant and Anti-glycation Molecules in Skin Models
Effect of miRNA-146a Levels on Circadian Rhythm, Repair and Damaging Factors; Plus Exosomal Transport
Cellular Synchronization for Skin Health and Integrity
Nrf-2 Technology + Collagen Boosters to Rebuild Youthful Skin
Macrocystis pyrifera Ferment to Reduce Inflammatory Mediators
LRP extends their bestselling Cica line to include a new lip and gel protectant.
Cicaplast Lips Hydration Restore Lip Balm is designed for use on dry to very dry sensitive lips. Made to soothe and soften without a greasy texture, the lip balm is formulated with vitamin B5, sustainably sourced shea butter and its Thermal Spring water.
Cicaplast Gel B5 Skin Protectant works to protect and soothe a disrupted skin barrier. It also has been tested post-procedure and post-laser to ensure skin feels hydrated, the brand said.
TECHNOLOGY
Clarins introduces its AI powered customer service and beauty advisor, named Clara (which all I can think about is the fierce Clara the cow at Disneyworld and I can’t say I’d be angry if she gave me some very real advice).
Ulta amps up same day capabilities with Doordash partnership, expanding coverage from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Boise to 1,350 Ulta stores across all 50 U.S. states.
MARKETING
Vroom vroom. Modern Retail reporting that the hottest brand partnership of the moment is a racing team. See: Charlotte Tilbury, e.l.f, etc
Dieline highlights how powerful merch can be and who is doing it well. Spoiler alert - its Vacation
Byoma launches a Skin Barrier awareness campaign. “My fear is that barrier care becomes a buzzword and a trend, rather than evolving the category and sparking a skincare revolution as we'd originally hoped. Our month-long campaign will cement Byoma as true champions of skin barrier health—by our community and for our communities. All our activities will tie back to our core values of education, democratization, and trust and transparency,” said Byoma found Marc Elrick. “Through this initiative, which spotlights the issue of misinformation in the beauty space, the brand looks to empower consumers with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their skin so that misinformation stops breaking skin barriers.” Misinformation isn’t just for politics anymore!
INTERNATIONAL
Glow Recipe is a Sephora Loves in EU
INVESTING
CROSS CATEGORY
New stats on specialty food market bringing to life the Trader Joe’s effect of servicing foodies and creating stickiness via specialty offerings.
Almost half (44%) of primary store shoppers surveyed for the report make trips to secondary stores specifically “to find specialty food items that their regular store does not carry.”
Specialty food items generate a gross margin dollar return that is 3-4 times higher per unit than mainstream items, which, the report posits, helps to balance out somewhat slower turns from specialty products
Consumer trust in supplements is increasing. “Asked whether their level of trust in the supplement industry changed after the pandemic, 72% of consumers said it had not, but 25% said their faith in supplements is higher than it was. Only 3% said their trust had dropped.” If you remember, there was a bit of a hangover post-COVID on supplement sales - but experts now attributing that to consumers overstocking and having to have to work through product - but now replenishment is starting to pick up.
More Gut-Skin clinical support, this time from Seed releasing new powerful testing data on their synbiotic to reduce IBS and replenish microbiome diversity after antibiotic use.
RETAIL
Target misses the mark on Q1 earnings, reporting that consumers pulling back on discretionary spending. This comes after they just announced price cuts on 5000 items.
WWD reports Kiehl’s launching Amazon storefront. Interestingly, the article confirms L’Oreal seeing Amazon not for replenishment (“Oh I have Prime, it’s easier to order on Amazon) and instead the channel is driving new customer acquisition. Two interesting mentions:
When it rolled out Lancôme onto the site last year, it found 73 percent of consumers who purchased product were new to the brand, according to Ashley Helgans, an analyst at Jefferies.
Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, told the audience at CAGNY in February: “In the end, there are distribution channels where many qualified consumers shop. I guess you’re all Amazon shoppers…. The results are very good, both in terms of perception, but also in terms of recruitment of new consumers and that’s very positive for the brand.”
Related, were you at the Amazon CEO Summit - I mean, WWD CEO Summit? Word on the street is that Amazon was on everybody’s lips. Why? See below recap from Baird:
CUTE ANIMALS
Not beauty related, but my cute AF dog Tanuki can now get 24/7 telehealth services via Pawp and Walmart+. Living in the future. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!
(Here is my dog wearing my daughters shoes. With that, have a great weekend!)
