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Let’s breakdown launch news and brand happenings around Los Angeles.
The Award Goes to… Summer Fridays and Clarins, who both hosted fantastic parties at the Academy Museum this past week. I’m a member and love the museum. Their restaurant, Fanny’s, has the old Hollywood feel, and they offer weekend movie screenings. If you’re a cinephile or just love Hollywood, I cannot recommend it enough!
Summer Fridays hosted a dinner that I visualized as my future wedding reception at the Sphere, the large terrace area that puts the Hollywood Hills on full display. This is the first beauty event I’ve attended here and I thought could potentially my last, given I’ve been told a rental can cost you upwards of $80K. (Pharma brands, wya?) However, Clarins hosted their own soireé on Friday with the Icons Party at the same venue. The events couldn’t have been more different: Summer Fridays (celebrating their eye mask launch) had long tables of press and influencers set up in a circular fashion with a DJ, cake and curated photo opps, which commenced around sunset. Clarins’ Icons Party had a red carpet, paparazzi snapping your photo as you entered, an open bar with celebrities like Dylan Efron, Sam Asghari and Chet Hanks mingling prior to a performance from Gwen Stefani. (Everyone was curious what happened to Cher, who was the original headliner up until a few hours before the event began. Even more curious what Stefani was paid for a last minute performance.) It was a who’s who in beauty and a lot of fun.
Clarins has been leaning into the their company’s longevity (the big party they threw last year was y2K themed); Summer Fridays is for Zellennials who like curated Instagrams and lifestyle content. However, Clarins has been making a similar play with their demo — one of the influencers they hosted ahead of the event covers home decor. It’s all about reach!
SKKN by Kim is Acquired by SKIMS. My longstanding national nightmare has ended: perhaps Kim’s beauty line will have a fighting chance? I’ve been ranting since the launch of SKKN about the decision to materialize aside from the wildly popular shapewear brand (SKIMSCARE WAS RIGHT THERE!), so will there will be another name change, god willing (RIP KKW Beauty) now that it’s been bought back from Coty and Kim to… Kim, Emma and Jens Grede?
In our Celebrity Beauty Brand State of the Union on Gloss Angeles, we rehash the “why not Skims?” debate, which aired the same day this news was announced. Kismet? (Also: that episode is a lot of fun, I highly recommend giving it a listen but of course I’m biased.)
I’ll level with you: her association with Elon Musk has soured my affinity for Skims. Do I love their bodysuits and bras? Yes. Do I think you can have Jewish best friends, for example, and toe the line of associating yourself with a Nazi (or, at the very least, a guy who doesn’t mind being considered one) and not denounce it? No. I appreciate Kim’s dedication to prison reform, but I need the KarJenners as whole to become more vocal about social issues. I like Kim: she’s a smart marketer and polite person; everyone I’ve spoken to who has interacted with her personally adores her. But she and her family have massive platforms. They need to start using them, consistently, outside of selling commercial products and posting photo shoots.
I DIGRESS. I have thoughts on why skincare wasn’t the best path for her, so a deep dive on why I think she got it wrong (and why it never took off) is coming up this week.
New brand launches: POV by Mikayla Noguiera is launching DTC. Her line is an offering of “skin prep” items. Read: skincare marketed for those who are obsessed with makeup. It’s smart — it allows her to continue brand partnerships and collaborations that she brings in the big bucks for. Next up, Facile, a brand co-founded by a dermatologist (my own! Dr. Nancy Samolitis) launches this week on Sephora.com and will be in stores May 16th. My favorite product is the Destress serum with the unique ingredient of phytosphingosine, which helps calm the skin. The Brighten serum is a close second. I predict we’ll see The Proactiv Effect at Sephora soon… let me know if you want me to explain. And Ultra Violette, the beloved sunscreen brand from Australia that I hoard when I’m overseas, is also launching at Sephora. They had to reformulate their star sunscreen Supreme Screen due to the US filter regulations, but my skin cannot tell the difference. However, check the ingredients if you’re particularly sensitive to US chemical sunscreens. I love Supreme Screen and Future Screen, an SPF 50 mineral sunscreen fluid that has a subtle tint.
And lastly, I have some scoop: JICYMI, Nyakio Grieco, the co-founder and current CEO of Thirteen Lune, has been accused of embezzlement and securities fraud according to a civil suit filed in Los Angeles. Nyakio called me to make a 20-minute statement. I appreciate everyone who supported this newsletter after reading that story! It allows me to keep working on stories of that nature. You can read all the details linked above.
What’s been on your radar? Tell me!
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