Mid-Year Beauty & Business Review

Ramón
https://www.instagram.com/glowbyramon/
https://www.tiktok.com/@glowbyramon
https://www.youtube.com/glowbyramon

Angelo
https://www.instagram.com/dermangelo
https://www.tiktok.com/@dermangelo
https://www.youtube.com/dermangelo

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Hi Ramon.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hi, Angela.

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Okay, we're more than halfway through 2026 now. So I wanted to ask you, what has the algorithm been serving you? What are your favorite meme formats? Like, I'm chronically online and I'm gonna assume you are too. So I'm just I wanna know because I know for me, my algorithm's not giving me beauty content most of the time.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

That's the thing, people don't realize we post beauty content, skincare content. We don't like to consume that. It's like I'm very rarely on like a TikTok or Instagram, but um if I am, I'm not looking at skincare stuff.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Me neither. Like much of the time, I'm sorry, mutuals, but if you're if your video comes up, I'm like like not watching it.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

I'm not watching it. I will like, I might reshare it, I will save it. I might do a little heart comment, but yeah, not watching that. Um, no, so like obviously I've moved to New York, I've been here for now, it'll be seven months. I want to get a dog, and all of my algorithm right now is pugs because I want to get a pug. So every time I see one, I'll send it to my husband to like aggressively, subliminally send a message.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

What is it about pugs?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

They're so cute. I've had pugs growing up and I'm just like really into them.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Uh small dog, very not low maintenance, but like they they don't require a lot of physical activity, so it's not like a husky where you gotta like run seven miles a day with them. Um, they shed like crazy, but there's two Latino men living in my house. Me and my husband. So we already shed like crazy, therefore it's not really adding much to the mix. You know how many times I have to vacuum a week?

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Really? Yes. Where is it coming from?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

My husband.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Okay, I guess Jorge is shedding. Shedding. Um maybe needs to get that checked out. Um dermatologist. Dermatologist, yes. Interesting, interesting. I'm like, I've had dogs that shed in the past. I can't go back to that. So I'm like, if I get a dog, I need to get something long-haired or something. But on that note, one thing that I'm getting served a lot is I'm convinced that TikTok wants me to buy a parrot. Well, I'm engaging with the content, but this is something that you know I never would have thought of before. But then I came across this video of these two birds, I guess they're parrots, that sing um monster by Rihanna. You know, I'm friends with the monsters. You know, that one they sing in harmony. And the cutest thing about it is when they go off key, they go, oop!

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Is it real or is it AI?

SPEAKER_02 2:55

It's real, it's real. And now I'm getting served all kinds of other parrots, and a lot of them are actually very famous online. There's one called Apollo that the uh owner has taught him how to identify certain objects and colors. So he will, you know, hold up a you know, purple bottle that's made out of plastic, and the bird will like knock it with its beak and say, like, purple bottle plastic, like it knows. So these birds are gonna be smarter than us one day.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

I don't there to me, it's like I animals can't be smart. And not that that they don't have the capability, I'm just like that shouldn't be a thing. What drives me not crazy, but like makes me really uncomfortable is you know those the dog videos where they have taught the dog that the thing the buttons on the floor.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

And the dogs can communicate basically in full sentences by pressing the buttons, and I'm like, there's a level of like self-awareness that I just no dog should have that.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

I mean, it's classical conditioning, basically.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Well, no, there was one where like the dog got really like self-aware and got like really depressed.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Yeah, it was very deep, but I'm just like, that's so weird. I love it though when they're like, Mom, bitch, bitch, bitch, just because he didn't take the dog out or give it a tweet or something.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

These dogs, man, so ungrateful.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Are you a cat person?

SPEAKER_02 4:23

No. Why is I feel like cats smell. Sorry. Sorry, cat people. Um cats themselves? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Or like For me, it's like I understand going into someone's house house who has a cat and all you smell is like the litter box.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

That is is a no. So also I don't think that I want something that's going to relieve themselves inside my house. However, also, I I knew somebody who trained their cat to go on the toilet.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

I love that.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

And apparently that's not uncommon. That's something that you can do.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

So I also feel like cats they like to be clean. So I'm like, if they don't have to like actively sit in their waist when they go to the litter box, they're gonna be like, yeah, I'll flush a toilet.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

I don't know if the cat flushed the toilet, but it definitely did go in the toilet.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

You know what? Baby steps.

unknown 5:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Kitt kitty steps.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Kitty steps.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Kitty girl. Um, okay, so you're not a cat person. You've had dogs, but you don't have a dog.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

I don't have a dog right now.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Parrot to come.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

I'm afraid the parrots are gonna smell too, but like the other thing with the parrot is that what if it doesn't shut up? The other day, my sister was like, I want a cockatiel, and I've learned because of my algorithm that when they're angry, they will literally scream.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Okay, is we're in New York, so does anyone on the street.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, but I don't need something a bird screaming at me because I don't give it a treat or something. See.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

I think it's so funny. I think your next era of life's gonna be like ornithology or something.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Maybe. Maybe I'll be one of those gay bird watchers.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Every gay needs a really weird manic episode in their life, so that's yours. Birds.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

I'll be like, that's why I was in the ramble watching birds.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

One of my favorite fun facts is that I used to have a pet snake.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Yeah. I think snakes are really cute. Um, and no one ever expects that of me.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah, I I had a lot of weird pets when I well, I spent part of my childhood living on a ranch.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Where?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

In Pennsylvania like a small detour in my life, but I raised horses, I had a sheep, I had an iguana at one point. That's very Puerto Rican of you. Very Puerto Rican, lots of animals.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Actually, yeah, hold up. So the Puerto Rican Day Parade was what, two weekends ago? Until we were out in Bushwick, and we were walking down the street, and my husband goes, Were those iguanas? And I'm like, What are you talking about? The two people walking right next to us literally had, they were holding iguanas just walking down the sidewalk. And then some other guy they were with had a boa wrapped around, like an actual boa constructor wrapped around him.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

In New York, this used to be more of a thing. I remember growing up, there were just people who would walk around with the iguana on their shoulder or with a snake, but just like walking down the street, never knew where they were going. But I think it was an identity thing where they became that guy. Like you're the snake guy. So people are gonna walk up to you and start talking about the snake. And that's what you I don't know. Like, that's how you meet people, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

I guess.

SPEAKER_02 7:36

So if you have trouble meeting people, get a lizard, get a reptile, or know someone who has one.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Exactly. And that's my favorite thing about Puerto Rico, though, is like you'll be walking down the street and like iguana right next to you.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Oh, yeah. Like, like in Florida, too. And when they get too cold, they fall out of the trees.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Yeah. It happens. Scary.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Okay. Ramon. Angelo. We're halfway through 2026.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

It went by really fast.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

It went by really fast. We're gonna take a look back at the half-year review so far, as far as like beauty, skincare, science, fashion. What are you seeing? Like, has it been what you expected?

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Yes and no. I feel like you never really know when things will launch, what kind of trends are gonna come up. I feel like exosomes became a really big focus this last year. And it was a it was present at the tail end of last year, but like really I think people saw the hype and the commotion and really geared up their product development cycle so that so much launched this first half of the year. And some launches, I'm just like, it just doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Yeah, yeah. For those of you who don't know, exosomes are basically like a delivery system. So just saying you have exosomes in your product it it's not saying what it's gonna do for you.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

And the big it's actually a very, very um controversial issue in the science part of the industry because you have half the scientists being like, A, it's not ethical, b, it's not actually like a functional thing. Because post-manufacturing, how are you guaranteeing the actual viability of the exosomes? And C, again, you don't know what it is, if it's getting delivered, blah, blah, blah, blah. Especially because a lot of the evidence is based around human-derived exosomes, and what you're seeing on the markets is primarily plant-derived. But no, it's I mean, if I can be very upfront, Medicaid launched a PDRN exosome serum, and that to me was the most what the fuck?

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Uh Medicaid, I love you, but that is such like a Dubai chocolate laboo-boo ass way to go about marketing the products. It's like, okay, let's pick two buzzwords. And I don't know if it's because they got bought or trying to get into retailers. One thing that we've been hearing a lot from brand owners is like they are getting pushed by retailers to make certain types of products, and they like buzzwords.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

They do. And ironically, now, this is really funny. This is where it's come to bite them in the ass. A lot of investors and a lot of big key players behind the scenes are like, oh, we don't want to put brands in retailers anymore if the retailers are gonna be acting up and out of pocket and making the brands do dumbass shit.

unknown 10:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Like it's like uh it like cheapens the brand. And like with the example from Medicaid, I'm like, this was really unnecessary and to me did not fit anywhere in like the brand ethos of Medicaid. Because they've had like a lot of great launches last year.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Okay, the liquid peptides advanced MP, that's that's a great peptide serum if you could afford it. Uh, the crystal retinal line, I think, is stunning legendaric for a reason. Um, if you want to work your way up on retinoids uh that are cosmetics, great. I mean, they make a lot of great products, but I was just scratching my head with that. And I remember they uh sent a bunch of us like lab samples of it, and I was like, they they didn't want to tell you what was in it, so I didn't use it. They're also like, use this for six weeks and take before and after photos, and we might choose to um to feature them, and I was like, Okay, you might choose to pay me to do that.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

I will say a lot of brands did that strategy this year, and I'm just like, no offense, unless I really know what's in this, I'm not gonna use it.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

But it's like we uh we get a lot of PR, and I think can think of like five different brands who sent me like blank, unlabeled. There one of the brands was like, We're not having the marketing speak for the product, we're having the product speak for the product. And I'm like, okay, but I need to know what's what is this.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Some of them, I think, including Medicaid, they'll send you an ingredients list just so you can check for any allergies. So at least there's that. But I'm like, I was just like, no, no. Any good launches you can think of?

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Sorry, that was so cuntsy. I didn't mean it that way.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

Continuum from experiment. I mean, I'm yeah, we talk about this all the time.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

I'm almost empty with mine.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Well, I have more for you if you want. I developed it with Experiment, check it out. It's on their website, Nat Sephora.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

So discount code Ramon15.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Angelo15. Uh oh, ooh. Battle of the affiliate codes.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Okay. You have like four times more followers than I do. That's not fair. Um, but no, continue is really cute and a testament to go to a subject matter expert that has credibility and a fresh perspective and allow allow them to have fun.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

It's from a fun brand already to start. And yeah, I think you guys really you put your whole pussy in that.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

Mm-hmm. The entire dermusty.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Dermosy, Dermusty.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

I hope not.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Um, no about also similar, really fun, interesting. Um sunscreen launches. Also, first of all, we got a new EV filter uh filter, filter approved in the US. That is a big story. It is. Sunscreens have not launched yet. We've had access to the filter for a minute, and I know it takes a long time to launch a sunscreen, so I don't think we'll see anything on the market for maybe another few more months. But huge, huge, huge pro for us, finally.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

I've had people in my DMs like, do you know of any sunscreens I could get with this new fill? I was like, slow your roll. Um, it's gonna come, but yeah, you need to do testing on finished products for sunscreens to get an SPF rating. So they have to formulate, they have to go through the testing for it.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Also in the US, because of the FDA, OTC, monographs and all that, from conception to launch, it takes minimum, I think, 18 to 24 months for a sun care product to actually reach market. So, yes, you've had access to the filter for a minute, and this filter was supposed to actually get approved last summer, but I still think timeline-wise, it'll be that's why it'll say that's why I'm saying it'll be a few more months.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

I think we're gonna be seeing a lot of reformulations and discontinuations in the US market for sunscreen because of this. Um, from the standpoint of Bematrisinol, and it's it's got like a broader band of coverage than a lot of filters. Yeah. How do you feel it is to work with?

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Really easy to work with. The one thing I don't love is that we only have it approved up to 6% in the US, whereas in the EU, I think it's 10%. But it's really cool because it hits a very specific spectrum or a very specific part of the UVA 2 spectrum that no other filter really touches. Um, it's good at stabilizing avobenzone. So yeah, overall, it's really easy to work with, and I like the way it accents so many other filters. So hopefully it just means more elegance, better protection, really elevating that UVA uh protection that we get from sunscreens.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Which is important, especially if people are worried about like dark spots, uneven skin tone. That's gonna be very helpful.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Yeah, and even a little bit really does a lot to elevate SPF because that UVA too part of the spectrum, it's not like UVB ends and then the rest of the UV spectrum doesn't burn you or anything. Like that middle part is very crucial. So that little bump there is very important. We love a bump.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Oh, stay in school kids. Don't say that. Um, okay, so yeah, big ingredient news. And I mean, I feel like there's been um less talk about peptides this year. They kind of fell off. There's some, but copper peptides.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Copper peptides. I actually I went live with two ads this week, so I like copper peptides. I think they're really fun. I like that there's a lot more affordable options now to really explore and try them out. Because back in the day it was really Neod. Neod. Great products.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

Great, love it.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

But Neod, it's kind of like a little boutique brand.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

It is, it's not in everybody's price range either. And I they're a sister brand to the ordinary, and I think that's why the ordinary now has a copper peptides product too. Uh, because they realized, you know, it's not in everybody's price range, so they're bringing it to more consumers. Uh, I've seen a lot more interest in copper peptides as injectables. This is something we need to talk about, the the injectable peptides.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

I'm not saying much here.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Well, okay. As a doctor. Do not buy research chemicals online and inject them into your body. That's dumb. There have been some studies done showing that these uh research peptides may not really contain what they say, or they could have dangerous uh components in them. So I would not do that personally. We also don't have great data for like injectable copper peptides that they're gonna help with collagen production. That's what people are saying. This is an anti-aging method. Uh, we don't have real good data behind that. People are really going crazy, taking their health into their own hands, and we don't know a lot of the long-term effects of these things. They're technically you could think of them as drugs that are unproven. So uh it I guess it depends on how much you value your life and your health, but personally, I think it's a bad idea. Um, and then on top of that, we can't talk about the first half of uh the year without talking about GLP1s, which I think is also a Dubai chocolate laboo-boo now.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

And then ironically, a lot of the peptide, copper peptide buzz is built around the skin effects of a GLP one.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

I personally, you know, I don't have anything against people using GLP ones if they're prescribed to them and they're getting like the real thing. I think it's interesting how in the beauty industry we're seeing more and more products targeted towards people who are on GLP1s, towards skin firming. The reason for this, I don't know if y'all have heard the term osempic face, which I hate. Um, but anytime that people lose a large amount of weight very quickly, that can lead to skin laxity. So it's not just specifically having to do with GLP1s, but in clinic, it's seeing that it's something that I'm seeing a lot more often. And people are coming to me for a lot more skin tightening modalities. However, on the cosmetic side, we're seeing a lot more products that are specifically tested in that population in clinicals, which is interesting.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Oh, I met someone who's launching an entire brand of skincare for GLP1 users.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

That's crazy to me. Um, I I know it's probably not gonna be the only one out there. There is one brand that has like an offshoot that's like specifically for volumizing the skin for people with GLP who are using GLP1s, but I mean, I don't know how viable that is. Obviously, a lot of people are on these meds, but are are they specifically looking for products?

SPEAKER_01 19:21

And my thing is just the impact you're trying to claim from these products, you really can't see a huge uh improvement using a topical. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I love a topical product for a lot of different things, but I also recognize the limitations of what you can achieve topically versus, you know, again, a more intensive procedure, an injectable, all of that stuff. So I'm just like, what are you trying to accomplish with this?

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

That isn't already on the market.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

For a lot of these patients that are coming to me, um, they are getting radio frequency done. So zerf. I don't know if you've heard. Oh my god, I'm talking about Zerf all the time. Uh so radio frequency is basically delivering radio waves into the skin um in order to denature the collagen, and then that collagen gets replaced by new, more organized collagen, and the result is skin tightening. A lot of people may have heard of radio frequency microneedling, like morpheusate is the big one, and in that we're putting microneedles into the skin, and then the radio waves are going back and forth between the needles. You're just like stamping over and over again. So it's like getting the benefits of microneedling with the added RF. Something like the Zerf, which we perform in my practice a lot, it's very popular. We're basically using a probe that you looks like an ultrasound probe, and it's monopolar radio frequency, meaning uh the radio waves are going into the skin, dissipating, and that energy is getting put through a grounding pad on your back and sent back to the machine so it's able to go deeper. Um, and that this specifically works at uh two different uh frequencies so that we could target deeper layers too. Um, I think part of the reason it's so uh popular right now is because there's no downtime, essentially. Um, it takes a while to see results, but it's basically painless. You don't have to take off from work, you don't look crazy right after. I think the big reason why it's so popular now is that Kim Kardashian posted about it. Yeah, it's the same thing with Morpheus 8. So that radio frequency microneedling device, they basically were put on the map by her talking about it. Um, so she still has a lot of influence, and I don't think they paid her.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Organic.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Organic, so does it hurt? No, it could be a little bit hot, that's the thing. But there are uh ways that we could alter the settings and change the cooling on it to make it more comfortable. In general, uh, people don't really complain much with it, so it's an easy Procedure to I've done it all myself.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Do you find um is it becoming really popular, or was it post-Kim Kardashian saying it that it like really blew up?

SPEAKER_02 22:07

I think the beginning, um, maybe it seemed more popular to me because my uh office had one of the first few devices in the country. So if people were looking for this, this device it comes from Korea. They've been doing it in Korea for a while. So people were like, I want that. It's not a shiny new thing. And now, ever since she talked about it, I think they have really good marketing. So people know it by name. Um, I have another RF device in my practice, but people aren't coming and asking for it.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

So is that one battery you think? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

No, it's a little bit different. Um, the other one that I have, this is called the the density. I prefer it for body because they have body-specific settings and uh hand piece elements and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

Can it give me like a BBL effect? Not that I need it.

SPEAKER_02 23:00

A BBL effect. Well, um, RF, when done incorrectly, some may say, could like dissolve fat. The Zerf people say that you can't do that with their device, but uh I get the feeling that there are ways with some of the other ones. There actually are RF devices on the market that are specifically for fat reduction and skin tightening. The difference with those though is that they tend to have um what they call pods. So rather than you know, moving and stamping with a probe, it's like the RF elements are just like fixed, fixed for the entire treatment. And they're like trying to heat up below the surface because you need to get pretty hot. It's not a BBL though, it never is. Speaking of BBLs and skin tightening and GLP ones, I think also we've seen a continued trend toward people just becoming thinner and thinner.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Yeah, I mean, we were both alive and very well aware of like the heroin chic movement of like the early 2000s. We're seeing it again, and I mean, I would love someone's actual like take on this, where it's like the beauty and like fashion trends tend to parallel specific political movements or whatnot. So it's like, what is the return of heroin chic signifying for us at this moment?

SPEAKER_02 24:21

You know, that entire look came about in the 90s, which was a time of prosperity, I think. But there also was, I think, you know, you had grunge, you had sort of this rebelling against the status quo. I don't think we have that right now. I do think that there may be a little bit of a swinging of the pendulum back from the body positivity movement or body neutrality, and now everybody just wants to be thin, which is crazy to me because uh it's almost like it's trendy. Obviously, I think having the GLP ones has pushed people in that direction because now it's easy to be skinny, but is it the best choice for everyone? I would say, and how far is too far? To your uh point about heroin chic, that that was really like a fashion trend, in a way, of who we were shown on the runway, and we're back there.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:25

There there's no more body diversity really from the big fashion houses.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

I think the for me, the most shocking part of it is the people who built platforms and personas around body positivity and this very, very confident stance on I don't look conventional, I have curves and all these things. Like they are actively on GLP once, they've lost a lot of weight, and it was like, so that like your platform not mean a lot to you? Like, what happened there?

SPEAKER_02 25:53

I think everybody faces societal pressure in some way, and I think the whole body positivity movement for certain people was their way of rebelling against them, protecting themselves against that societal pressure. But another way of preventing societal pressure on yourself is removing it, removing that thing that you're getting pressured about. I don't feel like I could judge people for that necessarily, because you know, if you could choose to not go through that psychological stress, who am I to say don't do it or don't do it, you know? Not everybody has to be like the hero or the spokesperson for everything, especially when it comes to identity. I can only imagine how much, and let's say it out loud, especially the the pressure that women are put under and what society is telling them all their fucking lives. So it's understandable. I can understand that.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

Thousand percent. It's just we're seeing examples of it in a very extreme case right now, and again, going back to what 2004 era was. I don't know, it's just it's one of those things, and I remember being so young back in the day, and to me that wasn't impressionable necessarily. Also, I'm a boy, but I think now it's like a lot of big stars and big celebrities are going back to that, and I'm just like, but what are the kids gonna see? How is this gonna impact them? Where we we got somewhere at body positivity, where yeah, look who we look how you look, be confident in that, and now it's like, well, actually, you like being thin is hot again.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's it's kind of the default, or it's uh, you know, the best case scenario for people. And I don't know what that says.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

I'm not liking it.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

I'm not liking it either. I think body diversity is a great thing as long as everybody's healthy.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

And that's the important part is the health element of it.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Yeah, because you could you could push it too far in the thin direction. And I think right now with a lot of uh celebrities, that's what we're seeing.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

What else has happened this year? What other big things? We've seen a lot of brand launches, which people always talk about, oh, the skincare industry is so oversaturated. I don't think it is, but what we've complained about incessantly on this podcast is like if you're gonna launch a brand, at least make it interesting and original and like differentiate enough. Do you think any of these brands have achieved that?

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Not really. I don't know. Well, I'm thinking of the celebrity brands right now. You know what happened the other day? I was sent a mineral sunscreen from Sincerely Yours.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Oh, I bought no, I got that Impurea.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

Yeah. Um, and I tried it and I was like, god damn, this is good. I didn't want to like it, but it was good.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

I will say it's untinted, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Yeah. That's one of those where I think it actually is a mostly proper mineral sunscreen. I don't think there's any boosters in that formulation.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

I'm not sure, but it was good. I didn't want to like it because that whole brand concept is a little bit weird to me. I do feel like that's another one of those situations where there's probably an investor or an industry operator behind it that found the person to sign on after the fact.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

So no a thousand percent.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

Yeah, that whoever that is behind there knew how to find the formulators to make a good product.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Or at least the manufacturers that had it already made.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Yeah. We've talked here at length too about like uh Alex Earl and Michaela. Michaela, the lipstick lesbians, all of that. Um but now everybody has something. Like The Rock. I saw a meme the other day, The Rock is selling shampoo.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Tea, but also, I mean, I haven't tried it. The brand's called Papatouille. People have said nothing but great things about the brand, and the products are very affordable. Not that I'm trying to buy anything that The Rock is selling me because I'm just like, you're not known for beauty or skin or hair.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

You don't smell what The Rock is cooking.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

I'd be down to smell The Rock.

SPEAKER_02 29:57

Mmm.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

No, I'm just like $10. Nowadays, it's actually really hard to find brands that are really affordable. And you have a celebrity-backed brand that's kind of giving you that. And plus, they have apparently a very good SPF 30 like moisturizer. Wow. Okay. So that I can't be mad at that one. When I'm it's not anything new, but at least it's like it fits in this like value to mass level pricing. It's at Target, so it's easy to get. Like the Alex Earl, to me, that was what's the point? What's the reason? You could be any other Sephora brand.

SPEAKER_02 30:29

And we haven't heard anything about it in months. So actually, no one has talked about real actives. Since the launch, yeah. I'm like, why is that? Why is that? People have been real quiet.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Lipstick lesbians. That to me, that actually was the like the outrage or behind that was so funny. And just the way that I'm like, this is not that deep at the end of the day. To me.

SPEAKER_02 30:54

It's not. It's not.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Objective opinions aside about the girls. I thought the response was unnecessary.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Yeah. You still have people getting on the frickin clock app every day, still talking about it. I'm like, okay, this is a you problem if you're still talking about this. It happened, they pulled it from the market. It's paused for now. I don't know what more these people want.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

And I don't think, again, I'm not gonna say the response back was appropriate or if if it remedied anything either, but it's like it's we always say like it's lotions and creams, it's not that deep.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Yeah, yeah. It's an eyeshadow, it's makeup. Correct. It's supposed to be fun.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

What else was like a big launch this year, brand wise? Mark Jacobs is coming back.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

Oh yeah, that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

To me, that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 31:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

I feel like the the the people haven't been talking about it. Like the buzz isn't there.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

I think the rollout was like extremely quiet.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 31:57

And they were trying to keep it to a select group of people. They kept it under embargo for a really long time. I think the thing about it is that there was such a cult following of the previous iteration of it. And you can't just remake those formulas, I don't think, because it's owned by Kendo. Yeah, it's Kendo now. Wait, the previous Kendo, now it's Coti, I think.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Maybe.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

Yeah. So uh I think people were maybe expecting it to be similar, but it's totally different.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

Uh the one thing, so like when I was at Sephora working, we had the line, and there was some, to Angelo's point, some very staple products. For me, it was the gel liners, stunning gel liners. And I think uh who's Susan's makeup artist? Nikki?

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Nick Nikki.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

Nikki LaRose Nikki LaRose. Nikki LaRose. Um Nikki LaRose, who she's one of Susan Yara's main makeup artists, she'd like a full brand breakdown, and she said no, they perform very similarly. The new gel liners to the original ones.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Oh, good.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

So that's one thing I'm like, oh, but for me, the complexion for their original line was really good. I don't think they have any complexion for this launch.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Not yet.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Everyone that's talked about it has talked about the packaging.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

Yeah, because it's fun. To your point about people don't want to have fun anymore. They're having a C.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

There's whimsy, it's fun. And that's one thing, like it harkens back to like the original like uh the daisy packaging from the fragrance in Marc Jacobs, like very fun, very bulky, but in a cute way. Um, and then also people are talking about the single eyeshadows.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

A lot of the talk around that has been, I think it's $28 or something like that for a single eyeshadow. And uh I think I don't know, a lot of us have moved beyond that. Well, I'm not really an eyeshadow person, but I know people really want to buy a palette now.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Yeah, and you have someone like a Danessa Myrex giving you like a big ass palette, decent price point, amazing pigment payoff. So it's like, why am I spending $28 on just a single eyeshadow? I will say that packaging is probably expensive.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

It is. Yeah, it looks like it. Um, I think another thing that people don't realize with this type of packaging, if you if you're getting something done custom, you're not just paying for the packaging itself, you're also paying tooling fees. So every little component that goes into that package, you need to make a mold for it, or there needs to be equipment basically machined to make that packaging. Yeah, so it's like also it's Marc Jacobs, it's luxury leaning, so therefore I think also it reflects where his company is at with their fashion too right now, because back in the day, yeah, it was a lot more chic, uh typically fashion forward, and I feel like the line reflected that. And now the stuff he puts on the runway is really whimsical, and they've turned into an accessories business, which it's a valid way to make money, but the runway shows are like everything's really oversized, cartoonish. So I think the the makeup line really reflects that.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

And I think in an era where everyone's being very minimalistic, very sleek, very simple, I like the fun. I like the colors, I like the fun, really outgoing packaging. Um, and I like that they want to make that statement right now.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

Any standout makeup products for you this year? I was thinking about that while you were talking. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

That's the thing, is I feel like how are we really standing out? I haven't tried them all yet, but there's been some interesting foundation launches. The uh Makeup by Mario one, I think Buchus was talking about that on her episode. Um, I've had I've heard nothing but great things about that foundation.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Yeah. Makeup Forever just came out with one that's like pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

People sleep on Makeup Forever. I feel like they had a specific status 10 years ago, and they just have stayed very like, no, we're like an artistry brand. But Makeup Forever is a brand I think people sleep on. Also, they don't adhere to like the like we're clean that like Merritt Summer Friday, like those brands that really took off from that really benefit from. So I think because of that, people don't pay attention to Makeup Forever, but they have amazing complexion products.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

Their powder foundation is great. Um, I feel like all of the foundations I've tried are great. Um, their pressed powder, like if you want to be really matte, very nice.

SPEAKER_01 36:30

All of they have my one of my favorite products is they have this palette. And they have a couple, they have a couple versions of it, but one of them is basically your entire face in one palette: bronzer, contour, highlighter, blush, foundation, everything. And it's all in a cream palette that's like literally like this thin, this big, so great for travel.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

I'm wearing it right now. Oh, yeah, you do have that. Yeah, uh, I have three of them. I'm on their PR list. It's I'm not on a lot of makeup PR lists, but I have somebody who I know is a fan of makeup forever, and they have me stocked. So I've been able to see firsthand. It's not the cheapest.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

It's $80, but your full face is in there, and because it's cream and they're high opacity cream products, a little goes a long way. So they last a long time.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

So I think it's a good investment. They have amazing undertones. There's I didn't say one piece of criticism. I forgot what it was. I mean it's expensive.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

It's expensive, yeah. The contour shades, I gotta say though, are actually like it's hard for me, I don't know why, to find a good cool contour that works on my skin tone because I'm kind of pale. Um, and they make a good one.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

My criticism was having lived in Europe, they have some banger products out in Europe that you cannot get in the US, and I don't know why. They have an amazing matte setting spray. Have not been able to buy it here.

SPEAKER_02 37:53

I think they're originally from France.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

No, correct, they are.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

But I'm just like, why don't you have the matte setting spray here? There's like no ingredient reason that I'm aware of that I couldn't have it here.

SPEAKER_02 38:02

Well, you heard the man.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

Um, but yeah, was it the skin tint and like the really squee the weird squeezy bottle, or which one from them?

SPEAKER_02 38:08

Oh no, they have like a new foundation that I would say is like medium coverage, but like natural matte finish. I don't even know what it's called, but it's good.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

If like this year, it's like I'm not seeing a lot of blanches launches.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

So, okay, I would say on summer Fridays they came out with a cream blush and a cream bronzer that I think are pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 38:31

Road.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

Road with the the pocket, what uh I haven't tried any of it.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

No, they that's the one brand right now. First of all, they had a duck duck brand trip that looked amazing. We should have gone on that. But they launched their little pocket bronzers, and the range on that is crazy. They worked with Gloria, as they should have, and it really paid off for them. Stunning range.

SPEAKER_02 38:53

They also now have a what is it? It's like a luminizing milk that they came out with alongside it. Yeah. That looks interesting.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

I'm just like, launch a radiant sunscreen.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Ooh, yeah, that's a good idea for them.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

That's the one thing is on that spectrum of things, you have like the glow screen from Supergoop, which it just leans too opaque, so you look like the Tin Man when you wear enough of it. There is um, I think Skin Aqua, it's a Japanese brand. They launched what is like the other end of the spectrum where it's just the most subtle but gorgeous radiance on the skin. That's what I need from something like a Summer Fridays or from a road.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

Okay. Yeah, this is what I want to say to these brands. If you make a radiant product, I don't want to be able to see the mica. I don't want huge mica particles, and I don't want too many of them. That's for me, at least. I know some people want to look like a disco ball. More power to them. I'm sorry, I can't. Like, there's too much.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:52

Like if it looks like straight up glitter in there, who's wearing that on a daily basis?

SPEAKER_01 39:56

No, literally. So that's what's like I need someone to do it in a subtle way where it still gives a really nice radiance, luminosity, but you're not giving like glitter stuck on your face. Because then when you get too opaque with it, you don't allow a wide range of skin tones to be able to use it either. That's why uh Supergroup had to launch different shades in it.

SPEAKER_02 40:15

Yeah. Also, who's gonna want to use the correct amount, like that quarter to half a teaspoon, if when you put it all over the place, it's like it's oily, it's too opaque, it's too sparkly. I think that leads to people just using less.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

So exactly. That's it. We we need more sunscreen launches always, period. This year I can only really think of like three that were good or uh Tatcha. Four that were good.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

The Tatcha Milky Sunscreen is very nice.

SPEAKER_01 40:46

I can't justify that price point.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Well, no, it's um it's like twenty what? Wait, sorry, it's like thirty something. I just reviewed it and I was like, wow, the price is cheap for Tatcha.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Girl, it's fifty dollars.

SPEAKER_02 41:00

It's fifty? Cheap for them. 50. This one? Yeah, that's still cheap for them.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

It's fifty dollars.

SPEAKER_02 41:07

I thought it was 38. Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

For how much? Is it the 50 ml?

SPEAKER_02 41:11

50 mls. That's a lot. It's expensive, but uh, I mean, okay, brands, when you do a chemical sunscreen, you get something really nice. Or you can. You can get something really nice.

SPEAKER_01 41:24

Uh, two of my favorite sunscreen launches, LaRoche UV Air, which I'm wearing today. Yeah, very nice. It's glowy, but my skin looks so good when I wear it. And it's it's $40, which is it's LaRoche. You sell it at drugstores. Why is it so much money?

SPEAKER_02 41:40

I mean, I think it costs a lot. Well, speaking of tooling, they have to come up with like a whole different packaging for it than everything else. I don't know why. Um, well, no, they're using that same packaging in Europe. I would say I'm a big fan of the European version of that sunscreen. Um, the US version comes close. I would say they engineered something that's pretty close.

SPEAKER_01 42:03

So it's a gorgeous formula, and I skim prep with it today, and I mean, it looks amazing. Before I did my makeup, I was like, damn, if I can go on camera barefaced, I would.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

Look at the material.

SPEAKER_01 42:13

And then my other one, other end of the spectrum, Banana Boat, they're sheer invisible. What they replaced the light as air with. Light as air is gone. Sock up while you can. Basically, but like if you like the beauty of Josun Aqua Fresh, that really light hydrating texture, the new Banana Boat gives exactly that. It is so gorgeous, ultra hydrating. It leaves your skin, you have a glow, but it's not greasy, that makes sense. And it's like $10.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Can we talk about Korean brands? Korea. We're going to Korea.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Pack with me to go to Korea.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

Um Korean brands that are now putting out US sunscreens that are supposed to be like dupes of their Korean sunscreens because they can't get them into the country now.

SPEAKER_01 43:01

The only brand that ate with this, in my opinion, and not biased, but I am a little, Beauty of Joe Sun with their Daily Defense, the one that has to four, because it's 80 minute water resistant. And I'm like, all things considered with American sunscreens and the lack of cosmetic elegance, if it's going to be moisturizing and probably shiny and feeling a little bit heavy on the skin, the least you can do is make it water resistant.

SPEAKER_02 43:24

I think they came out with a lot of good sunscreen launches that are just US specific and they're not trying to, you know, ape off of what whatever they're putting out in Korea, too. Like Beauty of Joseph is one to watch for sunscreens. Num Buzzin'. I just tried their nine plus.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

Oh, the the one in like the purple magenta ink.

SPEAKER_02 43:45

She's cute. She's cute. The US version. The international version is really nice too. There are some that I feel like kind of fell short for me. Which one was it?

SPEAKER_01 43:55

I think Dear Claire's has a decent one. I like theirs a lot.

SPEAKER_02 43:59

And it's free. You know, like the hyaluronic acid, the blue and white. I think it's them.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

So I will say Innes Free had what was originally their SPF 36 at Sephora, a US compliant formula. Earlier this year, they launched an SPF 50, which I actually love the formula for. It's like very creamy, but it sets down fairly naturally. And then they just launched literally this week an SPF 47 that rivals their green tea hydrating one that they sell in Korea.

SPEAKER_02 44:28

So Innis Free had oh, so not Innis Free, sorry. Isn't Tree. I always do this. Isn't Tree has a really popular Korean sunscreen. It's the hyaluronic acid, watery, sun essence, whatever. Amazing. They launched a US version of it, which is only SPF 30, and it feels so low quality.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Oh, I didn't add for that one. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

Really? Yes, I do. Okay, well, any sunscreen that you wear is gonna be good, but like I felt like it didn't compare for me. For me, sorry is in tree, not in this free.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

I like that one a lot, but no, I understand because they actually just launched in Korea their watery fresh sun gel, which is amazing if you have oily skin. And because you have an option like that available in Korea, which you can get off Yes Style, and then you launched the US version where it's like worlds apart, you're like, damn.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

It's hard. I think it's hard for these brands. They want to be in the US market so bad.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

And obviously they're known for sunscreens. Are you gonna talk about Olive Young? Yep. The big thing right now is Olive Young launched in the US, and the big controversy is everyone expected the Korean sunscreens there, and it's like it's illegal.

SPEAKER_02 45:42

You yeah, you can't do that. And I feel like there was some sort of drama around their launch. They only have one location in LA right now, I think, right? And now there's gonna be an Olive Young section in Sephora.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

Which we got tea on.

SPEAKER_02 45:56

We got a lot of tea on. I think it's so interesting that Olive Young is opening their own locations in the US, yet they're partnering with Sephora. What do we feel like we're gonna see in the Sephora Olive Young that we're well, no, it's more what little crumbs are we getting in Sephora?

SPEAKER_01 46:15

Can we spill on that? Let me know.

SPEAKER_02 46:17

I mean, sure. It's well, we heard that it's supposed to be like affordable stuff.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

Allegedly, because so in Sephora you have gondolas or you have a certain amount of shelf space. And with Olive Young, my understanding is you have the Olive Young retail space, brick and mortar, already in California, plus an online presence. Sephora's take on that's going to be a select curation of viral hits from Olive Young. So you're not gonna have like, oh, here's the Olive Young space with a whole section of Toriden, a whole section of Beauty of Joseph, and like all the it's just like Olive Young, viral PDRN serum, sheet masks, moisturizer.

SPEAKER_02 47:02

And that assortment is probably gonna be changing a lot. Frequently, but it's it's interesting because I feel like Torridan is already in Sephora, right? So like some of these brands, it's like you are you gonna get the crossover? Because it's like Sephora already has Toroden, Beauty of Joseph, um is free, they've got Suwasu. Yeah, like all these Korean brands already.

SPEAKER_01 47:25

And one thing about Sephora is they love exclusivity. So therefore, if yeah, the brands in the US already exclusive through Sephora. A, are they gonna also be in the Olive Young section? And B, are they even gonna be in Olive Young?

SPEAKER_02 47:39

Good question.

SPEAKER_01 47:40

Especially Toidin. Touriden in Korea is called the Olive Young baby because yeah, they're just such an important brand and been very successful in Olive Young in Korea. So it's like that presence has to be reflected here in the US too, no?

SPEAKER_02 47:55

What do you think about those products?

SPEAKER_01 47:59

Honest opinion is to me, they're very simple, but that was kind of a key part of their success is in Korea. Around the same time the Torden launched, there was just a big resurgence in like the the ordinary concept of very single ingredient focus and very simple. So, like hyaluronic acid, we all know that word. It's in the serum, popular. Their green line, though, the balance line, I think it is.

SPEAKER_02 48:22

I have not tried that. I've tried the blue line only.

SPEAKER_01 48:24

And for me, they do a moisture, a good gel moisturizer down, lightweight, hydrating, not greasy. But that green line specifically, I think is really good if you have acne prone skin. It has a LHA. Okay. And something else. But it just lends itself better to if you have more oily acne prone skin. So I actually really like the serum from the green line a lot.

SPEAKER_02 48:44

Mmm. Okay, I'll have to try that because I've only tried the blue line, and to your point, I did feel like it was just very like hyaluronic acid focused, and I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

Which for the price point, I'm just like, it doesn't make sense to me. When you can probably get a very cheap alternative that is equally as hydrating. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:00

Yeah. It's like the products weren't bad. I was just like, this isn't blowing me away necessarily. It wasn't revolutionary.

SPEAKER_01 49:08

Yeah, same. But I'm interested to see like what will come into Sephora via the Olive Young thing, that it will be a little bit more different because basically Sephora's approach to K-Beauty has been very interesting. They basically went balls to the wall with all the Amori Pacific brands and not much else beyond that, besides Torridon and Beauty of Joseph now. So it's like, what's gonna be the hot young brands that really come in and engage the like gen alpha and younger consumers?

SPEAKER_02 49:38

Yeah, I guess we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

We'll find out. I feel like we've talked about some stuff related to this episodes prior, but like the business side of beauty, a lot of weird things have happened this year. There was what was going to be the Estee and Puj merger, which didn't happen.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Wait, that's so crazy to me that these companies are like, hey, we're flirting. We might get into a relationship. And then they were like.

SPEAKER_01 50:03

Just kidding.

SPEAKER_02 50:03

We ghosted each other.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Like literally.

SPEAKER_02 50:06

Yeah, for those of you who don't know, Pooch is a uh they're Swiss.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

They were French.

SPEAKER_02 50:11

French, they're a Spanish. Oh, they're Spanish, yeah. Pooch is a Spanish beauty conglomerate that owns a lot of fragrance brands.

SPEAKER_01 50:21

But also Charlotte Tilbury. Allegedly, Charlotte was a big reason it didn't happen.

SPEAKER_02 50:27

Yeah, so there was talks that they were gonna merge with Estee Lauder. For those of you who don't know, Estee Lauder has been in a lot of trouble in recent years and they're in the middle of a kind of turnaround.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Yeah, they've in beauty business this year. We've seen a lot of brands shut down, or a lot of brands, a lot of conglomerates offload companies that they had under their umbrella. Estee, massive conglomerate. They have Estee they had Dr. Jarts. Who else do they have? The The Ordinary. Is Niad under that too? Is Desium under that?

SPEAKER_02 50:59

Yeah, it's all of Desium. So chemistry brand, uh Lufa.

SPEAKER_01 51:02

And as of right now, the Ordinary was one of the most profitable brands underneath the Estee umbrella.

SPEAKER_02 51:07

They have Glossier, too.

SPEAKER_01 51:08

Actually, Glossier is doing a hot moment right now with Glossier.

SPEAKER_02 51:10

Uh they're also turning around. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:12

So, anyways, all I have to say, big, big power players in the beauty industry. And it didn't happen. And yeah, word on the street was it was Charlotte. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:20

Yeah. I mean, I could identify with that if I'm selling my company under certain conditions and I still have a lot of stock in it, and I think it's a bad move.

unknown 51:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

I would say something.

SPEAKER_01 51:33

I would be the holdout. But besides, for me, it's just really been saying all the brands shutting down this year, but also the conglomerates that have let go some of the brands. Kate Somerville, something happened with them too, right?

SPEAKER_02 51:44

I don't know. An interesting thing that's been happening is like the big conglomerates offloading brands, often what they'll do is they try to sell them in a package. So multiple brands. So they're like, if you want Dr. Jart, you also need like this crappy thing that we bought that's not turning out to be that profitable for us. And like Dr. Jart was sold in a package with I think three other brands.

SPEAKER_01 52:11

I remember that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:13

But on the other hand, we're also seeing a lot of brands getting a lot of like cash injections, and we're seeing brands still do very well and succeed and have potential for high growth. Recently, remedy skin.

SPEAKER_02 52:24

$20 million fundraising round led by El Catterden. So that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 52:29

And it's a massive deal. And I think they're actually doing a lot of really fun stuff. I know, I know girls who are on their team who do their MPD. So I'm like, ugh, best and brightest. And I think Dr. Shaw's been really smart with how he's approached Remedy. Yeah. So excited for them. Who else has had a really big year?

SPEAKER_02 52:48

Do you know uh Rose or Roz, the hair care? Mara Rosak. They just got an investment from El Catterton too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:55

Also a huge uh year for hair.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

Yeah, big year for hair.

SPEAKER_01 52:59

Henschel, is that the conglomerate?

SPEAKER_02 53:01

That's one of them.

SPEAKER_01 53:02

Henschel recently acquired a bunch of like small indie hair brands. I'm thinking there is a big interest right now, especially for very niche category hair brands. Um, and the PE firms, the people that got the money, they're saying that potential. They're heavily investing. And I mean, we have like Sacred's done an amazing last couple years. Cardi B launched a good Grow Good.

SPEAKER_02 53:26

Grow Good.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

I still want to try that. Cardi, if you're watching, please send it. Hey Cardi. Yeah, hair. Would you have clocked that?

SPEAKER_02 53:34

Yeah, I mean, uh skin is so saturated, and I think with makeup, it's color is like a hard business to grow. I think there's a lot of logistics that go into it. Shades. Shades. So, you know, when thinking about launching a skincare product, you know, brands bringing a new product to market and it's a single product, like we made a moisturizer. Imagine making like 40 to 50 of them to bring out at once with the different shades and everything. I know it's not one-to-one, but it's like you need a different formula for every single one.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

You're launching a product, but you need so many shades, and each of those shades require a specific MOQ. And unfortunately, not every shade's gonna sell through all that product, which was actually the reason for the demise of Ami Kole. Maybe she rest in peace. The brand of the person.

SPEAKER_02 54:29

You could still get some of their stuff at Sephora, they're still selling it. Yeah. On sale, and it's good stuff. The lip oil.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

I like the foundation. I never tried it. I was the lightest shade.

SPEAKER_02 54:42

Oh, probably that's why they make a very good brow pencil to like one of the twisties. It's tiny. Um, so if you could still get that.

SPEAKER_01 54:51

Get it. Um, yeah, it's just been like the irony of very tumultuous for beauty brands, but we're seeing a lot of brands also do, again, very great growth. They're selling, they're having amazing years still. So the interest is there for beauty brands, which is how are you standing out? Which is why I get so frustrated when these brands launch, and it's like you're not giving anything interesting. So, how are you gonna even like survive past five years?

SPEAKER_02 55:13

Yeah, give us something new, something innovative. Give us uh something that we need that's not there already. And I don't want to hear, there's nothing that's that's out there that worked for me, girl.

SPEAKER_01 55:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:25

Have you tried everything?

SPEAKER_01 55:27

Oh, so again, you have no science background. Why did you think you do something interesting? I was at a thing like a few years back. Um, it was like a beauty event, and they had a bunch of like speakers and whatnot, and one of them was Vanessa Ann Hudgens. Put your sneakers on. Put your sneakers on. Did you eat? Do you have the energy? Um, she launched a skincare brand like three or four years ago. Oh along with another celebrity with Madison Beer. And it was a charcoal mask, and she was like, There is nothing that there was nothing like this on the market. And I'm like, girl.

SPEAKER_02 56:01

Put your sneakers on. And stick stick to sneakers. Stick to dancing. Um, what did you did you see the she did an Instagram live right at the beginning of COVID?

SPEAKER_01 56:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:15

Where she was drunk and she was like, people are gonna die.

SPEAKER_01 56:19

But it's inevitable.

SPEAKER_02 56:22

She's like, I shouldn't be saying this. Iconic.

SPEAKER_01 56:25

She was a big social media figure in like the 2020 pandemic era.

SPEAKER_02 56:31

Do you know what? Good for her, bad for her brand.

SPEAKER_01 56:33

You know what? She's still iconic to me. I need a Vanessa Ann Hudgens resurgence a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 56:38

There is a new appreciation for sneaker night on TikTok.

SPEAKER_01 56:41

Though there's there's the those of us who have been day ones. We're not new to this, we're true to this. Because basically, what we're gonna do is dance.

SPEAKER_02 56:51

Period.

SPEAKER_01 56:54

And with that, thank you guys so much for listening.

SPEAKER_02 56:56

Thank you. Yeah, um, please give us a five-star rating. Subscribe if you haven't already, wherever it is that you're watching this, because it definitely helps us and it makes sure that every time we have a new episode out, it gets delivered right into your feed. You don't miss any divine skintervention, and we get to enjoy your company.

SPEAKER_01 57:16

Because we love you.

SPEAKER_02 57:18

Love you. Bye.