All the Beauty Brand Shakeups That Happened This Week
Lawsuits, founder resignations, AI in ads… oh my!
One week into Daylight Savings Time, and I am feeling reborn. My nails are butter yellow. I’m being irresponsible (going outside in a light jacket even though it’s barely above freezing where I live) and carefree (only doomscrolling for one-ish hour a day). I’m trading my rich gourmand scents in for fresh, tea-inspired fragrances. The increased sunlight is helping me find more moments of joy amidst the chaos, of which there was plenty this week—including in the beauty world.
The Rundown
There was an unusual amount of inside beauty baseball news this week:
Kate Foster, co-founder of The Outset, was featured heavily in an InStyle profile of Scarlett Johansson, despite being introduced alongside a parenthetical that read “who in the time between interview and publication resigned from the company.” When I reached out for more info, a rep for The Outset said: “After three wonderful years, Kate Foster has stepped down as CEO of The Outset to pursue other career opportunities. Although the team at The Outset will miss her dearly, they wish her nothing but the best on her future endeavors.”
In telehealth news: Notorious Super Bowl commercial maker Hims & Hers shut down Apostrophe, the teledermatology service the company acquired for $190 million in 2021. The Wall Street Journal reported that some men, who were taking finasteride pills prescribed by telehealth companies (Hims, Keeps, and Ro were named in the story), experienced severe negative side effects — the risks of which were not disclosed by those companies. And SELF reported on the FDA’s crackdown against compounded GLP-1s, which has led some telehealth companies to pull their Ozempic- and Wegovy-alternatives from their offerings. Whew.
Where the heck has Uoma Beauty been? I’ll let the lede on our story about what’s been going on at the brand speak for itself: “A CEO resignation, an unexplained shutdown, an acquisition and sudden relaunch, and now a lawsuit—makeup brand Uoma Beauty has had an eventful two years.”
TikTok darling Mikayla Nogueira is launching a skin-care brand called POV Beauty. I’m personally of the mind that we actually have plenty of skin-care brands but who am I to stop someone from a side hustle?
Following the announcement of her Louis Vuitton collab, sometimes-Allure contributor and Business of Fashion beauty editor Brennan Kilbane published an inside look at the Pat McGrath Labs empire, which sounds exactly like how I would imagine working for a brilliant creative would be.
Estée Lauder Companies has “come out” about using AI in marketing materials for some of its brands. According to Business of Fashion, the company swears it will keep using real-live models for ads that require human faces (“Cool, thanks!” – a Human,) and is using Adobe AI (which trains its AI only on images it has rights to), but also “was unclear about who on the creative teams might be affected by greater company cuts.”
Information Overload
Between Prenuvo scans, Oura rings, and an array of at-home tests, we are undoubtedly in an era where a regular person can know more about the state of their wellbeing than ever. But how much of that is actually leading to helpful diagnoses and how much is just creating heightened health anxiety? It’s a question Fiorella Valdesoro tries to answer in the first of three stories in Allure’s mini series about the booming “longevity” business.
Kate Hudson Is Raising a Sephora Teen
Kate Hudson, currently starring in the Netflix sporty-family-drama-sitcom Running Point and plugging Joico, as the brand’s new ambassador, had a lovely chat in Allure with the aforementioned Brennan Kilbane about researching for her role, steering her 6-year-old away from mascara and toward “balms and sparkles,” and her low-maintenance hair-care routine.
Can Scents Save Us?
No, definitely not, lol. Still, I rounded up some of the candles, fragrances, room sprays, and laundry detergent that are keeping my personal space as cozy as possible, something I’ve found to be a crucial part of staying energized enough to attempt to make a difference in my own little corner of the world.
If you buy one thing this week, make it…
Tower 28 GetSet Blur + Set Matte Powder Blush
I am *so* excited that this Tower 28 blush—which I’ve been testing for a few months—is finally available for everyone to get their little hands on. The brand calls it a “blush and setting powder in one.” I’ve been describing it as a soft matte blush that truly lasts all day. I’ve tried all six (very pretty shades) and so far have found myself reaching for Sawtelle Slushies, a deep rose, most often. My one word of warning: These babies are pigmented, so you’ll want to use the lightest touch possible to pick up the product with your brush before applying it.
Omg that spring shades of yellow and rosy blush are such spring vibes 💐