The Business of Beauty Haul of Fame: Live from New York, It’s Drugstore Mascara!

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a potential J.Lo Oscar contender…?

Included in today’s issue: Beachwaver, ColourPop, Dior, Dolly Parton, Estée Lauder, Kylie Cosmetics, The Lip Bar, Milani, Merit, Noyz, Ole Henriksen, Olive & June, Origins, Phlur, Saltair, Salt & Stone, SeneGence, Touchland, Wild Coast Perfumery, and more.

But first…

At a recent Adweek panel in Manhattan, Maybelline SVP Jessie Feinstein stared down a crowd of her peers and said something wild: “We’re willing to be the butt of everyone’s jokes.”

That’s not a typical take for beauty brands, who have to make the case that aesthetic dominance is key to female success. Sure, buzzy labels have wit — look at OPI’s quirky polish names and Hailey Bieber’s dairy-doused ad campaign for milk serum. But getting laughed at to sell products? That’s tricky.

It could also prove major for Maybelline, which is the only beauty sponsor for Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary season. According to Sarah Shaker, Maybelline’s assistant vice president and head of brand engagement, they’re leaning into the “humour and nostalgia” that SNL provides to help drive sales, along with a belief that the show’s “cultural relevance” will keep them part of online and IRL conversations. So far, the deal — which sources familiar with the contract tell me is north of $5 million — has yielded a joyfully bonkers commercial with SNL alum Vanessa Bayer, 42. To be honest, I don’t remember the mascara she was wearing, but I do remember she had cake in her hair.

Then on Oct. 12, there was a sketch with Ariana Grande, Chloe Fineman, and SNL legend Dana Carvey (!). Each pretended to be comedian Jennifer Coolidge; each applied globs of “Maybelline’s New SuperStay Longwear Liquid Lip Color,” mentioning — and playfully botching — the product name 10 times in less than four minutes. The video has 2.5 million views on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok. Google searches for the product spiked after the skit aired. People close to the project tell me the skit was “added value” for the brand — they didn’t know it was coming, and didn’t have any say in the content.

The template for this type of goofy glam seems to have come from the real Jennifer Coolidge and her partnership with E.l.f. Cosmetics. During a Super Bowl ad for the brand, Coolidge used its Power Grip Primer to stick a cell phone to her face. The spot was crafted with help from “White Lotus” creator Mike White, and had ka-pow results: Web traffic to the brand site increased tenfold directly after the TV commercial, and its Instagram added 110,000 followers.

Why is it working? “Humour is a powerful connector because it breaks down barriers, invites authenticity, and makes beauty feel more accessible,” said Patrick O’Keefe, E.l.f.’s chief integrated marketing officer. O’Keefe noted that humour also “disarms” the viewer, making them more open to trying — or buying — something they wouldn’t normally consider. That’s especially true for brands like E.l.f. and Maybelline, which are popular, but not necessarily cool — the Chainsmokers of cosmetics brands.

Both skits also employ very famous, very pretty people, which helps a lot when selling cosmetics. Feinman, 36, was interviewed by Into the Gloss this year, and has an algorithm lock for her super-cute face and dead-on impressions; she’s already starred in one Maybelline commercial, a 2023 spoof on crying with your makeup on. Grande, 31, is one of the biggest pop stars of our age; she runs her own cosmetics brand, R.e.m. Beauty, a reported moneymaker. Meanwhile Coolidge, 63, is a comedy legend and a fashion template for many boomer women. Of course all three can sell $11 lipstick. They can also sell entire TV franchises. But smaller brands without blockbuster budgets can get in on this tactic, if they figure out how to position their content so it’s a story, and not just a sell.

As Shaker promises “upcoming spots” from Maybelline’s SNL partnership throughout the season, it’s worth noting that this kind of sketch-based beauty content is sharp as hell, strategically, because it permeates TV and TikTok, allowing it to grab older and younger demographics at once. We can’t really escape them without dropping our devices into the sea. (The dream!) Until then, we might as well be in on the joke.

What Else Is New

Skincare

Vitamasques Brighten & Tone Vitamin C Serum and Barrier Repair Serum hit shelves Oct. 15. They’re $20 each and come in super-bright plastic bottles that remind me of lemonade drinks.

On Oct. 22, Origins announced a new packaging initiative with a 35% reduction in plastics and boxes certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

More proof that we’re still germaphobes: Sanitizer purveyor Touchland reported a 174% sales jump from 2023 to 2024. And before you ask, yes, of course they have a pumpkin spice option.

On Oct. 23, Saltair dropped Santal Bloom Shimmering Body Oil, a glittery moisturiser with a warm bronze undertone. It’s $24 and comes with “biomimetic plant actives,” which is a science-y way to describe oleic acid, the stuff in sunflower oil that keeps it super slick.

Remember Zinka sunscreen, that neon paste you’d smear all over yourself during summer camp? They’ve done a collaboration with Tinye swimwear to make tiny bikinis that match your hot pink and bright blue SPF. It drops on Oct. 24.

J.Lo Beauty’s Head to Toe Glow Kit, a $153 box of hits like body serum and Booty Balm, hit shelves Oct. 24, just before her new film “Unstoppable,” hits Amazon Prime. That means there’s a good chance Lopez is preparing for an upcoming red carpet circuit — this time, with even better body lotion.

Salt & Stone’s Saffron & Cedar collection, which launches on Oct. 21, includes a body wash ($36) and deodorant ($20). Both smell like (yes) saffron and cedar, but also, apparently, like “a hit of nostalgia as you move along the Pacific Coast,” which is… a lot of emotional labour for a deodorant! The scent does seem lovely, though.

In retail news: Estée Lauder hit Amazon Beauty on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Beachwaver’s Shine Bright Shampoo and Conditioner debuted Oct. 22 on TikTok Shop — a place I’m not sure we’ll see Lauder anytime soon. And Dune Suncare is now at Pacsun, which seems to have the manufactured-but-credible youth heat that Urban Outfitters did in the early 2000s. Let’s see if the kids will buy $30 SPF.

Makeup

Would you like bedazzled mascara? What about if it was Dolly Parton’s bedazzled mascara? On Oct. 18, the Nashville stateswoman introduced Dolly-Eyes Jet Black Mascara with a crystal-encrusted wand ($20), and three eye pencils, including a “Smoky Mountain Blue” shade for $12. Both were made by Scent Beauty, the same parent brand behind Sabrina Carpenter’s fragrances.

SeneGence’s Glowify Bouncy Mousse launched on Oct. 21 in two shades—basically, light rose and dark rose—meant for “a dewy tint for lips and eyes.” They’re $20 each and Kelly Clarkson’s makeup artist, Gloria Elias-Foeillet, says she’s a fan.

Tarte dropped more Maracuja Juicy Lip Plump shades on Oct. 22, including a long-awaited clear gloss, a baby pink, and a super-vixen red. They’re $26 each.

Milani’s Cheek Kiss Blush + Glow hit stores on Oct. 23 with six shades infused with pink shimmer. Very Y2K coded, no?

Kylie Cosmetics has released its first-ever nail products — a $36 trio of limited-edition lacquers in cherry, plum, and red-black — as part of its holiday offerings. I tried them, and they held up for four days before starting to chip. The limited-edition kit also includes new shades of Kylie Gloss Drip and Precision Pout Liner.

ColourPop’s “Frosty the Snowman” kits debut on Oct. 24 with eight products, including a sparkle eye palette and a glossy balm trio. They’ve also named a lip pencil “Snow Much Fun!” which… okay, fine, it’s cute.

Olive & June dropped a gel manicure set on Oct. 24 with a curing light, easy-grip polish brush, and 28 nail shades. A single-colour kit is $65, one with six shades is $115

On Oct. 24, Ole Henriksen and Anine Bing introduced a strawberry version of the popular Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment ($22) with a super cute “I Heart Me” graphic on the front. You can get it at Sephora.

Happy homecoming! The Lip Bar’s latest HBCU glosses are named for schools like Howard and Spelman, and timed to coincide with the legendary homecoming games and festivities at these schools. Gen Z whisperers speak often about the importance of building college networks—HBCU homecoming is a key example of those networks in action. How many other beauty brands have recognized that?

Hair Care

Would you like your blowout to continue Defying Gravity? Has a popular Shark FlexStyle dryer changed your hair for good? Great: the brand dropped a $299 Wicked-themed hair tool set at Sephora on Oct. 17. I really hope it means we’re done talking about good witch/bad witch beauty collabs.

On Oct. 18, The Hair Lab By Strands debuted in CVS, which means their $10 shampoos and conditioners can be grabbed just after you get your flu vaccine. (You’re getting your flu vaccine, right?)

Fragrance

Phlur’s Heavy Cream Hair & Body Mist debuted on Oct. 18, along with a $50 membership program that lets brand fans get first dibs at fragrances and restocks before they sell out, plus 10% off all purchases. Meanwhile on TikTok, I’m glued to the thread about the exotic dancer recommending Phlur’s Vanilla Skin before a first date, and all the women responding (mostly with favour!) after taking her advice.

Welcome to the fragrance world, Merit! The brand’s Retrospect fragrance officially debuted on Oct. 22 after weeks of online chatter. The fragrance has notes of bergamot, pear, and moss, a paid partnership with the aspiration-for-days magazine The Gentlewoman, and counts newsletter goddess Laurel Pantin as its only official “face” so far. That means this $92 fragrance is being positioned in the same space as The Row and Toteme—an unsurprising but brilliant move from founder Katherine Power, who has a near-mechanical talent for knowing exactly how women will shop in three months. Stan, no choice, etc.

Wild Coast Perfumery’s Gabriola hit shelves on Oct. 22. It’s named for the whale-spotting beaches of Gabriola Island in Canada, and counts mango and green mandarin in the formula.

On Oct. 25, Noyz dropped 12:00 Eau de Parfum, which they claim “smells like you got an after-hours invite” but actually smells like spun sugar, jasmine, raspberry and peppercorn. It costs up to $85, and the bottle design, with a black-and-white photo of upside-down stilettos, is pretty fun.

And Finally

I never thought I’d see a mobile-optimised beauty tutorial from The New York Times, but they launched one on Oct. 23 and it’s a blast.