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Fragrance

Beauty, Body, Hair, Makeup, Skin

Sephora Is Sprucing Up Shelves With a New “Clean” Beauty Category

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Sephora is proving that you don’t have to wait until Earth Day to clean up your act or your beauty routine.

On June 1st the retailer is launching a new category called “Clean at Sephora” as an easy way for shoppers to snap up beauty buys that don’t contain harmful ingredients like parabens, formaldehyde, mineral oils, and phthalates. According to Women’s Wear DailySephora partnered with over 50 brands, including fan favorites like Drunk Elephant, Boscia, Supergoop, and more, with over 2,000 qualifying products that will receive a “Clean at Sephora” seal on the packaging and the products’ pages on the site as well as its own landing page. Plus, green beauty brands like Indie Lee and Go-To Skin Care will find their way to more Sephora shelves and employees will be educated on the new initiative so they can steer you in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of Sephora via Allure.

“Sephora continues to demystify beauty choices for clients, helping them find the right products for them, based on their lifestyle needs,” the brand explained in a statement to Allure. “Many of them are looking to shop brands and products that are ‘free of’ and Sephora is responding to help them do that, easily and conveniently in-store, online, and on mobile. Together with Sephora’s brands, industry experts, external council — including feedback from clients — Sephora has curated a partnership with its brands across cosmetics, skin care, hair care, and fragrance that stand behind the ‘Clean at Sephora’ category.”

So what kind of products ingredients wouldn’t receive the “Clean at Sephora” seal of approval? According to Allure, aside from the ones mentioned above, products containing ingredients like the sulfates SLS and SLES, retinylpalmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan, and triclocarban won’t be included. And the ingredient list grows when it comes to fragrances.  The gloss also notes that beauty brands that qualify should have “less than one percent of synthetic fragrances and no undisclosed fragrances.”

While the news comes on the heels of other retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bluemercury taking similar steps to clean things up as well as Kourtney Kardashian‘s recent trip to Capitol Hill to call for updated cosmetics regulations, WWD says Sephora has walked this path previously in 2008 and has continually made efforts, especially with its . But the clean up won’t stop at just the shelves either, as the retailer is looking to install LED lights in all North American stores and even developed a zero-emissions delivery truck at its headquarters.

As Sephora’s Chief Merchandising Officer Artemis Patrick put it, all these changes came from listening to customers. The store’s studies found that 60% of shoppers peruse a product’s ingredient list before they buy, and 54% only stock natural or clean items on their vanities. (So remember that your dollar is your vote for what you want more of!) “We have identified some common chemicals that are in certain products that our clients have asked about. It’s not about whether it’s good or it’s bad, it’s about being transparent, ” he told WWD. “While this is not necessarily a new thing, what we have seen is that the efficacy of the products that are out there are at an all-time high, so you can actually get products without these ingredients if you so choose and still get the efficacy of the product that you want and love.”

Beauty, Makeup

Jennifer Lopez Links Up With Inglot for a Makeup Collection!

Photo: Inglot via Allure.com.

The rumors are true — Jennifer Lopez is staging a BIG beauty counter comeback this year!

The star has partnered with the beauty brand Inglot to launch not only the bronzer that her makeup artist Scott Barnes had shared weeks ago on social media but also 69 additional SKUs guaranteed to help makeup mavens achieve that iconic J.Lo glow. And I can’t wait!

According to Allure, complexion, eye, lip, and even nail products (I mean, have you seen her Tom Bachik-crafted manicures?!) will comprise the collection with major must-haves like the Livin’ The Highlight, a champagne-colored loose-powder illuminator that comes with a fuzzy puff applicator, and The LipGlossy. Plus the brand’s Freedom System will be incorporated in the collab with a refillable palette that can you can add the collection’s five bespoke blushes, two highlighter trios, and 20 eyeshadows to totally customize it to your liking. And Huffington Post says that the products will start at $8.50 and go up to $49.

And we won’t have wait long to get our hands on the cool collab either, as Inglot noted on its Instagram on Thursday that the collection is slated to hit JenniferLopezInglot.com and InglotCosmetics.com on April 26th.

But I feel like this could be just the start of Lopez’s beauty empire. While she’s had previous experience from the fragrance perspective, the collab is likely a way for her to test the market and see if striking out on her own would work. After all, it worked for Rihanna, who had not only had fragrance as her foundation but also collaborated with a big beauty brand before developing Fenty. The Bad Gal served up not just one but three wildly successful collections with MAC back in 2013, including her ubiquitous Riri Woo lipstick (aka the proto Mattemoiselle Lipstick) that caused riots at merch tables during her Diamonds tour. So I’m sure they’ll be keeping a close eye on how successful these launches will be.

Now, all we need are a few sneak peeks at the products and packaging to tide us over until the end of the month. In fact, I’ve already signed up for the email list and set up notifications from @TrendMood1 just in case!

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Beauty, Body, Makeup

Show Your Stash: Rachel ten Brink’s Best Beauty Buys, Fragrance Finds, and More

Photon Courtesy of Rachel ten Brink

I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs, influencers, and industry insiders’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shapes their view of beauty in the biz. 

Whether we consider ourselves a makeup maven, mane master, nail art authority, or fragrance aficionado, most of us have our pick on what we like to focus on or get the most excited about when it comes to beauty. But Rachel ten Brink likes to dabble — it’s pretty much the premise behind both of her brands she co-founded (and currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer for both). Scentbird, a monthly subscription sampling service, offers users a chance to find a fragrance they’ll fall head over heels for by taking their tastes, mood, and occasion, via a quick quiz, into account or simply select a scent they’re dying to spritz. Deck of Scarlet works similarly by offering users a new full-sized palette every other month, which comes complete with liners and lip colors, and partnering with influencers like Roxette Arisa to curate the colors.

That cosmetic curiosity has been instilled in ten Brink since she was small, playing with the products on her mothers’ dressing table and flipping through magazines for the latest launches. And it has served her well throughout her 15 years as a marketer in the beauty business, working for big brands like L’Oreal, Estée Lauder, Procter & Gamble, and Elizabeth Arden before launching both of her own. After playing with Scentbird’s plethora of perfumes and swatching some of the shades from Deck of Scarlet, I reached out the beauty mogul to get her take on how she balances her beauty looks, her biggest influences, and some of her current makeup musts.

On her approach to style: “My approach to beauty is a combination of classic with a pop of color. I grew up in Latin America so I am definitely not afraid of color! A bold red lip, a swish of blue liner, a little glitter here or there, I love all of it.  I find it so important to integrate a little bit of the unknown, to not be afraid to try something new; which is one of the reasons my co-founders and I launched Deck of Scarlet.

“For fashion, I like to mix more neutral pieces with bold statement pieces. I love accessories, necklaces, rings, earrings, shoes — I change it up every day. I think when it comes to both beauty and fashion, it’s all about balance and not overpowering one trend with another but instead, utilizing one focal point whether it be a bright lip or a bright red shoes.”

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On her beauty idols: “First of all, I would say my mother.  She has always been incredibly glamorous and beautiful. She’s always put together, always enjoys beautiful clothes, fun makeup, and gorgeous fragrances.  Her beauty is framed by incredible warmth and empathy; she is truly the person that lights up the room when she enters.  I love that she’s always experimenting with Deck of Scarlet makeup and trying out new shades!

“Also, I worked for Estee Lauder earlier in my career and I truly admire her.  She was a mother, a wife, and an entrepreneur.  I love that she was in her 40’s when she started Estee Lauder and never stopped challenging herself and her company to do better.  She understood the power of women, ‘confidence breeds beauty.'”

On Her first big beauty moment: “My first beauty memory is of my mother’s dressing table.  She always had gorgeous perfume bottles —Opium, YSL Paris, L’Air du Temps —as well as boxes and boxes of gorgeous makeup.  I remember the smell of the Clarins skincare she used at night and YSL Paris when she was going out.”

YSL Lipstick in Prune Avenue.

On her first beauty buy: “I have always been obsessed with beauty. I remember getting Seventeen magazine when I was growing up in Costa Rica. I would study the articles and ads and make a list of stuff I wanted — none of it was available in my local stores, only in the U.S. My dad would travel for work to the U.S. and I would send him with a huge list of items to pick up for me at the drugstore. Poor guy had no idea what he was shopping for!

“Later on, I remember buying myself a YSL lipstick in a deep chocolate brown when I was in college abroad in England at Harvey Nichols in London. It felt incredibly glamorous.”

On the best beauty advice she’s received: “When you’re feeling a little tired or a little beat up, wear red! A bright red lip can totally transform your face and your mood. Confidence goes a long way in making you feel and look beautiful.”

On her favorite beauty tip to share: “Dare to be bold. If you want to try that dark blue lip or holographic highlighter, do it! Just always remember to wash your face at the end of the day. Your skin will thank you later.”

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Beauty, Body

Secrets Behind the Scents: Frederique Terranova’s Most Inspiring Aromas & More

Photo via ApotheCARE Essentials.

Whether its a whiff of a significant other’s conditioner or the smell of your favorite meal, we all know how scent can instantly transport us to some of our most treasured memories. It can often be the defining factor in whether your pick up a certain product or leave it on the shelves. That’s why perfumers like ApotheCARE Essentials‘s Lead Perfumer Frederique Terranova work so intensely to craft fragrances that not only delight our senses but also stay top of mind when we go to restock our beauty buys. The fragrance phenom has spent 30 years working with some of the biggest brands in the business to stir up memorable aromas, blending her love of nature with her precision in perfumery to create the new bath and body care line’s soothing scents.

In fact, a slew of beauty editors and I got to sniff her hard work and even try our hand in stirring up our own scent at a recent masterclass helmed by Terranova where I also got to chat with Terranova to learn which fragrance note was the catalyst to kicking off her career, how the industry has evolved since her start, what notes she’d blend together for her very own signature scent, and how to know when you’ve found your own go-to perfume.

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Beauty, Makeup

What Beauty Buys Will Be In Besame’s Agent Carter Collection?

Somebody call Jarvis because Agent Carter’s got a new mission: makeup!

Besame Cosmetics shared a cryptic message on its site and a teaser on Instagram on Tuesday to announce that its upcoming collection inspired by the old-school spy will drop during the week of April 23 (the same week Avengers: Infinity War Part 1  is slated to hit theaters), offering 24-hour notice to those who subscribed to the brand’s email list. The release date comes after months of eager anticipation since the brand initially announced the collaboration last year with no details on what would be included in the makeup menagerie.

It’s a pretty big deal for Marvel fans who have missed seeing the agent’s weekly adventures since the show’s cancellation in 2016. Peggy Carter first shined on screen alongside Captain America in his first solo film in the Marvel Universe franchise, subsequently popping up in Captain America: Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and ABC’s Agents of Shield before landing her own show that lasted for two seasons. But the show’s “canceled” status didn’t deter fans, who aside from working to decode the clues surrounding the upcoming collaboration have petitioned Marvel to revive the show (hey, everything is getting a reboot lately). And with the frenzy surrounding the upcoming cosmetic collab, it might offer more incentive for the comic book company to bring the secret agent back to the small screen.

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Beauty, Makeup

Is Jennifer Lopez About To Debut Her Own Bronzer?

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Is J.Lo about to deliver her own signature glow to Sephora shelves? Definitely, if you ask her makeup artist Scott Barnes.

After posting a picture of the star on the set of World of Dance on Monday, wearing a full contour with a peachy bronzer, Barnes let it slip in the snap’s comment section that the beauty buy to create the look was actually J.Lo’s own bronzer! He said, “I’m using a bronzer that @Jlo is making it’s pretty amazing!! Shhh ?.” But it wasn’t until @Trendmood1 caught onto the comment that the news spread like wildfire with beauty buffs and Lopez loyalists alike speculating on whether the bold bronzer would stand on its own or accompany a full collection, and regardless of either option, who was she working with to bring the beauty buy to market.

The major multihyphenate has remained mum on the news — let alone any disclosing additional details on the upcoming release — but it would be a natural next step for her. She’s a serial entrepreneur who’s dipped her toe into fashion and fitness, but she also has serious beauty cred to boot aside from her radiant complexion. Lopez found her way to the fragrance counter in 2002 with her first and most iconic scent, J.Lo Glow. The perfume was a huge success, becoming the second highest seller in the American market that following year, spawning 18 additional flanking fragrances (the final one was released in 2012), and subsequently setting off a wave of celebrity fragrances that dominated the industry for the rest of the decade.

While the bronzer would be a great launching pad for Lopez, I have to agree with Macaela Mackenzie at Allure, who’s hoping that the star will eventually branch out into skincare to really score that trademark glow. Either way, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on Instagram comments going forward for any additional details.

Beauty, Body, Hair, Makeup, Skin

Serena Williams Is Launching Her Own Beauty Line

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She’s conquered the tennis court and slayed the style game, but it looks like Serena Williams is ready to serve up something new: her very own beauty line!

TMZ recently reported that the all-star athlete filed legal documents to trademark the name “Aneres” (which, while it sounds like the name of  Game of Thrones characters, is actually Serena spelled backward) for a cosmetics line back in January. She had previously applied for a trademark on the reversed version of her name for a clothing line back in 2003 that fell through and reapplied for it again in 2016, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While she hasn’t announced anything regarding the line, the filing details that she’ll be using her moniker to bring the beauty line, which will include everything from skincare to cosmetics to fragrance to bath and body care to even hair care and styling products, to life.

Given the fact that Williams loves to look glam on and off of the court ( I still can’t get over this gilded pony she rocked at the 2017 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards), I could easily see a makeup collection and maybe even a dry shampoo, which was also listed in the filing, designed to stand up to serious sweat in the near future. In fact, big beauty brands like Tarte and Clinique have already released their own gaggle of gym bag goodies in recent years to much fanfare. But I feel like Williams could easily smash the cosmetics competition by taking a 360-degree approach to her athleisure array of beauty buys, delivering easy and effective solutions whether you’re a barre babe, a busy mom, or both!

So while we’re all keeping our fingers crossed for more details on the upcoming launch, I’d start saving my pennies now so you can snag every items on your wishlist once it’s finally served up!

Beauty, Body

Sasheer Zamata Sashays Her Way Into Kate Spade’s Latest Campaign

Photo via KateSpade.com

Sasheer Zamata has moved on from the SNL soundstage to the beauty counter as one of the fresh faces of Kate Spade’s latest fragrance, In Full Bloom.

Zamata joins award-winning actress Laura Dern (aka Admiral Holdo from The Last Jedi or Renata from Big Little Lies) and Rookie editor and actress Tavi Gevinson. While the ads mark the first major beauty contract for Zamata and Dern, Gevinson has pulled up to the beauty bar before (so to speak) as the former face of Clinique’s 2015 #FaceForward campaign.

While most beauty brands tend to tap one star to solidify the image of their latest breakthrough, Kate Spade sought to craft a campaign that would touch women of all ages by tapping the three all-stars whose 21 (Gevinson), 31 (Zamata), and 51 (Dern). “We focus on a psychographic instead of a demographic,” Brian Vander Meyden, vice president of global marketing and prestige sales at The Premiere Group, Kate Spade fragrances’ distributor, told Women’s Wear Daily. “To have women of three different ages speak to what in full bloom means to them makes [the fragrance] unique.”

As part of the campaign, the trio shot individual video “love letters” to themselves that you can check out below. They also shared pearls of wisdom in a few clips with Zamata highlighting how important it is to have friendships built on lifting each other up; Dern reminding everyone about how the mistakes we make ultimately end up helping to shape who we are; and Gevinson focusing on the building of trust and the subsequent feeling at home with your S.O. when it comes to love. And all of the videos are worth a watch if you want to brighten up your day.

When it comes to the scent itself, In Full Bloom features fresh and vibrant notes of rose petals, rose centifolia, peony, lemon and green tea. The juice comes housed in a teardrop-shaped bottle topped with the same white rose at the heart of the perfume (though it appears a little reminiscent of Marc Jacobs’ throwback aroma, Lola). The perfume will be available tomorrow, March 1, in four sizes with prices ranging from $28 to $98, plus a body lotion priced at $50 so you can slather the scent all over before spring even starts.

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Beauty, Body

The Sexiest Scents to Spritz for Your Valentine’s Day Date

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While most would consider either sight or touch as the sexiest sense, I say it’s all about smell. Afterall, as humans, we naturally secrete pheromones through our sweat that on a subliminal level can attract potential partners via scent. In fact, Bustle discovered one famous study that found participants rated the smell of the sweat of people ovulating to be sweeter and more attractive than those who weren’t ovulating. Hell, I once caught a whiff of a guy walking by who smelled so good that I had to ask what he was wearing — it was John Varvatos’ eponymous cologne, btw. So with scent and sex going hand in hand, especially around Valentine’s Day, it makes sense to spice up your perfume wardrobe if you have a hot date tonight!

And when it comes to sultry scents, I’m not talking about bouquets of fresh florals. When I’m in the mood for love, I tend to reach for notes that blend a bit of the masculine, like spicy and warm notes of cardamom, pepper, oud, and leather, with the feminine, like oriental notes of jasmine, honeysuckle, and citrus, to get the best of both worlds. But I’m always pleasantly surprised to find notes that blend together to make something mysterious, intriguing, and utterly irresistible. As such, I wanted to share a few of my favorite sultry scents that are sure to set the mood with just a spritz. And don’t worry if you can’t add to cart immediately, either. If you can’t get your hands on one of the bottles before your big date, swing by your local beauty counter on your way over for a sample spritz-down.

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Beauty, Body

Chloé Crafts a Scent for the Curious Globe Trotter

Via Vogue Runway

Chloé’s got a thirst for adventure thanks to its newest scent, Nomade.

Hitting shelves in February, the scent taps into the more audacious side of the brand with a focus on openness, empowerment, and traveling the world (and its different cultures) as a way to explore the self and gain perspective.

“With Nomade, we want to answer to a very strong insight, which is a newfound desire for openness, encounters, surprises and the unknown — a reaction to the lack of [in-person] interaction,” Simona Cattaneo, chief marketing officer for Coty Luxury, told WWD.

To evoke the fragrance’s idea of adventure and movement, Givaudan perfumer Quentin Bisch offered a chypre take on the brand’s penchant for purely floral fragrances, blending notes of oak moss, Mirabelle plum, and freesia. As for the bottle (which I’ve only spotted on Now Smell This), it’s shaped like Chloé’s signature Drew bag and will be available in 30-, 50- and 75-ml for $75, $105 and $132, respectively.

Ariane Labed, who you might’ve seen in The Lobster, Assasin’s Creed, or the “Men Against Fire” episode of Black Mirror, will be featured on screens big and small as the face of the new perfume. In the clips to come, she’ll be shown venturing into different landscapes and learning about other cultures, connecting with new people along the way.

The scent’s concept is a pretty fitting idea for 2018, where that understanding of different viewpoints has been instrumental in the start of a slew of important conversations on gender, race, and more. Though we won’t have to wait long to get a sniff ourselves, I’m curious to see how the ad campaign plays out!