Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a fragrance note called “sacred incense,” because that’s where we are now.
Included in today’s issue: Armani Beauty, Augustinus Bader, Charlotte Tilbury, Colourpop, Deinde, Elemis, Eucerin, Fenty, House of Bō, Kylie Cosmetics, Kulfi, La Bonne Brosse, Laneige, Laura Mercier, Lavaa, Lemme, Lipsmackers, MAC Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever, Moroccanoil, Murad, Naturelab Tokyo, Nudestix, Sunnee BAEskin, Thrive Causemetics, Typology, U Beauty, Versace and so many lip gloss launches, we gave them a special (and very shiny!) section.
But first…
It took me a minute to see Tommy Hilfiger’s fall collection because I was blinded by flashbulbs. That’s what happens when you’re seated directly behind Jisoo, the South Korean pop star who rose to fame as part of the K-pop band Blackpink, and whose masterful social media engagement has landed her a lucrative Dior beauty deal, where she appears in cosmetics and perfume ads.
As Jisoo and other K-pop avatars like Rose and Jennie beam their cute (but not too cute) and flirty (but not too flirty) style to American audiences on social media, K-beauty brands have a similar hold on US shoppers. In 2024, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported that K-beauty products hit an export value over $10 billion — a record high for brands like Laneige and Innisfree.
K-beauty is known for its adorable packaging (see: Tonymoly’s squeal-inducing cherry gloss) and serious skincare formulas, even in cosmetics. Famously, Dr. Jart’s BB Cream sparked demand for tinted moisturisers when it first hit American Sephora stores in 2011; the “glass skin” trend of the late 2010s had similar Seoul mates. But though face toners and lip balms are well-loved in the K-beauty space, K-hair hasn’t quite hit the American consumer yet, even though Jisoo’s hair was an enviable amount of shiny and swishy, at least when I was inches away from it.
Walmart is thinking that can change. On March 3, they will stock about 400 stores with Perseve, a Korean-made hair line by 28-year-old Olivia Bae and her mother, Hyeri Sung, a working hairstylist who patented her own organic keratin treatment. The offerings include shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, and a hair masque. Each costs under $12.
“We know the ‘skinification’ of hair is already a big thing,” says Bae, who first launched Perseve in 2022, then joined Ulta Beauty’s 2023 accelerator programme to fine-tune her products and messaging. “People are talking about scalp care like they talked about skincare. By making our products in South Korea, we can take advantage of technology and formulas in a new way.” Perseve’s formulas include ingredients like royal jelly, açaí and amber — common callouts on luxury skincare labels, but rarer in hair care, especially at a big-box price point. “We can keep the costs down because we’re partners with our manufacturer in Korea,” explained Bae.
Does Bae think the allure of K-beauty can translate to the hair aisle? “It’s funny, because as a Korean American, I saw all the lip gloss and the face masks come over and I was like, ‘Wait, that’s just the stuff my mom uses!’ You never think your own family is cool.” But K-beauty is cool, both with hardcore skincare fans and with teens who trade obscure lip gloss brands the way Y2K hipsters traded Bloc Party songs. “I see girls obsessed with Korean products. They’ll look at every single thing in a specialty Asian beauty store, including haircare, which is typically more expensive. So I was actually really excited to get into Walmart,” she explained. “Like most kids from immigrant families, I really only shopped for beauty stuff at the drugstore. Bringing Korean hair care there means everyone can get it.”
Even if you’re not a famous K-pop star.
What Else Is New
Skincare
On Feb. 6, Eucerin dropped Advanced Hydration, a facial sunscreen with SPF 50 that promises ultra-light protection with a lot of moisture. It’s $15.
Sunnee BAEskin is a “marine-powered” self-tanning collection by Isabel Alysa, who also founded DIY tan brand Dolce Glow and bronzes the bodies of Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Haul of Fame avatar Alix Earle. Her new range hit Ulta.com on Feb. 9 with five formulas, including a spray, mousse, facial mist, and “targeted bronzing” tube to help contour your face (and abs!) with a tan. Prices range from $16 to $30.
Typology’s C10 Lipid-Enriched Cleansing Bar hit stores on Feb. 10 and swaps bubbly ingredients like glycerine for calendula, shea butter and almond oil for gentle body washing. The bar is $19.50, which is actually less than I imagined a Typology shower product would cost.
We love a simple product name! Deinde’s Line-Smoothing Eye Cream is $46, hit shelves on Feb. 10, and says it’s clinically tested to smooth the lines around your eyes with peptides and naringenin, a grapefruit extract with anti-inflammatory properties.
Lemme has teamed up with Barry’s, the eponymous bootcamp gym, to launch a “Lemme Tone” smoothie on Feb. 11 with coconut water, ginger, and L-Carnitine. Mt. Sinai doctors say that antioxidants might help those with heart angina, although “the evidence is lacking” that it can help normal people keep fit. Mt. Sinai doctors are pretty stoked on fresh fruit as a health booster, though, and this smoothie is loaded.
Elemis announced a partnership with Aston Martin’s Aramco Formula 1 team on Feb. 12 to “unite luxury skincare with high performance.” We might need a message massage here, since high performance is already the table stakes of luxury skincare. Still, it’s interesting to see beauty rolling into the racing scene, even if we’re not sure about the ROI yet.
Murad’s Superactive sunscreens launched Feb. 13 in four formulas — brightening, moisturising, mattifying, and age-defying. Each has SPF 50 but only the youth-boosting one has a “sun-friendly bio-retinoid,” which might be why, at $59, it’s the most expensive of the quartet.
Makeup
Thrive Causemetics launched Sheer Strength, a $26 tinted matte lip balm, on Feb. 6. The product comes in six shades, including a pale pink called Dr. Elizabeth that’s named for the esteemed breast cancer scientist Dr. Elizabeth Comen.
On Feb. 10, Nudestix introduced two new shades of its Nudies makeup sticks, which have a colour balm on one end and a blush brush on the other. The shades were developed with makeup artist Kevin Kodra and cost $35 each. This feels high to me, but apparently price isn’t a deterrent — the brand says it sells a Nudies stick every minute, and our own intrepid editor Brennan Kilbane swears by them.
Charlotte Tilbury debuted six new eyeshadow compacts on Feb. 11. They’re called the “Palettes of Beautifying Eye Trends,” which is a real mouthful, but the product itself is quite gorgeous. Each $60 compact contains nine shades each, and when you line them all up together, they look like a rainbow colour wheel from art class.
Lipsmackers dropped a Hello Kitty jelly blush on Feb. 11. It’s a blatant Milk Makeup Jelly Tint rip-off but it’s $5 and has the best cartoon character in the world (sorry, Bluey) stamped all over the tube. Prepare to see your baby cousin trying to spread it everywhere.
Colourpop’s Pretty Fresh Tinted Foundation Balm hit Target on Feb. 13, with 18 shades and a creamy, buildable finish. I’ve tried it; it’s easy and especially good for midday touch-ups.
Laura Mercier’s matte tinted moisturiser rolled out on Feb. 14. It has French rose clay and some added aura thanks to Bella Hadid, who posted a TikTok video using the brand’s setting power earlier in the week.
A Special Breakout Gloss Section
Kylie Cosmetics teamed with See’s Candies on Feb. 6 for the launch of Toasted Marshmallow Lip Butter; they made a lip-shaped box of Scotchmallow chocolates to celebrate the release. Both the candy and the makeup are already sold out.
Make Up Forever introduced its first-ever lip gloss, Super Boost Moisturizing + Plumping Gloss, on Feb. 7 at Sephora. It’s $26 and comes in 11 shades — but the pinky-purple shimmer one called Festival Lilac is already sold out.
Laneige dropped Glaze Craze, a “tinted lip serum,” on Feb. 11. It comes in four gourmand-y shades like Cinnamon Sugar (mauve pink) and Chocolate Frosting (mauve brown) and costs $22.
On Feb. 12, Lavaa’s $26 Lip Drip Oils debuted in clear, pink, red, mauve, holographic glaze and gold.
Kulfi’s Lassi Lips launched three new colours — Fig, Guava, Sweet — on Feb. 13. The $24 lip-staining oils were made as an homage to Mah-Ze-Dahr, the New York bakery with dream-worthy doughnuts.
And finally, tomorrow The Lip Bar drops its Volumizing Lip Plumper, a shimmery $15 tube of glossy goodness available in pearl and mocha shades.
Hair Care
Naturelab Tokyo debuted its Kiseki Molecular Repair Mizu hair oil on Feb. 11. It has milk thistle and squalene to serve as a cuticle seal, and doubles as a hair perfume with “notes of hinoki wood, sacred incense and iris root.” Trippy — and $32.
Augustinus Bader has teamed with La Bonne Brosse on a $178 hairbrush called “The Miracle.” Rendered in AB’s signature cobalt blue, it’s meant to create “smoother, shinier hair” along with envy among everyone snooping in your upstairs bathroom.
Not to be outdone, Versace introduced a Black Medusa ‘95 hair comb for $375 on Ssense that feels so decadent, you might be able to barter it for a Positano yacht ride.
Fragrance
Armani Beauty unveiled its My Way Ylang fragrance on Feb. 6 with mango and coconut water accords to “evoke a feeling of uplifting optimism.” I thought optimism was, by nature, uplifting, but maybe that’s just my Lexapro talking?
Welcome to New York, U Beauty! The makeup label’s first-ever pop-up store is open in SoHo through Feb 9, and to celebrate, the brand rolled out its first-ever fragrance, a cool-girl floral whiff of magnolia, rose and pistachio called Proem by nose Jérôme Epinette, on Feb. 7.
House of Bō released its new scent, Ave Maria, on Feb. 7 with “cashmere” as a top note. This is a pretty brilliant tie-in to the quiet luxury trend, and I wonder if more fragrance labels will follow suit.
Fenty’s first hair and body mist launched Feb. 11 with Bulgarian rose, musk, tangerine, and magnolia. It’s $53 and “meant to create an unforgettable scent trail.” Sounds kinky.
Moroccanoil’s signature product has such a distinctive, lovely fragrance. On Feb. 13, the haircare brand was finally inspired to launch an official scent, Moroccanoil L’Originale. It’s $130 and has notes of lemon and violet.
And Finally
The lipstick index might be dead, but actual lipstick is having a fun fashion comeback thanks to acclaimed New York designer Joseph Altuzarra and emerging talent Tyler McGillivary, who both used lipstick prints on their Fall 2025 catwalk collections. Can’t wait for a pre-order? Hello, RealReal.
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