More than perhaps any other industry, beauty is relentless with its launches. Last December, I reported for our Case Study on how to launch and grow a hero product that there are approximately 2,100 makeup launches annually — not including shade extensions, according to Circana. That is a wild amount of lipstick and foundation.

Like many of you, I’ve been inundated with body care launches lately. First came the splashiest: Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Find Comfort collection made up of a body lotion, hand cream, body and hair mist, aromatherapy pen and mash up of merch last December. Clean skincare brand Youth to the People followed quickly thereafter with a Superfood and Niacinamide body cleanser, 10 Percent AHA + Yerba Mate Smoothing Energy body scrub and Hydrate and Glow Dream body butter, all for $39 to $48. And innately cool fashion label A.P.C. announced its foray into body just this week with its “self care” lineup of cologne, body lotion, lip balms and more. I’ve spoken to several other beauty founders, who told me they are also gearing up for their own body launches between now and April.

Now, body care has been slowly trending since brands like sleeper hit Salt + Stone and Nécessaire debuted in 2017 and 2018, respectively. But as more beauty labels jump on the body care opportunity today, it’s unclear if it is founders (and their investors) that are responding to an untapped well of consumer demand, or if it’s retailers steering lines in that direction.

According to several founders I spoke to, body care was a key theme at Sephora’s brand summit last fall and merchandisers have been keen to encourage beauty lines to launch products this year. (The latter was true of the seemingly never-ending complexion launches we saw last fall from brands like Makeup by Mario, Danessa Myricks, Glossier and more, and we’re about to see an even bigger sunscreen boom, if you’ve been paying attention.) For its part, Ulta Beauty, which has always had a smallish bath and body section, is reportedly amping up its play in the category as well.

Retailers driving and dictating product development dates back to at least the late 2010s, when Sephora helped set off the contouring trend (alongside Kim Kardashian). It makes sense that the big beauty retailers — Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Target — are even more involved now, given the rush to embrace wholesale amid the direct-to-consumer bust.

“Retailers are absolutely closest to the client today,” Cassie Cowman, co-founder of beauty advisory firm View from 32 and a former Sephora merchant, told me in a call this week. “They should be guiding brands where the customer is pushing them.”

Beauty brands can look at this as a good thing. Here is someone else with vastly superior data on what consumers want, telling you the optimal place to invest your finite innovation and marketing resources.

But there are some big downsides to letting retailers have too much control.

Yes, Sephora is able to make a statement that they are a destination for body care. But brands are in the position of being one product among many on the shelf. Beauty lines succeed when they’re seen as innovative and unique. Customers experiencing a new body care section stocked with dozens of similar-looking products aren’t going to be clear on why they should choose Rare Beauty over Youth to the People over Maude.

It’s no coincidence that many of the most successful body care lines can claim to be early movers – Sol de Janeiro with its signature Bum Bum Cream, for instance – or promising next-level efficacy (First Aid Beauty, which pitches its KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub as a treatment for keratosis pilaris).

Body care is a category where companies still need that unique reason for existing. Shoppers aren’t as loyal to their body moisturiser and soap brands. Many are still perfectly happy buying Dove or Aveeno, which cost under $10 and get the job done. While we’ve seen a willingness to spend in other categories once seen as secondary — cleanser and shampoo, for example — it’s unclear what premium shoppers will pay for body.

Some brands have been smart to address this problem with scent-based formulas, it’s one reason companies specialising in fragrance (Sol de Janeiro) and hair (Ouai and Moroccanoil) have found success in the category.

Piling into body care just to earn some extra space at Target, Sephora or Ulta Beauty, on the other hand, isn’t a guarantee of success.

Here are my top picks from our insight and analysis on beauty and wellness this week:

1. The Thinking Behind Beauty’s Latest M&A Wave

With a limited number of targets on the market, strategics and private equity firms are rushing to snap up the most promising brands.

2. How to Win Over Investors in a Beauty Downturn

Funding rounds are getting slimmer, smaller and more spaced out, but investors still want to find – and fund – the next big thing. Here’s what’s catching their attention in 2024.

3. Inside the Glam Vs. Clean Girl Beauty Trend Battle

Minimalist and maximalist makeup aesthetics duel it out on TikTok as influencers and brands aim to keep up with the cultural zeitgeist.

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, the weekly beauty roundup of new products, new ideas and at least one excuse to throw everything into the sea.

Included in today’s issue: Aerin, Antica Farmasista, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armani Beauty, Grown Alchemist, DevaCurl, Drake, Estée Lauder, Hermes, Iconic London, Kate Somerville, Memo Paris, Nazuk, Nails by Mei, Noble Panacea, Lottie London, Pacifica, RŌZ Hair, Solawave, and adult ADHD.

But first …

Sometimes getting it wrong is the best thing that can happen to a brand.

Witness the fervour surrounding Pat McGrath’s “glass skin” at the much-gaped Margiela couture show on Jan. 25. McGrath transformed models like Hannah Motler and Colette Kanza (in her runway debut!) with a super-smooth and shiny coating that made their faces look like porcelain casts. The effect was jarring and eerie; it was also a viral sensation that sparked 9.3 million TikTok views on McGrath’s page alone.

The plasticine skin appeared to peel off like a mask after wear. It wasn’t pretty or easy; instead, it was art, and the makeup community went wild — which might be a great sign for Fashion Month, and more big beauty moments on runways beyond a celebrity trend.

As for the play-and-peel Margiela look, makeup sleuths on Reddit played “Clue,” except instead of murder weapons, they were trying to find skin sprays. Popular theories: It was Kryolan Liquid Glass, a stage makeup spritz that’s often used on The Nutcracker’s dancing snowflakes. Or maybe it was Skin Illustrator Clear gloss, as seen on Jude Law’s android in the movie “AI.” What about Undetectable Sealer spray gloss from Bluebird FX, which is rumoured to be in the “Barbie” movie? Elsewhere, makeup artist Erin Parsons tried to create her own version of the look and even used the middle school sleepover staple Freeman’s Cucumber Mask with an airbrusher.

Were any of these theories correct? Nope. McGrath is launching her own glass skin situation today at 3pm EST and the whole thing will be livestreamed. But even though these guesses were wrong — and called out by the makeup artist herself within hours of posting —it hasn’t stopped the products from selling out, and from Parsons herself from scoring over 4 million TikTok views overnight.

A same-same-but-different effect is happening on Topicals’ TikTok account, where founder Olamide Olowe made a video addressing criticism over the brand’s Slick Salve lip balm. The super-shiny gloss launched in late December, but many complained the formula was sticky and thicker than expected. Olowe faced her detractors head-on — like, literally, her TikTok frame is basically a headshot — and explained they’d developed the formula specifically for high-needs skin, like eczema-prone skin, which demands extra protection. The video was well-received, and the Topicals product totally sold out. (The brand made a separate video about that too, plugging other Black-owned beauty lines to buy in the meantime, which was extremely cool.)

In both McGrath and Olowe’s cases, the narrative went a little off the rails. A cool-headed founder using humour and grace instead of defensive tactics got the story back on track, and sales eventually followed. Hopefully, the algorithm does, too, because snark and sneering are deeply boring online … and now we have numbers to prove it.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Mental Health

Obsessed with Lottie London’s Twisted Heart duo lipstick and gloss, which launched on Jan. 29. The double-ended product was designed as a fidget toy to help those with ADHD and sensory needs. Lots of brands support mental health initiatives (hello, Rare Beauty) but this is the first time I’ve seen a mainstream product intentionally designed for the neuroatypical community. (Although I’ve been using Simi Haze’s magnetic lipstick tubes as click toys for years.) This strategy could unlock a new revenue stream for other brands, especially if they design products in partnership with mental health experts. Hopefully, they’ll ensure the actual makeup formula is perfect. Otherwise, it’s just a toy and not a tool.

HAIR CARE

We’re going big. On Jan. 25, Mara Roszak launched her new Rōz Hair Root Lift spray. It’s designed to give major volume and hold to blowouts, and it’s been tested — like everything Roszak does — on her number one client, Emma Stone. (It also smells divine.) DevaCurl is also launching their Curl Heights collection at Ulta Beauty, so go “boing!” or go home? Sorry.

On Jan. 29, Nazuk Beauty introduced its Usma Extract eyebrow mask and Usma Hair Flourish soap. Created with usma grass from China, the products are based on ancient Uyghur herbal remedies for hair loss.

SKINCARE

On Jan. 29, Pacifica dropped its Future Youth Super Cream and Gravity Rebound face mask. Kombucha is listed as an active ingredient.

Are we done with our collagen obsession? We are not, says Kate Somerville, who debuted the KateCeuticals SuperCell Rejuvenating serum on Jan. 30.

Two new additions in the don’t-add-water space: Grown Alchemist introduced a Meltaway Gel-Milk cleanser on Jan. 29 that can be used with or without H20. Meanwhile, Noble Panacea continues their beauty-in-a-pod model with their Exceptional Overnight Chronobiology peel, which reports shoppers will see a “100 percent reduction of pigmentation and 81 percent reduction in scarring or the appearance of scars.”

On Jan. 30, Uma Oils relaunched their website as an “Ayurvedic learning platform” with tutorials and explainers from founder Shrankhla Holecek about the wellness practice. On the one hand, this seems tricky, because no one brand owns ancient wisdom. On the other, it is useful to have an ayurvedic cheat sheet as the practice seeps further into the modern beauty world.

Solawave’s new Skin Therapy and Activating Serum dropped on Jan. 31. It was created to “deeply hydrate and optimise the performance of LED light therapy, galvanic current and microcurrent technologies,” which links to the trend we’re seeing of topical skincare designed to enhance medical-grade treatments.

FRAGRANCE

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the new face of Armani Beauty’s Acqua de Gio. He said he loves “that elusive combination of masculinity and sensitivity - an almost magical connection to nature and to the rejuvenating power of the sea.” Okay?

Elsewhere in hot-guys-with-scents, Drake released his first-ever fragrance oil on Jan. 31: Better World Fragrance House Caraby Musk Oil. And Ken — the doll, not Ryan Gosling, unfortunately — is now a cologne at Urban Outfitters with notes of sandalwood and sea salt, because his job is still Beach.

Meanwhile in the land of femme fragrance, effort seems to equal desire. Aerin’s new Mediterranean Honeysuckle Tiaré scent, launched on Feb. 1, is made with tiaré, a French Polynesian botanical that’s traditionally harvested by soaking flowers in oil for 15 days. Meanwhile, the new Memo Paris Cappadocia scent (also a Feb. 1 launch) is made with “saffron picked by groups, then placed in their aprons or baskets and taken home in baskets and takes place from sunrise to sunset for 20 to 25 days.” This seems like a strange flex for a luxury perfume, so maybe now would be a good time to ask the brand copywriters to blink twice if they’re okay.

Hermes H24 Herbes Vives launched Feb. 1 with notes of sorrel, hemp and parsley. It recalls Loewe’s tomato leaves franchise and its dupe, Antica Farmacista’s tomato vine range. Maybe true luxury right now is smelling like a salad?

NAILS

On Jan. 30, Manicurist Paris launched its Space Odyssey Collection, including a jade shade that’s mirrored in Dashing Diva’s latest all-green manicure set for Ulta. I guess it’s always Saint Patrick’s Day somewhere.

Those looking for more colour options might want to zoom through Nails By Mei’s new drop for Heaven Marc Jacobs, though; it includes a rainbow press-on manicure for all your rave baby needs. I’m in love with it, obviously.