Welcome back to Haul of Fame, the weekly beauty roundup of new products, new ideas and one more excuse to listen to “Glee.” (Really!)

Included in today’s issue: Biossance, Bobbi Brown, Dr. Jart+, E.l.f., Diptyque, Elizabeth Arden, Face Gym, Fenty, Guerlain, Herbivore Botanicals, Huda Beauty, Irene Forte Beauty, Jackie Aina, Lanolips, Loewe, Mac Cosmetics, MCM, Nars, Neova, One/Size, Patrick Starr, Pat McGrath Labs, Rosen, Seen, Trudon, This Works and overexposed witches.

But first…

Dr. Lara Devgan wants to “find her people.”

The New York-based plastic surgeon and aesthetician doesn’t mean friends, romantic partners or especially clients — in fact, her Manhattan office is always booked, and her Instagram boasts an audience of nearly 1 million followers. She’s married with many friends, too, and a very gorgeous cat.

Instead, Devgan means the people who should know about her skincare line, but don’t yet. “It’s a crowded field, obviously,” Devgan said. “But you don’t just want awareness. You want connection, and a match between what people are searching for, and what you can actually give them.”

Enter Casa Cipriani, the hotel and members club whose chosen clique pays a reported $4,000 per year to hang with rumoured members like Leonardo DiCaprio, John Legend and Drew Barrymore. Taylor Swift was a patron, too, before she bounced to Zero Bond after a Cipriani paparazzi leak last summer.

Devgan’s latest product, Casa Cipriani Firming Serum, is designed for the club, and will be available on her website, in the hotel’s minibars and at the spa, where it will also be used in an exclusive treatment. A topical formula with Vitamin E, Vitamin C, omegas and a retinol, it promises to “tone and tighten” fight lines and dullness, and costs $200. The partnership officially starts on Apr. 9, and will also include on-location discussions with Dr. Devgan and select boldface names about the future of beauty.

The doctor hopes using the exclusive hub as a launch pad will get her brand into her customers’ headspace, and eventually their living spaces, too. “I’m trying to reach people where they relax, where they eat, where they sleep and where they exercise,” she said, noting that true luxury is “when people are being met where they are.”

In that way, this partnership isn’t so different from The Wing’s bathrooms packed with Glossier and Chanel samples in 2016, or The Colony’s current Palm Beach spa with Naturopathica. (Soho House’s Cowshed and Soho Skin ranges belong here, too.) The thinking goes, if you make a product an in-the–know exclusive — and place it in a locale where the clientele have already been vetted for cultural and actual capital — the work of capturing an influential buying class has already been done. It’s essentially the in-flight-magazine school of marketing: Potential shoppers are already strapped into your whole vibe with little distraction, and they’re looking to make their lives easier.

“People don’t want more and more stuff clogging up their medicine cabinets,” said Devgan. “They want help with curation and genuine expertise to find fewer better things,” like an expertly-formulated serum that brightens, tones and smooths all at once.

But you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time — and often with a member’s card — to find these opportunities, and today, many consumers claim they value inclusion over access.

Let’s see if that holds true here.

Skincare

It drives me nuts when brands drop new products on Apr. 1, because what if it’s a joke? (So many of them are. None are funny.) But Elizabeth Arden really did introduce its Eight Hour HydraPlay daily moisturiser on the first! It’s real! So did Irene Forte with its Pistachio face oil and This Works with its new Perfect Body Vitamin C Glow and Perfect Body Smoothing Wash.

On Apr. 2, Biossance introduced a new sheer mineral sunscreen. It’s an SPF 30 and like many new sunscreen launches this year, it also primes makeup.

On the breakout beat, Mar. 28 brought us Seen’s new Unseen pimple patches, which are meant for zits hiding under the surface. I tried one on a particularly angry red spot last night. It helped!

Neova’s new 5-Second Daily Peel pads hit shelves on Apr. 2. Single-use packaging makes me crazy, but if you’re a frequent traveller and your skin gets super oily or congested, I can see why you’d adore them. If you prefer travelling with full products, Dr. Jart+ debuted its Brightamin range — an ampoule serum and an under eye serum stick — on Mar. 26 that pack up nicely.

Did you think we’d make it through one Haul of Fame without a pond scum ingredient? Of course not. This time, it’s FaceGym’s new Active Collagen Wonder serum, with Phyto-Retinol “derived from sustainably grown Mediterranean microalgae.”

Finally, this month brings us our very first Sofia Richie beauty campaign sighting — in a Sol de Janeiro campaign. She’s promoting the brand’s Rio Radiance SPF 50 spray.

Cosmetics

Good news: One/Size has teamed with “Wicked” for an Apr. 2 launch. Patrick Starrr’s line includes a Wicked Unlimited Face & Eye palette, Spotlight Highlight, Popular Glitter setting spray and Off The Handle brush. Mac Cosmetics created the original looks for the Broadway musical, so it’s somewhat surprising this indie brand is getting some Elphaba merch magic. If you still want to be green with OG envy, Mac’s Chromacake pigment in Landscape Green is the actual stage shade.

Is spring always this heavy on blush launches? On Mar. 28, Nars debuted a new version of their Powder blush, a 16-hour formula with 20 new shades … four named some version of “orgasm.” (The more things change…?) On Apr. 1, Laura Geller introduced its Serum Cheek tint, which says it “dabs on smoothly without messing up makeup underneath.” Even Pat McGrath’s new Skin Fetish under-eye powder comes in a super-sweet baby pink.

Also on Mar. 28, Fenty Beauty dropped its Demi’Glow Light-Diffusing highlighter. But if you’d like a more Y2K approach to your subtly gleaming cheekbones, Guerlain’s Météorites powder pearls had a relaunch on Apr. 1. Fenty’s is $40; Guerlain’s is $72.

E.l.f. has a new Power Grip Dewy setting spray, which you could get on Mar. 31 if you hit TikTok Shop. Babe Original’s Intensifying Lash primer also debuted via TikTok Shop on Apr. 2.

Bobbi Brown introduced its Long-Wear Cream Liner sticks on Apr. 1, including shades that smudge easily, but set very firmly after about 20 seconds. If you rely on an easy smokey eye when you’re running late for a party, this is a very solid bet., even at $34 each. (This is a high price point for one eye pencil!)

And in “everything is a gloss now” news, Gisou premiered its Honey Infused lip oils on Mar. 28 and Herbivore Botanicals introduced its Dream Jelly strawberry lip balm on Mar. 29. Both are super-shiny, which of course I love.

If you have some smoothing to do before you get glossy, Lanolips new Coconutter scrub is made with “real, finely ground coconut shell pieces to smooth away dry, flaky skin.” This feels either extreme or amazing. Will test and get back to you.

Fragrance

I really like MCM’s new Crush eau de parfum, which dropped Mar. 28, because its packaging looks like a tiny little logo backpack. I wish it was actually a tiny little logo backpack, because honestly, how fun. (Also more sustainable, and easier to sell separately. Just a thought.)

On Apr. 1, Trudon introduced its Versailles Collection, which boasts “an atmosphere as refined as it is whimsical: a garden created from scratch to entertain and enchant a king, his court and his friends.” I guess we’re gonna leave the whole beheading thing out of the mood boards.

Casual French luxury is also on the menu at Diptyque, with its Parisian Café quartet including coffee, whipped cream, cookie and fruit confit scents. The bundle is a partnership with Paris hotspot Café Verlet, which has the kind of espresso that resets your entire list of life goals.

Cartier debuted two unscented perfume bases — Crème Pure (a cream) and L’Huile Pure (an oil) — on Apr. 1. They’re meant to make your fragrances last longer and have easier layering potential. It reminds me a bit of Future Society’s Optimal Habit “fragrance primer,” which launched in February, except Cartier’s comes in a ‘70s-vibing gold case.

Huda Beauty has turned the fragrance of its Easy Bake powder into an actual fragrance. It launched Apr. 1. Also in sweet smells, the “AI-driven fragrance house” Noteworthy debuted N.768 Golden Reign on Apr. 2. It smells like honey, and the name is because “it takes 768 bees to make 1 lb of honey.” Unless they’re Canadian bees, and then it’s 556.

Loewe’s best-selling scent family has a new little sister. Her name is Ivy and she comes in a solid soap, liquid soap and a body lotion. The brand calls it an “olfactory plant portrait” so … uh … it smells like really lovely leaves and flowers. Enjoy.

Jackie Aina rolled out four new fragrances on Apr. 2, but my favourite is NDA, with rum, tobacco, vanilla and the knowledge that we’ve all signed away a regrettable secret or two in the name of being pretty. Oops.

Almost all shoppers are used to checking expiration dates on food, but when it comes to skincare, only a fraction of people have noticed that often tiny jar marked with “6M” or “12M” or “24M” on their favourite serum or moisturiser.

Those figures refer to how long after opening a bottle the manufacturer believes the product should be good for, but as Dr. Emma Meredith, director-general of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, the UK’s personal care trade body, “this is not an expiration date.”

“It’s an indication to the user that, once opened, the product will not deteriorate to cause harm to human health within that time period,” she said.

Basically, Meredith explains that a consumer isn’t going to get microbial contamination at an unacceptable level within the prescribed time frame. However, what you’re far less likely to see is a date stamped on a product telling you that, even unopened, it has to be used before then. In fact, in the US, the only products that have to be marked in this way are drug products, such as sunscreen, while in the UK and EU, you’ll only see a “best before end” date on products that have a shelf life of under 30 months.

While, legally, all products must be stability-tested to ensure that, unopened, after several years they will still look, smell and feel the same as when they were first produced, there is no similar obligation to test for efficacy — something that might surprise consumers, and has, in recent years, been one of those conversations that cosmetic chemists and formulators have in hushed tones at conferences.

“The reason why people are starting to talk about this is because the industry today is much more focused on performance-driven skincare,” said Dr. Mike Bell, head of science research at the No7 Beauty Company, which is part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance. “Consumer expectation is higher, so that has driven focus on high-performing actives, such as vitamin C and retinol.”

The problem is that while these actives can be highly effective when it comes to tackling, say, pigmentation and fine lines, their efficacy can diminish very quickly, even when the packaging hasn’t been opened. Product claims are based on tests or clinical trials that are carried out using an item that has come straight off the production line, but the consumer, who might buy the product based on the results it promises, has no way of knowing whether their tube or bottle was produced two weeks ago, or two years ago.

A Storm Is Brewing

This issue isn’t yet something that’s widely discussed among beauty consumers, but as increasingly science-conscious shoppers get more savvy, it’s undoubtedly a question that brands are going to have to face head on.

So what is the answer? Dermatica, a service that offers remote consultations for prescription skincare, and now also sells its own range of non-prescription skincare, believes it’s about manufacturing small batches of products that are shipped direct to the consumer. Last year, it began selling their Vitamin C 15%: Fresh Batch Ascorbic Acid in the UK; the timeline for a US launch of the product has not yet been finalised.

“L-Ascorbic acid is the most potent form of vitamin C,” said Mohini Patel, lead physical product manager at Dermatica. “However, it’s very unstable and when it starts to degrade, efficacy drops. Derivatives may be more stable but they need to go through conversion pathways on the skin which means by the time you’ve actually got ascorbic acid, it’s at a lower concentration.”

The brand’s solution is to produce small batches that are packed in airtight, opaque bottles, shipped fresh and designed to be used within a month — although they say they have data to show that even after 90 days, ascorbic acid levels remain at 15 percent.

That short time period might be possible as a DTC brand, but for those reliant on retailers, a quick turnaround time is arguably unattainable.

“Once you’ve sent a product to a retailer, you don’t know how it’s stored — or for how long,” said Dimitra Davidson, president and founder of Indeed Labs. Despite this, she believes that brands need to take this into account. “The onus is on the brand to run stability tests on products as they get closer and closer to the end of their shelf life to check that they’re still good.”

Unintended Consequences

But while small batch processing and short expiration dates are one approach, Davidson believes that this could lead to unintended — and undesirable — consequences, such as increased prices and more waste.

“Unlike food or drugs, which might pose health risks if used after expiration, skincare products generally don’t carry the same threat,” she said, adding that you also run the risk of “creating extra fear and misunderstanding with the consumer.”

Davidson also said it’s important to put these things in perspective. She believes that looking at the potential diminished efficacy of an active ingredient after a certain period of time “in isolation of everything else in the consumer journey” means that we risk over-amplifying its importance.

This might be a sigh of relief for brands and consumers alike as small batch, or on-demand, production is hugely expensive. Inevitably, those increased production costs would be passed on to consumers. There’s also the problem of what to do with expired products. At a time when the beauty industry is being scrutinised for its sustainability credentials, the idea that you might have to send products that are not harmful, but simply less effective, to landfills, doesn’t sit right with many in the industry.

The Science Solution

Combining smart sales forecasting with clever formulation and packaging looks to be as close as the industry might be able to get to a definitive solution.

For Dr. Bell, it’s about formulators understanding the “dose response” — or what levels of an ingredient are required to effect the change that you want, whether it’s a reduction in fine lines or improving pigmentation. Then it’s about knowing how a reduction in efficacy will impact these levels and whether you’ve still got enough of the active to have an impact. That, and compromise.

“It’s a balance between using a derivative that might not initially be as effective as a more potent but less stable form of the active, but after several years, is still going to deliver about the same levels of efficacy that it was delivering at the start.”

He also points out that while there is no legal obligation to test products for efficacy after subjecting them to stability testing, it is straightforward to develop ways to measure the concentrations of those ingredients after they’ve been kept at different temperatures, humidities and light conditions.

Ultimately, it’s about companies being more proactive in their ingredient formulation and what they are promising to shoppers.

“It’s in nobody’s best interests to be giving consumers products that don’t work,” he said.