I will always look back on 2023 as the year I was finally won over by Dior’s best-selling Lip Glow Oil, discovered a newfound adoration for the full-coverage and glowy combo offered by Armani’s Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Foundation, and was converted into a Jo Malone fragrance enthusiast. So what’s in store for me in the New Year? I like to think that it’ll be spent in pursuit of a “that girl” beauty collection filled with only the highest-performing products that I can trust to carry me through 2024 without fail.
With that energy in mind, I reached out to one of my favorite retailers for a better idea of which beauty products are worth having. As a Seattle native, Nordstrom has always been my go-to for all things beauty. It’s the place where I purchased my first eau de parfum and experienced a full-face beat at the hands of Anastasia Beverly Hills’ makeup counter. With their help, I’ve ID’d the top skincare, hair, makeup, and fragrance finds that have been absolutely flying off the shelves recently. I’ll be using this as my Nordstrom beauty shopping guide going forward, so don’t be surprised if I try to snag all of these for myself.
For nearly three decades, the world-renowned makeup artist, beauty titan, best-selling author, and entrepreneur, Bobbi brown, has built a burgeoning beauty empire that transcends time and trends. Brown began her career as a makeup artist in New York City, where she became known for a more natural aesthetic against the highly graphic makeup trends of the time — ultimately marking the beginning of her paving her own path in the industry.
While working as a professional makeup artist, she created a collection of ten natural shade lipsticks, which launched the billion-dollar brand, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Over the next 25 years, she was at the helm of the eponymous brand, before deciding to walk away in 2016. During this time, Brown became the ultimate multi-hyphenate exploring her career as an entrepreneur, creative director, author, and more, launching new businesses, including justBOBBI.com, a digital editorial content site, the ingestible wellness brand Evolution 18, the podcast The Important Things, and a boutique hotel in Montclair, New Jersey called The George. As a trailblazer in the industry, Brown accomplished a lot of firsts, from launching one of the first-ever beauty e-commerce websites in 1996 to becoming the Masterclass’s first beauty instructor.
2022 brought so many product recommendations my bank account wishes I hadn’t seen. My entire TikTok FYP is filled with makeup routines and the next hottest product. Everyone tells me I need to have this product, so I tell my bank I need to have that product.
I want to feel as confident as a supermodel even if I don’t have the throngs of makeup artists and hair stylists they do. If they’re plugging a product, I’m probably going to try it. But, in the age of the everyday influencer, it’s getting harder to tell what’s a paid advertisement and what’s not.
That’s right – some videos don’t tell you if it’s a paid promotion when it’s really an ad. Brands are sending free products to TikTok’s finest in exchange for rave reviews – even if the product doesn’t deserve it.
Take Bobbi Brown’s clean beauty line, Jones Road, for example. It was hyped up to be the “no-makeup makeup” holy grail until products started rolling out. The foundation ended up leaking oil and separating from the foundation which is a pretty bad sign even if it can be mixed. Several users reported that it separated even while on their faces. It was an overall disaster.
Since the year’s almost over, I’m rounding up all of the viral products I purchased and giving you the low down. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. We are leaving no stone unturned.
Here are 10 things to keep this 2023, and 10 to leave in 2022:
The Viral Products That Work…
Paula’s Choice Liquid Exfoliant – This BHA/AHA treatment does literally everything. It clears stubborn blackheads and exfoliates all the dead skin cells that clog pores, crack makeup, and give you acne. It’s glass skin in a bottle and if I could take one thing to a deserted island it would be this.
Hero Cosmetics Mighty Surface Patches – You know about pimple patches, but these surface patches cover way more ground so you can tackle problem areas, not just pimples. I wear these a few nights a week when breaking out and I’m clear by the weekend.
La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm – If there’s anything I hate, it’s dry skin. I tried a retinol that caused my face to shed, and this miracle balm moisturizer healed my skin overnight while locking in my skincare perfectly.
Makeup By Mario Skin Enhancer – I’m a Makeup by Mario stan. High quality products that don’t break the bank? Yes please. This is a bronzer used often on Kim K (and me). It blends easier than a normal contour while snatching my cheekbones.
Oribe Supershine Cream – Oribe can be a bit pricey, but for 10 ounces of incredible product, this is a steal. My hair looks glossy and fresh out of the salon when I use this.
Dior Backstage Foundation – It’s your skin, but better. Dior created a lightweight, glowy foundation that covers redness without caking. At $40, it’s high end without hurting the wallet.
ONE/SIZE On Til Dawn Setting Spray – If you’re tired of your makeup sliding off by the end of the night, this setting spray will do the trick. It mattifies your makeup and makes it completely waterproof.
Olaplex Set – I heavily damaged my hair when I bleached it, but consistent usage of the Olaplex line saved my life. It restores the protein in your dry, damaged hair to fully heal it to the cuticle. Keep up with the products and you’ll see results after a few months.
Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Liner and Lipstick – Charlotte Tilbury took off during the pandemic, but the Pillow Talk line will forever remain my fave. Charlotte herself always says the Pillow Talks are everyone’s perfect lip shade, and she’s not wrong.
Rhode Lip Treatment – I didn’t want to love another celebrity product, but this one is worth all the money in my account. It hydrates your lips with peptides and cupuacu while also functioning as a gloss.
…And The Viral Products That Don’t
Haus Labs – Every. single. review. told me that Lady Gaga’s brand would change the way I viewed makeup. So when I ordered the foundation and it dried out on my face and cracked immediately, I was heartbroken. When my roommate got the lip oil and was even underwhelmed, I knew that was enough to leave it.
The Good Patch – Any wellness patch in general, really. The hangover cures never work, and I never feel any calmer when I wear the relaxation ones. It’s a placebo effect waiting in the impulse-buy section – avoid!
Glamnetics Press On Nails – The at home manicure is trending, but these popped off after 12 hours of being on my nails. I don’t want to continuously glue my nails on, so these are a pass.
Charlotte Tilbury Mini Magic Cream – I’ve already voiced my opinions on CT’s mini products being highway robbery. The mini Magic Cream is the size of my pinky, for far, far too much money.
Self Tan Water – I’m sorry, but this is just not for me. I can’t see where the tanner is going on my body, so I end up half-tanned and look ridiculous. I’m sticking with a tinted tanner.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze – The laminated brow trend is fun, but expensive eyebrow products just aren’t it. I’ve been disappointed by every eyebrow product over $12.
Mario Badescu – I loved the Drying Lotion back in the day when I had a pimple, but it flakes off so quickly and just doesn’t do what a pimple patch can. Most of Mario Badescu’s products are underwhelming for me, so I’m leaving them behind.
Expensive Mascaras – Much like eyebrow products, expensive mascaras have never been worth it to me. I’ll take L’Oreal Telescopic and Maybelline Sky High over a $30 tube.
Benefit Benetint – Not nearly pigmented enough for my blush preferences. I understand wanting the natural look, but this won’t give me much of anything.
Drunk Elephant – While I’m sure their products are great, at this price range there are more reputable skincare brands. I like to keep my skincare affordable, so this is staying in 2022.
All products featured are independently selected by our editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
You know that the celebrity beauty brand boom is over when even the celebrities themselves admit that they’re not into it. “I’ve never really been interested in beauty products,” Jared Leto recently told Vogue about his new 12-piece skin- and body-care line, Twentynine Palms.
The celebrities are tired. Consumers are over it, big time. The market is oversaturated, and everyone knows it. Celebrity beauty brands are officially on their way out — but that doesn’t mean the beauty business is slowing down.
The global cosmetics market is expected to grow from $382.88 billion in 2021 to $643.03 billion by 2030. With everyone rooting against celebrity beauty brands, though, who will beauty consumers look to for innovation? The answer is the same source that celebrities themselves have always relied upon: the hairstylists, makeup artists and estheticians that they employ to get them ready for red carpets and keep them informed about what’s trending.
Authenticity is the new currency, and unfortunately for the celebrities, the people just aren’t buying it from them anymore. According to NPD data, celebrity beauty brands only account for 7% of sales in the U.S .beauty market.
“It’s just glorified merch at this point,” says Dulma Altan, TikTok creator, consultant and founder of the business podcast Due Diligence. “It’s not enough anymore for the products to be good. If they’re not doing anything interesting, it’s still a bit of a cash grab, and a lot of people can feel that. That’s going to be a liability.”
Even the celebrity beauty brands that supposedly do it right (Altan cites Hailey Bieber‘s Rhode Beauty as a recent example) still have trouble escaping the cloud of doubt that’s cast over the entire genre. The truth is that there are more disappointing celebrity beauty brands than promising ones, and inevitably a few bad lip glosses will ruin the whole bunch.
Photo: Courtesy of Rhode
As the celebrity beauty brand empire wanes, consumers will seek out brands that they can trust to deliver on their claims. Celebrity beauty brands have had their 15 minutes of fame and will soon be replaced by professionally-developed formulas backed by sound science and decades of real-world experience.
Makeup brands like Jones Road (from veteran makeup artist Bobbi Brown) and Danessa Myricks (from the makeup artist of the same name) are making artistry more accessible, while hair-care brands like Frédéric Fekkai, Andrew Fitzsimons and Act+Acre are bringing healthy hair education to the masses. When compared celebrity-helmed brands, these companies are positioning themselves as better suited to meet the demands of the new consumer.
Professional brands have been around long before celebrity business managers sought to diversify their clients’ streams of income. The rise of celebrity beauty brands mimics the rise of celebrity perfumes in the ’90s and early 2000s, when Glow by JLo and Curious by Britney Spears reigned supreme — but that same era ushered in brands from makeup artists like Brown, François Nars of Nars and Kevyn Aucoin, to name a handful. Back then, the world was obsessed with supermodels and the artists who transformed them for magazine covers and runways; it wasn’t long before the products used backstage went mainstream.
“Their formulas were genius,” says Christine Cherbonnier, celebrity makeup artist and former assistant to legendary makeup artists Rose-Marie Swift and Pat McGrath (who each went on to found their own makeup lines, RMS in 2009 and Pat McGrath Labs in 2015). “Paula Dorf was the first one to take technical products that makeup artists used that you could previously only find in a theater store or a makeup store to the mass market. They basically gave up their tricks and traded products to sell to us.”
In addition to her work as a makeup artist, Cherbonnier is also the Design Executive Officer of Mothership Materials, a green commodities manufacturer that helps develop formulas for the next generation of beauty and wellness brands. She joined the company after having a negative experience with cosmetics manufacturers while trying to develop a line of natural products, which ended up costing her $45,000. In the end, she walked away from the entire process without releasing a single SKU. Now, she works with beauty professionals to bring their creative visions to life.
All of Mothership Materials’ brands and formulas are founded by industry professionals with deep industry expertise, which Cherbonnier says gives them an edge over celebrity-founded beauty brands: “They have such a clear perspective. Not one of them wants to make the same thing, and I think that’s what’s so fascinating in an industry where we’re constantly seeing the same thing with a different brand over and over again.”
Photo: Courtesy of Jones Road
Makeup artist Bobbi Brown and hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai both play a unique role in this resurgence of professional beauty brands. Both creatives launched their namesake companies in the ’90s to much success, and have since gone through their own brand evolutions. Bobbi Brown left Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 2016 and founded Jones Road Beauty in 2020, while Frédéric Fekkai bought back his brand from Proctor & Gamble in 2018 after selling it to the conglomerate in 2008 and relaunched Fekkai in 2019, aiming to merge sustainability with salon-grade products. Both have weathered decades of change in the industry as artists and entrepreneurs, which makes them exceptionally well-poised for this professional beauty brand renaissance.
“Before becoming an entrepreneur and launching either of my beauty brands, I was a makeup artist, so I had deep product knowledge,” Brown tells Fashionista. “I knew what worked and what didn’t, and I knew what products I wish I had in my kit but that didn’t exist yet, so I made them. When I launched Jones Road, I had decades of beauty and business experience under my belt, so I knew exactly what products to make and how to launch a successful business.”
Fekkai feels similarly that the experience of being a working beauty professional is paramount to his success.
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“The hands-on, in-depth knowledge gained from practicing your craft day-in-and-day-out gives you invaluable insights into the needs of all different types of hair,” he says. “When you touch thousands of heads of hair, you then know how the products need to perform to deliver the styles or benefits the guest is looking for. A celebrity is an expert on their specific hair type, a good professional stylist is an expert on all hair types.”
Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Fitzsimons
Celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons is a new founder, coming into the space as both an influencer and celebrity stylist for Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Joan Smalls, Ashley Graham, Madonna and Bella Hadid. He launched his eponymous line earlier this year and believes that professionals are unparalleled when it comes to providing education, which he argues is what this generation of consumers really wants.
“They see the work we do every day via social media, so there’s a trust there that you can use these products to achieve similar results, [without] photoshop or filters,” says Fitzsimons. “Access to great information is a game-changer, and being able to relay that education to consumers is where experts can really shine.”
While celebrity brands are often just a flash in the pan, professional brands can have staying power without remaining stagnant, as evidenced by Brown and Fekkai’s abilities to evolve their own brands over time. Like celebrity perfumes of the ’90s and early 2000s, it’s likely that only a handful of celebrity beauty brands will stick around longer than a few years. Consumers may buy it once for the novelty, but they’ll return to professional brands for innovation and results.
“While celebrity-founded brands often garner buzz around launch, few have been able to scale and mature successfully, and provide consumers with the quality they’re looking for,” says Helen Reavey, certified trichologist, celebrity hairstylist and founder of hair-care brand Act + Acre. “Consumers often find themselves going back to those credible brands whose focus has always been on the efficacy of their products.”
Reavey carved out a niche within the broad hair-care category with Act + Acre, focusing on scalp heath as the most important factor for promoting healthy hair growth. Now, we’re seeing other hair-care brands take the same approach and come out with scalp-targeted products. Danessa Myricks brought a similar innovation to the makeup category with her Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder, an innovative balm-to-powder formula that we’ll no doubt see other brands incorporate into their complexion products in due time. As consumers look for innovation in a sea of sameness, they’ll turn to artists for direction and to set trends, rather than simply cash in on them.
Celebrity beauty brands also provide a glimpse into the ethics of employment, if you look closely: Being a celebrity is a business, and the celebrities themselves may be the face of that business, but they have an entire team to help shape and refine that face, including beauty professionals like hairstylists and makeup artists. When these celebrities launch their own beauty brands, they’re not just selling their own image — they’re selling the polished façade that these artists and experts helped create. Not only are celebrities taking credit for work that isn’t wholly theirs, they’re also directly profiting off of it.
“I do see the injustice of that,” says Altan. “To me, that’s just a microcosm of the broader issue with capitalism and ownership, which is that people who have advantages accrue greater advantages through the form of equity and ownership because they already had that leg up, and then it just snowballs from there.”
The relationship between a celebrity and their glam squad can be symbiotic, but it’s up to the celebrity to give credit where credit’s due.
“If the celebrity is leaning on their makeup artist or hairstylist for expert advice, I believe it can be a mutually beneficial situation,” says Reavey. “I do believe it’s important for the celebrity to give credit to those who have helped shape the brand along the way and have lent their knowledge and support.”
Photo: Courtesy of Haus Labs
While the ethics of celebrity beauty brands are murky at best, some celebrities are doing it better than others. Lady Gaga launched Haus Labs in collaboration with her longtime makeup artist Sarah Tanno in a first-of-its-kind partnership. The move lends an added dose of credibility and artistic vision to Haus Labs, which helps it stand out amongst a growing number of celebrity brands. Partnering with an industry expert is one way that celebrities are bolstering themselves ahead of the backlash that many celebrity brands are getting these days. Hailey Bieber, for her part, tapped cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, founder and chief executive officer of BeautyStat, to be Rhode’s chemist-in-residence and help with product development ahead of its launch earlier this year.
Beauty professionals launching their own brands is one way to balance the scales of justice. As the landscape becomes more saturated (and arguably more scammy), brands with built-in credibility will come out on top, whether that’s through a partnership or the artists striking out on their own.
As the line between beauty professional and influencer gets more blurry, Altan advises professionals to prepare to leverage their network if they want to beat celebrities at their own game, just as celebrities tried to do with them: “It’s going to be the professionals with both the credibility and their own following that are impenetrable.”
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India’s Tata Group is planning to open at least 20 “beauty tech” stores where it will use virtual makeup kiosks and digital skin tests to get young, affluent shoppers to buy premium cosmetic products, according to a company document and a person familiar with its strategy.
The move pits Tata, whose interests range from cars to jewelry, against LVMH’s Sephora and domestic rival Nykaa for a share of the fast-growing $16 billion beauty and personal care market in the world’s second-most populous country.
Tata is eyeing what it calls a “beauty enthusiast” in India aged between 18 and 45 years who like to buy foreign brands such as Estee Lauder’s M.A.C and Bobbi Brown, according to the document, which lists The Honest Company, Ellis Brooklyn, and Gallinee as potential partners. Tata is in talks with more than two dozen companies to supply exclusive products to the new stores, according to a person familiar with the strategy, who did not name specific brands.
Tata declined to comment on its planned beauty stores and the contents of the document seen by Reuters. Representatives of The Honest Company, Ellis Brooklyn and Gallinee did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The store opening plans, still under wraps, follow the recent launch of Tata’s beauty shopping app, called Tata CLiQ Palette. The company is already in the brick-and-mortar retail business in India, where it has joint-venture partnerships with global brands such as Zara and Starbucks.
The stores will have a bright red facade showing Tata CLiQ Palette branding, with 70% of the products inside being skincare and makeup, according to the Tata document. Inside the stores, Tata is planning to install technology allowing customers to try on dozens of lipstick shades virtually on screens and to get digital skin tests to find out what products might work best for them, according to the document.
The technology is not new and is in use by other beauty retailers around the world, but this venture into what industry experts call “experiential retail” is still a relatively new concept in Indian malls and high street shops.
“Experiential retail is going to be a big thing in India as more customers will spend their leisure time at such stores,” said Pankaj Renjhen, joint managing director at India’s Anarock Retail consultancy. “In the premium segment – where a customer is looking for things beyond price – experiential retail helps trigger impulse shopping and can entice them.”
Renjhen added, however, that “the product and the brands have to be exclusive and good – if they are not that, she (the customer) is not going to come back.”
MILLENNIAL DRIVE
As India’s economy grows, and people return to shops after coronavirus lockdowns, Tata is looking to target relatively young and affluent customers who like to shop in comfortable surroundings and are willing to pay the sticker price for premium international brands. Tata calls such customers “non-bargainers” in the document seen by Reuters, in contrast to most Indians who buy low-priced local brands of lipsticks or skin creams from small mom-and-pop beauty stores where haggling for discounts is common.
The company is targeting shoppers with an annual income of at least 600,000 rupees ($7,358), which is more than three times the average earnings of $2,000 per year among India’s 1.4 billion inhabitants. The new stores should drive “sales across channels as a leading Beauty Tech destination for Gen Z & Millennials,” the Tata document says.
India’s $16 billion beauty and personal care market is much smaller than China’s $92 billion, but market research firm Euromonitor estimates India’s will grow an average of 7% a year over the next few years.
“The Indian beauty market is not saturated – far from it,” said Devangshu Dutta, head of New Delhi-based retail consultancy firm Third Eyesight. “If you are investing for the long term, with higher income profiles and changing lifestyles in mind, there’s a long runway of growth ahead.”
Tata faces strong competition to take advantage of the projected growth. Sephora, which has been in India for around a decade, has 26 outlets selling beauty and fragrance brands. Reliance, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has a long-term plan to open 400 beauty stores, the first of which may open inside a Mumbai mall next month, according to a person familiar with its plans. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment.
Indian beauty retailer Nykaa, backed by private equity firm TPG, asset manager Fidelity and endorsed by a Bollywood celebrity, has said it plans to open as many as 300 stores, from 124 now. The 10-year-old company, which started as an online-only retailer, attracted attention to the sector last year when its stock nearly doubled after listing on the Mumbai stock exchange, valuing the company at the time at $14 billion.
HURDLES AHEAD
Tata’s first “beauty tech” store will likely open by March, with further expansion stretching into the next fiscal year beginning April that could see it open as many as 40 stores, according to the person familiar with the plan, who added the company will start with bigger cities such as New Delhi before considering smaller places.
However, Tata is struggling to persuade owners of upscale malls, where space is scarce, to take on a new beauty store where one already exists, if it does not have enough exclusive products or another differentiating factor to attract new customers and increase foot traffic to the mall as a whole, according to another person with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Alongside exclusive product launches, Tata is focusing on in-store technology, which the document seen by Reuters describes as a “key differentiator.”
One of the tech tools will be a device Tata calls a “skin analyzer,” a device with a mirror that can read and analyse a customer’s skin to reveal 25 to 30 attributes that can help make product choices. There will also be “virtual try-on” kiosks for eye and face makeup. Among them will be a circular stand with lipsticks slotted in; as someone lifts one, a digital mirror screen in front will automatically start showing how the color shade will appear on the face, eliminating the need for repeated manual try-ons before a purchase.
Tata is also testing the use of so-called geofencing technology to allow its store staff to detect when a customer using its app enters, and share the shopping history and wish lists with staff to make better recommendations, the person familiar with the plans said.
“Cream foundations tend to be a little richer, more nourishing, with a little extra coverage,” says RMS Beauty founder and celebrity makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift. It’s this richness that makes cream formulas especially beneficial for dry skin types. The rich, buttery formulas are often packed with powerful hydrators like hyaluronic acid and glycerin. According to Ellis, they’re also great for problematic or redness-prone skin that requires coverage strong enough to cancel out redness. “Their moisturizing textures help to cushion and even out the complexion in a more natural way,” she adds. If your skin is more on the oily side, however, then cream foundations might not be the best option for you, since you probably don’t need the added moisture. Instead, look for powder or liquid formulas with a matte finish.
Although you might think that due to their thicker textures, cream foundations would look and feel heavy on the skin, with the right tools and technique, you can achieve really natural-looking, weightless results. “The beauty of a cream foundation is you can either use your fingers and press into any areas where it needs coverage or you can use a brush,” says Ellis. “For a lightweight coverage, blend and circulate the foundation into the skin, and for a fuller coverage, press and stipple into the skin.” If you’re keen to try this technique, look specifically for a stippling brush. Designed with two layers of bristles—a shorter, more compact one to press the product in and a longer, looser layer to pick up and deposit the product—these brushes are perfect for achieving an airbrushed finish.
Converted? To help you narrow down your options, we’ve tried and tested 2022’s best-selling, highly rated cream foundations, including drugstore and luxury options. There’s also a variety of finishes and coverages, from matte to dewy, sheer to full, and everything in between.
