209 - What I'm Reading: Week of August 15th.

Ulta leaves Target, Hainan's beauty moves, Asia embraces “recession glam”, Gen Alpha skincare, melatonin-free sleep aids, enamel-regrowing toothpaste, young blood & marrow reverse skin aging & more.

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⭐️ = What excites me most this week.

🗞 NEWS & PRODUCTS

• Ulta is officially hosting Birthday Parties…

• 🇨🇳 Jing Daily: Will Hainan overtake Hong Kong? Tariff elimination and value-added processing rules offer beauty companies greater pricing flexibility, improved margins, and scope for developing Hainan-exclusive product lines and hybrid distribution.

• The New York Times: There’s money to be made from ‘MAHA.’ Food companies want in. Processed-food giants and produce growers are tweaking products and ads to reach the Make America Healthy Again movement. But the strategy carries risks.

  • The reformulations may not actually be healthier but catering to MAHA talking points think swapping tallow for seed-oils, dye removal, and removal of additives.

    • Just for fun:

      • Billie collaborated with Chia Pet on a plant that grows…armpit hair.

      • 🧅 The best way to cut an onion [The Pudding; Instagram].

🧴 Skin / Personal Care:

• Pour Tous - a new skincare brand for Gen Alpha [PR Newswire; Instagram].

• 🇬🇧 Troublemaker - a new makeup brand for Gen Z/Alpha - from the founder of Revolution Beauty [Instagram].

• Glow Recipe launched a vegan snail mucin - derived from prickly pear [Instagram].

• Slather a new Australian sun care brand…love this branding [Instagram].

  slatherspf

  

  A post shared by @slatherspf

• BRUH. - a skincare line for men - offering a cleanser, exfoliator, serum, moisturizer, and spray [Instagram]. Interesting product naming convention…

• Bloomberg: Supergoop warned by FDA as part of crackdown on mousse sunscreen. The concerns are related to product efficacy as well as the resemblance of some packaging to whipped cream cans - raising concerns of ingestion.

• Foreo has launched a new line of LED red-light therapy devices - FAQ™ 211 Anti-Aging LED Neck & Décolleté Mask & FAQ™ 221 Anti-Aging LED Hand Mask.

• 🇨🇳 Jing Daily: ‘Recession Glam’ sweeps Asia-Pacific beauty. Region’s $183 billion beauty market grew just 1.4% YoY in 2024 as ‘Recession Glam’ drove smarter spending, value-led products, and a redefined sense of premium.

👩‍🦱 Haircare:

• Crown Affair is launching a breakage serum [Instagram].

  crownaffair

  

  A post shared by @crownaffair

🦷 Oral Care:

• Scientists at King’s College London have created a keratin-based toothpaste from hair that can regrow enamel-like coatings on teeth, potentially repairing early decay within two years [The Guardian]…cool just don’t tell me that my toothpaste comes from hair…thanks.

💊 Supplements:

• ⭐️ Loftie which specializes in screen-free sleep solutions is launching a sleep supplement - a melatonin free supplement called Loftie PM (L-Theanine (100 mg), Magnesium Glycinate (250 mg) & Chamomile Extract (100 mg)) [Instagram].