The Business of Beauty Haul of Fame: Lipstick You Can Snuggle

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and the cookbook-to-niche-perfume pipeline.

Included in today’s issue: Armani Beauty, Addiction Tokyo, Cartier, CashApp, Chillhouse, ColourPop, CoverGirl, Credo, Dove, F. Miller, Native, Jimmy Choo, Lush, Mooncat, Revlon, Rhode Skin, Snif, Soshe, Tarte, Traum Fragrances, and the Rolling Stones.

But first…

A long time ago (2012) in a Parisian bistro far away (Pigalle), Alexis Page told me to pay more attention to furniture crazes. The product development wizard who launched Glossier and helped Estée Lauder achieve peak Fashion Month relevance explained that she’d often intuit major makeup trends from global design fairs like Pitti in Milan. The return of La Dolce Vita cat eyeliner came partly from the clamor for Italy’s kitschy Smeg fridges and La Marzocco espresso machines. The curious rise of matte nail polish and lips collided with demand for flat-glazed kitchen tiles and earthenware. And so it was that I hauled my L.L. Bean hunter tote to Miami’s Art Week on Tuesday and realized a beauty vibe shift is here — one that is shaggy, fuzzy and softer than the art market after a Bitcoin dip.

One of Design Miami’s most talked-about pieces was a fur-covered bar cabinet by the Mexican artist Fernando Laposse. It looked like an armoire had been doused in whiskey and then eaten by a yeti. A display of Bottega Veneta’s stuffed animal “sack” chairs, the ones present at their Spring 2025 show in September, was so highly trafficked that people waited their turn just to sit down. (The whale and the dog perches were especially popular.) Hettler Tullman’s yarn-covered stool looked like a sheepdog instead of a seat; Eelko Morer’s ceramic cobalt “Jungle Vase” was surrounded in Muppet-y blue fringe.

That type or softness won’t be literal in makeup — there’s not much clamour for a lipstick tube that looks like a Fraggle, and feathery eyelashes rarely turn literal unless you’re in a stage production of “The Lion King.” But at key retail sites and brands, playful textures are already starting to move the market. Maybelline’s Teddy Tint lipstick uses the soft, fuzzy idea of a stuffed bear to convey both sweetness and comfort on the lips. Give Me Glow dropped a My Little Teddy collection on Nov. 28 with even more blatant stuffed animal imagery to go with their brown-toned shadows and glosses.

Bears aren’t bearing the full weight of these furry vibes: Neen’s glimmery taupe eyeshadow is simply called Fuzzy; Benefit Cosmetics has an entire Plushtint line of matte lipstick with a nutmeg hue named Fuzzy Slippers. On Dec. 5, the newly-acquired nail brand Olive & June launched “The Wanda,” a tool that applies a hazy velvet finish to your manicure. All of these items are the type of “send nude” shades of bronze, coffee, and copper that would normally lean into the sexy freedom of a beach day or a bedroom romp. Linking these products with unmanicured, snuggly comfort instead of glossy, managed sex is a telling sign that wild tenderness may soon usurp playful desire as beauty’s dominant sell-through vibe.

This should not be a surprise. Gen Z reports having less sex, according to a 2021 UCLA study. The American Psychiatric Association says adults are 43% more anxious compared to last year. It is statistically more dangerous to be pregnant in America than in any other “developed” nation, according to the CDC. Is it really surprising that visual trends are tilting away from overt sexual availability and into something cushioned and cocooned?

The day after the fair, I popped into Ray’s Miami, the latest outpost of the New York bar with an interior designed by Taavo Somer to look like someone’s run-down lakehouse. In the bathroom, one of those girls who looked like she was constantly asked to model in high school looked up from her purse. “Omigosh, do you have an eyebrow brush?!” she asked. She felt her brows looked too define. “They need to be fuzzier.”

She’s really going to love that furry bar cabinet.

What Else Is New

Skincare

Neogen debuted Berry Peri Pore Cleansing Mousse on Dec. 2. It’s $28 and claims “micro-bubble technology,” which seems to mean it’s just really foamy.

On Dec. 3, Lush introduced two limited-edition bath bombs: Billion Bright Stars, which donates 75 percent of sales to “groups working towards diverse representation of elected officials,” and Star of Wonder, which gives 75 percent of sales to LGBTQ+ foundations like Queer Lifeline and Trans Lifeline. Both are $8, so you’ll be giving $6 from each purchase back to the orgs.

Rhode Skin debuted a new Peppermint Glaze peptide lip tint on Dec. 4. It’s $18 with a light shimmer and a cool, minty pop; influencer Matilda Djerf is the product’s glossy model.

Native introduced Dunkin’ deodorant and moisturiser on Dec. 3; the items are scented like donuts and coffee, not South Boston road rage. They also have a new partnership with the Mexican soda brand Jarritos. Meanwhile, Dove has a Crumbl collaboration that imbues its body washes and lotions with scents based on its popular cookie flavors. This means one simple thing for beauty brands desperate for buzz: Snacks remain undefeated.

Makeup

If you’re an online Sephora shopper, you can now score Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Acqua Highlighter before its official January launch. It hit the site and app on Nov. 26 and comes in five shimmery shades for $39 each.

CoverGirl’s contour balm hit Amazon on Dec. 1. It’s a chubby crayon that works as a blush, a bronzer, or a cheek and eye glaze and costs $13.

Monika Blunder Beauty dropped a new $28 eye pencil called Eye Deal on Dec. 1. It comes in black and brown and deposits deep color on application.

Revlon’s Glimmer Drops hit Amazon on Dec. 2 with three shades of blush, plus complementary lip glosses and highlighters.

Designer Fran Miller (who also founded the clothingwear brand Literary Sport) added three tinted lip balms to her F. Miller line of plant-based beauty products. They’re $18 each, with buildable color payoff that’s actually pretty visible, and made with Bulgarian rose oil. The trio launched Dec. 3.

On Dec. 3, clean beauty specialty retailer Credo put tubing mascara on their shelves for the first time. Theirs is a new $32 formula from the brand Soshe, made with vitamin E and argan oil. I’ve tried it and it works very well for definition and length, though if you’re out late, it’ll start to flake on your cheekbones (just like all other tubing mascaras).

On Dec. 4, Mooncat announced a collaboration with Baggu. They’re making a black tote with acid yellow stars and a moon; it costs $15 and can hold up to 50 lbs. of nail polish. (Or groceries, but Mooncat doesn’t make those.)

Addiction Tokyo introduced a new eye quad on Dec. 4 inspired by vintage glassware. It’s $52 and meant to complement its new Fantasy Freefall lip trio, which packs matte, gloss, and iridescent shades.

ColourPop’s Fresh Kiss Glossy Lip Balm hit shelves on Dec. 5. It’s a $10 gloss with hyaluronic acid that comes in 8 gourmand-themed shades, including a clear “vanilla cake” glaze.

Tarte’s popular Blush Tape line is launching a “satin” finish on Dec. 6 that promises “a look as smooth as your favorite pillowcase.” The product debuts exclusively at Ulta Beauty, and it’s actually not a tape (phew!) but a liquid blush that comes in 10 shades and costs $36.

Speaking of Tarte, did you spot Neutrogena’s High Shine lip gloss crayons with maracuja oil on Amazon? They landed on Nov. 30 and cost $15 to Tarte’s $26. All together now: Holy dupe, Batman!

Fragrance

If you would like your Cartier fragrance to have its own luxury accessory, the French heritage brand’s Panther Cypress Case arrived on Nov. 26 with exquisite gold etching and a $1,022 price tag.

Jimmy Choo Man Extreme launched on Dec. 1 with a Dillard’s exclusive. It is an “energetic and thrilling fougère” (translation: grassy smell) that costs $125 and comes in a red, leathery bottle that looks like a flask.

Snif’s collab with “Half Baked Harvest” author Tieghan Gerard debuted on Dec. 2. It’s a candle with notes of brown sugar, tonka bean, conifers and mistletoe, which I was unaware smelled like anything but a questionable makeout session during a winter break house party. The candle is $37; the advice to avoid such makeouts is free.

Cander Paris partnered with the Cuban American artist Gabriella Noel to recast their famous rose incense candles in hand-painted ceramics. The project is available exclusively at luxury Miami-based boutique Webster starting Dec. 3 and each piece costs $280.

Traum Fragrances is named for the German word meaning “daydream or reverie,” but sounds a lot like the English word “trauma.” This is either going to work well or very badly for the Boston-based brand, which debuted its first five candles on Dec. 3 with smells that “evoke cherished memories and powerful emotions, transforming spaces into sanctuaries of inspiration.”

On Dec. 4, the Rolling Stones released their first fine fragrance, RS No. 9. It says it smells like “freedom and opportunity”; it actually smells like bergamot, velvet, leather, and patchouli. The $99.99 bottle was developed with Nirvana Brands, the UK-based label that also makes scents for Ariana Grande and Porsche.

And finally…

Chillhouse’s new $18 pack of nails is a collaboration with CashApp lets you embed a tiny microchip in your acrylic nails that works on many tap-to-pay platforms. This means at some salons, you can now tip your manicurist with your literal tips.

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