Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a Substack Live facial.

Included in today’s issue: About-face, Aveno, Base K, Bioderma, Bonjout Beauty, Cat Cohen, Colourpop, Cynthia Erivo, E.l.f. Skin, Fazit, Ghd, Glow Recipe, Godmode, JVN Hair, Lights Lacquer, Lush, Maybelline, Mooncat, Nikki Glaser, Niles + Chaz, Noteworthy, Revlon, Sage & Sound, Sarah Creal Beauty, Seed, Solawave, Sophie Pavitt, Typology, and espresso martinis. (Please and thank you.)

But first…

Our story begins, as it sometimes does, with Chloe Fineman. On Nov. 19, the Saturday Night Live star appeared in the Zales holiday campaign while clutching a scented candle labeled “Smells Like It Should Have Been Jewelery.” Fineman rolls her eyes at the camera while huffing the wick, then declares, “It smells as personal as a sack of potatoes.” The antidote, she winks, is simple: Shop her 20-piece edit of affordable Zales jewellery, which is literally called “The Not Another Candle Collection.” Yikes.

The gag comes after a decade of do-or-don’t candle gifting dilemmas. It began in 2016, when the doyenne Lauren Santo Domingo infamously told the Financial Times, “Nothing says ‘I don’t care’ like a candle.” In 2023, a TikTok clip labeled “The Worst Secret Santa Gift” showed a woman unwrapping a candle and trying not to scream; it currently has 18 million views. Last year, Donna Kelce instructed her football hero sons to “stop bringing candles” as Christmas gifts on YouTube.

“People have this stigma that candles are boring gifts,” says Carol Han, the Hawaiian-born, New York-based founder of the candle and scent brand Nette. Han says if you give something “cheap and mass-produced,” whether it’s a candle, a sweater or a handbag, it might not register as a “thoughtful” gift. But pairing the right candle with the right person, Han insists, is its own kind of love language.

Han and other candle-preneurs may occasionally get burned by trolls on social media, but their revenue this season is all aglow. Han has seen her candle business grow by 300 percent since last Christmas. At Flamingo Estate, founder Richard Christiansen reports that candle revenue makes up a third of his tomato-scented empire, and “we’re expecting to double that revenue from 2024.” (Insert a deep, whispered “Damnnnn!” here.) D.S. & Durga CEO Frederic Arbel says the cult niche fragrance brand has increased their candle inventory by 20 percent this season, which Arbel calls a “strategic shift” buoyed by rising holiday gift demand. At Literie, founder Erica Weber tells me they’re expecting “substantial” revenue jolts driven by their curated candle bundles, which are marketed as holiday gifts. (70 percent of purchases are present-driven, they say.) And Lafco’s Hannukah-themed Eight Nights Light and its extremely online home scent Winter Violet are expected to help the brand surpass its 2024 revenue.

Holiday gifts account for 35 percent of candle sales in America, according to the National Candle Association. (It’s real!) But that still hasn’t stopped Elle Decor from proclaiming, “A candle is the best gift… A candle is the worst gift!” or Reddit from going hundreds of posts deep in a thread called “How do you really feel about scented candles?” Spoiler: It’s like cilantro, but on fire.

When I asked a luxury retail executive about the dissonance between Baies-scented sales and Baies-scented discourse, she had a theory: “People in big fashion capitals like New York and London don’t buy candles for each other. But people outside of these places, when they go to the fashion capitals, they buy tons of candles for their friends. It’s a very welcome gift, but culturally it doesn’t translate here. Maybe because our living spaces are smaller. Or because New Yorkers love to judge everything.”

Besides brands like Flamingo Estates, Diptyque and Boy Smells that are rooted in core candle collections, fashion brands looking to expand their brand halo are eager to feel the burn during gifting season. On Nov. 18, Loveshackfancy debuted its first-ever candle, a $75 pear and gardenia scent called Forever In Love. A $260 Rick Owens candle set debuted on Ssense.com this week. Dior unveiled its Piste Aux Etoiles candle this month with notes of cotton candy and caramelised almonds. Loro Piana has a holiday candle meant to evoke “the quiet luxury that lies at cashmere’s heart.”

Lafco president John Bresler says a candle “is an easy gift, but never a thoughtless one.” And even the former candle hater Lauren Santo Domingo may have to agree: her epic online taste manual, Moda Operandi, currently sells over 70 designer candles from Ralph Lauren, Queen Marie-Chantal of Greece, and an extremely clever espresso martini candle created by LSD herself. It’s fire.

What else is new…

Skincare

Did you know female comedians are incorporating skincare brands into their standup routines? Eight years after Nikki Glaser first began teasing Jennifer Aniston for “not ever actually using Aveeno products,” she brought the bit back, updating it to say Jennifer Aniston would never wait for someone at Walgreens to unlock the Aveeno from its tiny moisturiser jail. Meanwhile at Theory’s holiday party at the Nines this week, comedian Cat Cohen roasted wellness influencers by saying, “I can’t take spiritual advice from someone whose face is full of filler, you know?” Honey, we do.

The “haute skincare” label Bonjout Beauty introduced its holiday Le Balm package on Nov. 17 with gold-etched stars and suns scrawled across the $130 package. The formula — a balm-to-serum mixture of plant fats, amino acids and minerals — remains shimmer-free.

Call it the Calabasas version of the “Best Friends” necklace: Solawave’s Wrinkle Retreat Pro Light Therapy Face Mask is a $400 LED treatment with a buy-one-get-one policy for Black Friday, which means when the much-hyped gizmo hit shelves on Nov. 18, it was essentially 50 percent off.

E.l.f. Skin is marketing its Thirst Burst Pore-fecting Toner as “a dupe of a very well-known $36 BHA toner.” (Cough, Glow Recipe, cough.) It hit ElfSkin.com on Nov. 21, and comes in an iridescent pink bottle.

Look at her, she’s wicked! Or just… really moisturised? On Nov. 18, the holistic New York spa Sage + Sound shared that Cynthia Erivo is a pre-premiere regular for their lymphatic massage, a $295 treatment that includes aromatherapy, breathwork and a “crystal sound bowl experience” along with traditional manual bodywork. It’ll be fun to see if masseuses start getting glam squad credits like hair and nails. (At the Wicked: For Good premiere, Erivo’s were by Joanna Simkin and Shea Osei.)

Speaking of Wicked, there’s something diabolical about a water-allergic heroine getting her own bath products. Lush has leaned into the joke with Elphaba’s Lair, a deep green body scrub with organic apple juice and neroli oil that’s coming for your shower ritual… and your little dog, too!

Don’t call it a podcast. On Nov. 19, the supplement brand Seed released a meditation program with Open that’s based on gut health rhythms. To make the audio experience, Seed’s team “captured the biological activity of real gut microbes and translated that activity into binary code. Open’s sound engineers then converted those sequences into MIDI tones and composed an immersive soundscape — allowing listeners to literally tune in to their biology.” This is fun and smart! I would still rather run 10 miles while screaming in my brain than do any type of meditation! To each their own, etc.

Noteworthy Scents took three of its best-selling perfumes — citrus, mandarin and amber — and transformed them into body butters with shea butter, glycerin and grapeseed oil. They’re $49 each and hit shelves on Nov. 19.

Bioderma’s got a need for speed. The French company famous for its micellar water makeup remover unveiled its Formula 1 partnership on Nov. 20 in Las Vegas. I’d love to see the brand “race” to swipe off some waterproof mascara and liquid liner in less time than it takes Lewis Hamilton to make a track lap. TikTok team, u up?

Makeup

It’s still too early to know if Godmode, the game-inspired beauty line from Chloe Grace Moretz and Rina Sawayama, has legs beyond its targeted social media “fam.” But on Nov. 13, the label dropped Gloss & Glow, a bundle with highlighter, lip gloss and an all-important pack of stickers and a bag charm, because IRL merch might be a better sales hook right now than URL likes.

It’s tough to get any newness out of a nude gloss, but Glow Recipe managed to elicit some real “Oooh!” energy on social media with its Fig Bingsoo Glass Balm drop on Nov. 15. The extra-shiny shade is just tinted enough to look like an Insta filter on the lips.

Sarah Creal Beauty debuted a rose-gold shade of its No Further Questions gloss on Nov. 17. It’s a $40 formula that promises a 13 percent increase in lip volume after four weeks, and retails for $40.

Lights Lacquer dropped a holiday nail collection on Nov. 17 called “Are We Cool?” It’s got ice-toned polish shades plus a peppermint cuticle oil and tiny ice drop charms.

Maybelline launched a serum concealer (intriguing!) on Nov. 17, which also claims to “brighten” the under-eye area with peptides. The same day, the beauty giant dropped Plum & Glow Foundation, its hyaluronic acid face tint in 24 shades. The marketing rollout includes women who are clearly Gen X and Boomer, which is both helpful and cool.

Typology’s T40 Tinted Lip Oil range added Marron Glacé, a chestnut-nude shimmer, on Nov. 17. It’s got plum oil and vitamin E, and comes in an intriguing square bottle that looks more like a nail varnish than a gloss.

Well, this looks different! On Nov. 18, Revlon rolled out Photo Ready Lift & Fill Skin Tint, a shimmery coloured serum in eight shades that claims to blur pores while improving skin tone and texture. Unlike recent Revlon packaging, this tube has a giant white stick-on label with three different fonts on the front.

Last week, Violette_fr brought holographic eyeliner. This week, it’s Colourpop’s turn. On Nov. 18, the brand ushered four Multichrome Shadow Stix into its permanent collection, including Game Over (blue with metallic pink overtones) and Galaxy, a golden red. They’re $12 each.

Fazit’s Wicked glitter speckles — in pink and green, of course — debuted on Nov. 19. You can wear them in support of Glinda and Elphaba, or just save them until they match your non-witchy outfit.

Is 32 shades of concealer obsessive or amazing? About-face will find out this week. On Nov. 20, the Halsey-founded brand debuted its first-ever concealer, a $22 tube called The Illusionist that comes in five different undertones to match everyone’s desired shade of “awake and glowing.” FWIW, I find About-face to be one of the most slept-on brands in the colour cosmetics space; the formulas are blendable and durable, and the pigment payoff is real.

Mooncat’s latest collab is with Avatar: The Last Airbender, and guess what? It’s also holographic! The line includes Mooncat’s first glow-in-the-dark formula, an antifreeze-blue shimmer called The Avatar State that’s out Nov. 21.

Hair Care

The bigger the product size, the bigger the demand? JVN Hair launched a jumbo version of its best-selling Air Dry Cream on Nov. 17, with a $49 price tag and an ingredient called hemisqualane, which is basically regular squalane with a lower molecular count, which makes it easier for the hair shaft to absorb.

Ghd introduced a $359 Cherry Chic flat iron with purple-red colouring and a very satisfying shimmer-infused clamp on the inside. It comes with a burgundy croc-effect carrying case, which seems like a fun way to travel.

The children’s haircare brand Niles + Chaz debuted two new formulas — Oh My Wash shampoo and Slip Happens conditioner — on Nov. 17. Both products are designed specifically for textured and mixed-heritage hair, and were specifically geared for curls and coils.

More proof that haircare is part of K-beauty’s next Seoul cycle: On Nov. 19, Base-K Beauty rolled out Matcha Rinse thickening shampoo and Rise Cream thickening conditioner, both $36. Each formula contains biotin, along with plant-based amino acids.

Fragrance

Add another leather scent to the pile! On Nov. 17, Fulton + Roark introduced Contrabando, a fragrance with bergamot and “soft leather” named for the abandoned Western film set at Big Ben National Park in Texas. It comes as a spray, solid fragrance, soap, deodorant and body oil. (But not as scented boot and saddle leather oil — come on, guys!)

And finally…

On Nov. 19, style writer and Substack video minx Liana Satenstein broadcast a live version of her Neverworns newsletter from facialist Sofie Pavitt’s studio in New York. The event was part QVC — viewers could use Liana’s special code to get discounts on face wash and serum — and part chat show. Liana interviewed Pavitt about her past life as a Michael Kors designer, teased audience members about their late night antics, and surprised everyone with boxes of Williamsburg Pizza and free stuff from Free People. There was even a live-action facial, filmed by Satenstein’s social team with two steadied iPhones and performed by one of Pavitt’s trusted estheticians. (The peel-off jelly mask was a special hit with the audience.) The room was jammed with downtown megaphones likeGQ’s Sasha Muchnick and Byline’s Gutes Guterman, and the idea that Substack could create a microchannel for a small, devoted audience to connect with a small, devoted beauty business felt hopeful in a way that’s rare right now.

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