Hair Perfume

Fragrance is in its chameleon era. Traditional perfume brands are branching into categories like laundry detergent and pet products while skincare brands are commingling with the category by hiring leading fragrance firms to concoct custom scents for their products. Haircare has entered the scent conversation in a big way, too.

Priced at $39.99 for a 1-oz. size, Rizos Curls soft-launched California Classic Hair & Body Perfume for the holiday season and is gearing up to release it at retail soon. The brand is currently carried by Target and Ulta Beauty. The product has been two years in the making, says founder Julissa Prado, who sought to develop a scent that smelled fantastic and is suitable for people with allergies like herself. California Classic is formulated with natural sugarcane to not dry out hair and skin and has notes of lemon, bergamot, coconut, ginger, white florals, sandalwood, vanilla, coconut milk and vegan musk.

Prado points out that a benefit of the perfume is it can counteract the not-so-great scents that hair tends to absorb. “There have been many times I’ve had to walk around smelling like a BBQ pit because my hair just intensely absorbed the smell,” she says. “I created this perfume with key citrus scents, which help neutralize bad odors all with non-drying alcohol. Lastly, so many of our customers absolutely love the smell of Rizos Curls products, so it felt like a natural step to turn the scent into a perfume.”

Similarly, the brand Hadaka Beauty was interested in developing a product that neutralized odor in every type of hair, from natural hair to extensions and wigs. Its $30 Aura Hair Perfume Beach Nectar is described by founder Sandy Bracho-Hyland as “that paradisiac and fun vacation in the sun.” The hair perfume’s notes include coconut and vanilla. The product is a bestseller among Hadaka’s assortment of face masks, body scrubs and beard oils. “Our products are a sensorial experience, so Aura complements it perfectly to awaken the senses,” says Bracho-Hyland.

Products For Ozempic Side EFFECTS

According to JP Morgan Research, the market for GLP-1 drugs, a class of treatments for Type 2 diabetes and obesity that encompasses Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, will exceed $100 billion by 2030. Millions of people have already lost significant weight due to the drugs, an outcome that yields some unwanted side effects such as lax skin and hair thinning and loss. Spanning supplements, skincare and scalp care offerings, beauty and wellness brands are tailoring products to address the unwanted side effects.

Clinical skincare brand Omni Bioceutical Innovations’ science-forward $218 Healthy Growth Hair Complex with M-007 is a new addition to its suite of hair regrowth products, including Omni Bio-Scalp Detoxifier and Omni Bio-Scalp Exosome Care Active. It’s launching soon at the brand’s med-spa partners and website. The hair growth products are powered by exosomes or nanoparticles that communicate to cells. When applied to the scalp, especially in conjunction with in-office treatments like microneedling, exosomes have been proven to be effective in hair restoration.

Fellow clinical skincare brand Osmosis’s $94 body care product Crepe Correction Cream and liquid supplement Recovery Renewal Elixir have been popular with consumers who’ve lost weight from GLP-1 regimens. Doctor Ben Johnson, founder of Osmosis, says Recovery is a groundbreaking beauty supplement that “restores volume to the face better than filler. It heals the gut reducing pores size and redness in the face, and it restores the microbiome better than probiotics.”

Non-Lipstick Lip Products

Lipstick is out, and every other iteration of lip merchandise is in. As Beauty Independent reported last year, the shift is fueled by gen Z shoppers who prefer oils, balms and glosses and a post-pandemic preference for minimal effort looks. At Adit Live Los Angeles, the non-lipstick lip product trend was well represented.

Founder Tamara Bakir came up with the idea for Manifest Beauty’s $29 lip plumper Big Pout Energy after being disappointed with plumping products on the market. “Some burn or sting making them uncomfortable to wear, others had a pasty drying formula because of the plumping irritants and others with smoother formulas just didn’t perform,” she says. “I knew there was a gap in the market for a clean, hydrating lip plumper that works.”

Big Pout Energy uses Colombian chili and cinnamon extract to instigate a warm tingling sensation rather than a burning sensation. Bakir says, “Unlike other lip plumpers, it’s also super hydrating and nourishing, a result achieved by an intentional infusion of natural oils.”

QMS’s $240 Lip Line Corrector Serum has been around since 2013, but has never been more relevant. The product is applied around the lips to plump up the lines that form from loss of elastin. “The lip product was launched as there wasn’t anything like it on the market,” says global educator Rowan Hall-Farrise. “It was and is still after more than a decade after launch incredibly innovative for its genre.”

Bakir suggests these products are responding to mounting consumer interest in lip augmentation. Market research firm Grand View Research estimates the global lip augmentation market size was valued at $6.4 billion 2022 and projects it will advance at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% from 2023 to 2030. As interest mounts, Manifest Beauty plans to expand its lip-plumping range this year.

“The desire for beautiful, hydrated, pillowy lips is only growing,” she says. “We took the opportunity to help fill a gap for those who want to skip augmentation or want an extra boost on what they’ve gotten.”

Other indie brands are pouncing on the latest lip product trends. Model and influencer Derek Chadwick’s new brand Chaddy has launched with $38 Matte Lip Plumper; Good Light’s latest release is $16 Taste of Space Lip Milk; and Topicals released its $16 lip balm Slick Salve last year. Summer Fridays’ $24 Lip Butter Balm, Rhode’s $16 Peptide Lip Treatment and Lawless Beauty’s $26 Forget The Filler Lip Plumping Line Smoothing Gloss have been massive hits.

Post-Treatment Products

With aesthetic treatments surging, beauty brands are increasingly venturing into the aesthetics sphere with products for before and after procedures. Frens of Frens’ mission is to make the process of getting procedures better. Founder Nancy Trinh had her lips filled for the first time in 2016 after being influenced by Kylie Jenner’s generous pout, but when she dealt with side effects, she didn’t encounter much information on or products for them.

“After a few hours of research for products and solutions to help with healing, only one product kept coming up,” says Trinh. “After trying it, my experience was lackluster, and I was surprised there weren’t many solutions available.”

Trinh decided to create a solution of her own, Frens of Frens’ hero product, $68 Take Aftercare Serum, which contains arnica, bromelain, hypochlorous acid and aloe. She says, “We wanted something to solve all the pain points while providing value to the patient given its gentle formulation to use every day.”

The brand’s latest release, $60 The Other Lip Kit, is based on input that people rather not hold an ice pack on their face following lip filler procedures. The kit features six lip masks and a wearable ice pack. Customers put the lip mask over their lips and then place a reusable wearable ice pack on top of it to, according to Trinh, deliver a “one-two punch” of the ice pack and the the topical treatment.

Focused on professional distribution, Frens of Frens is forging relationships with aesthetic treatment providers. Trinh says, “The atmosphere of boutique med-spas offers a curated experience that aligns with our values around proper aftercare education and being where the targeted customer is.”

Medicosmetics brand QMS has seen success in the professional market with its Collagen Mask, which is used following spa treatments to assist with skin healing. It’s currently only available through the professional market, but the brand’s newly launched $75 Hydromax Activator sheet mask has a similar refreshening effect and is available on its site.

Notable ingredients

New ingredients are a driving force of innovation in beauty. On Oct. 18, World Menopause Day, Oio launched Restorative Facial Cream with natural glycoin, one of its hero ingredients that it describes as biotechnologically derived from the desert plant, myrothamnus flabellifolia. The cream was developed by Oio’s in-house laboratory and chemists in tandem with university medical experts, according to the brand.

“In harsh desert conditions, this ingredient offers multifunctional revitalizing and cell-stimulating properties,” says founder Joanna Ryglewicz. “This energy booster is especially beneficial for tired, stressed or mature skin.”

Women’s wellness brand Sybil Wellness’s $82 soft chew supplement Longevity 2+3 has the ingredients spermidine and fisetin. “Both compounds are senolytics. Senolytics flush out senescent—old and aging—cells that are no longer multiplying but don’t die off when they should,” says founder Molly Blasier. “This process of clearing out these ‘zombie’ cells is called autophagy. If left to linger in our bodies they instead remain and continue to release chemicals that can trigger inflammation which is a primary marker of how/why we age.”

Skin Frequency’s $38 Equilibrium rose hydrosol spray is made with three ingredients: organic bulgarian rose hydrosol, terminalia chebula fruit extract and lactobacillus ferment. From the Himalayas, the brand says the terminalia chebula acts as a “cascading antioxidant” that protects from pollution and blue light, balancing and protecting the skin all day.

Oral wellness

Guru Nanda’s Oil Pulling Oil and Whitening Strips are all over wellness enthusiasts’ TikTok feeds. Both products claim to whiten teeth while boosting oral health. The products are spreading in social media as a backlash is brewing to the proliferation of fake-looking veneers.

Along the lines of Guru Nanda’s claims, brands at Adit Live Los Angeles are introducing oral products that work with natural ingredients and natural teeth to promote oral health and aesthetics. For instance, Laki Naturals’ latest launch is $11.99 Throat Soak, a Hawaiian sea salt-, chamomile- and zinc-infused  gargle and rinse for throat and mouth issues and overall oral wellness. According to the brand, salt is naturally antibacterial, and when used as a gargle, can help to maintain the pH balance in the mouth.

On the higher end of the oral care market, DJ Khaled-backed oral care brand Aurezzi incorporates silver and gold not just for their bling factor, but for the metals’ salubrious properties. Aurezzi COO Alexander Ruckemann explains, “Gold nanoparticles are known for their antimicrobial properties and anti-inflammatory properties which are beneficial for soothing gums and reducing inflammation in the oral cavity.” The brand launched in Sweden in 2021 and enters the American market this month with its range of ultra-luxe offerings, including a 24-karat gold-plated toothbrush priced at $59.

Amazon Hidden Gems

Amazon is a very different place for beauty than it was when Beauty Independent started almost seven years ago, and it was a playground for brands without well-known names created to respond to demand for specific ingredients and other product attributes Amazon shoppers were searching for. Today, brands of all sorts recognize the Amazon opportunity, and well-known brands’ hesitancy to join the giant e-tailer’s ranks has largely disappeared.

Despite increased competition from brands that might not have jumped into the Amazon fray in the past, there remain white spaces to exploit on the platform that companies with Amazon skills can take advantage of. Prime Prometics, a Latvian brand aimed at women over 50 years old, has identified one with its PrimeLash Mascara, a product developed to volumize and elongate thin, sparse lashes.

Prime Prometics discloses that it’s sold over 1 million units in three years, and its sales increased more than 200% last year. The pro-age brand that prides itself on makeup that “heals instead of hides” recently launched on Walmart’s site and is looking to further expand its retail reach in the United States.

Across various beauty and wellness categories, there are many brands like Prime Prometics that have discovered successful niches on Amazon. The brand D’Alba Piedmont has sold more than 20 million bottles of its White Truffle First Spray Serum, a multitasker promoted as being a mist, serum and setting spray all in one that’s the No. 1 facial spray on the platform.

Bask & Lather reports its Scalp Stimulator is the No. 1 hair oil on Amazon. The brand divulges it’s generated in excess of $16 million in sales in the last three years. The period care brand Pinkie calls itself the No. 1 bestselling teen pad brand on Amazon.

Next-Gen Clean Beauty Brands

With Cover Girl all over social media with ads for its Cleantopia mascara, the mainstreaming of clean beauty has officially occurred. That doesn’t mean emerging brands are abandoning clean beauty. Instead, they’re trying to push the clean beauty category forward.

Formulated by founder Summer Kingsbury, a skincare industry veteran who’s also the owner of facial boutique Seed in Collingwood, a town in Ontario, Canada, the brand Skin Frequency’s products, which forgo extras in favor of pared-down formulas focused on the fundamentals, combine biodynamic botanicals with the latest in active ingredient powerhouses. For example, it uses tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, the oil-soluble form of vitamin C designed to be stable and better for people with sensitive skin, terminalia chebula, an anti-aging Ayurvedic fruit, and essential oils sourced from local small farmers. Call it minimalism for the new age.

“We’re not about following trends or adhering to the status quo. In fact, those are a few of the reasons behind the inception of our brand. At Skin Frequency, we have our own lab, production facility and create our own formulations. This grants us complete control over every aspect of our ingredient obsessed products,” says Kingsbury. “I think about formulating differently from what I see on the market. I read the ingredients and think, why do these need to be there? I don’t want those on my skin, so I came up with a new and different way where every drop is beautiful and beneficial with no compromising.”

Skin Frequency has about seven products priced primarily from $31 to $80, including bestseller Enlighten, a brightener and exfoliator with niacinamide and willow bark. Other popular products include the aforementioned Equilibrium and Immortal, a bakuchiol and vitamin C serum.

Founded by Sara Lee, a former combat veteran and chef, the skincare brand Botanicary specializes in wildcrafted bio-active skincare. Lee explains that its extracts are from plants harvested at the peak of freshness. She says that contributes to the results of Botanicary’s skincare. In a clinical trial of its $89 No. 4 Rewind Ageless CICA Sculpting Crème, 86% of participants said their skin felt more nourished and 71% reported their skin was firmer and appeared more youthful.

Botanicary, which has about 13 products priced from $29 to $91, packages its products in glass and sustainable tree-free bamboo boxes. It plants a tree for each product purchased and donates 1% of its revenue to carbon-removal efforts. In addition to No. 4 Rewind Ageless CICA Sculpting Crème, a few of Botanicary’s products are No. 1 Reset Rose & Silk Cleansing Milk, No. 2 Refresh Orchid Stem Cell & Vitamin C Essence and No. 3 Resurface AHA & Enzyme Brightening Nectar.

“While the natural movement has gone mainstream, the majority of passionate skincare enthusiasts still reach for the high-end, luxury brands. Most ‘natural’ brands are either chemical-laden with a few natural ingredients thrown in or are lacking in efficacy and a luxurious experience,” says Lee. “At Botanicary, we skipped the ‘crunchy’ to bring our customers luxury without compromise.”