business of beauty

Business of beauty: who will be the next make-up mogul?



Violette beauty line

With a couple of recent beauty brand launches, it’s interesting to speculate who will be the next make-up-artist-turned-make-up-mogul after Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury. I’m currently enjoying watching the rise of Gucci Westman and Westman Atelier, but next in the running we have Violette Serrat and Lisa Eldridge.

Violette rose quickly from freelance MUA to Estee Lauder Global Beauty Director after growing a dedicated following of her beautifully shot (and very ‘French girl style’) YouTube videos. Her aspirational but relatable style now translates to Violette_FR, a capsule beauty line that includes Boum Boum Milk spray serum, liquid eye shadows and – already! – a unisex musk oil perfume (above). (more…)



This brand wants to sex up sunscreen



Vacation by poolside FM

It’s happened with skincare, it’s happening with oral care, could Vacation by Poolside FM be the ones to make sunscreen a feel-good ritual, not a chore?

There are many reasons we all love to hate sunscreen. It’s expensive, it’s impractical (who can be arsed to reapply it throughout the day?!), it feels icky or it leaves a white zinc oxide cast on the skin. It’s just not a pleasure.

Enter Vacation by Poolside FM, a brand extension of the 80s throwback online radio station and app. Its premise is to make a sunscreen as nostalgic and joy-inducing as the radio station (more…)



TRP Travel Retail Style Index: March 2021



Cho Gi Seok for CR Fashion Book

Welcome to the latest travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP).

This month’s highlights are a new sustainability experience pop-up in Hainan, China as well as region-centric luxury launches in the Middle East and Asia that hint at a return to localised exclusivity.

1/ LANCÔME’S SUSTAINABLE PURPOSE. I’m impressed with the way Lancôme has translated its latest sustainability message of ‘Caring Together for a Happier Tomorrow’ into an interactive pop-up in Sanya, Hainan. The campaign space celebrates the launch of Lancôme Absolue Rose Soft Cream Refill Set amidst a sea of roses at the resort island’s China Duty Free shopping mall atrium.

Instead of the usual selfie-culture beauty-tech attractions, Lancôme has switched to an informative note. Once inside the pop-up, guests can create a virtual rose bouquet as a pledge to plant a physical rose at the company’s Domaine de la Rose farm in Grasse, France, or they are whisked away on a virtual bike ride around the rose farm while they learn about Lancôme’s renewable energy production. (more…)



TRP Travel Retail Style Index: January 2021



Helena Rubinstein gold leaf hand massage CDFG Sanya

Welcome to the latest travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP).

As the first update of the New Year, we kick off with a brief look at the new laws for duty free here in the UK, as well as some positive retail news from China.


1/ SEE EU LATER.
This month, there will undoubtedly be much Brexsplaining going on as travellers come to terms with the cancellation of tax-free shopping refunds for luxury fashion purchases in the UK. As of 1 January, the government has abolished the VAT Refund Scheme for non-EU travellers in the UK, meaning that shoppers from overseas can no longer claim their tax back on luxury purchases when they return home, unless the goods are shipped separately from the traveller (cost prohibitive). Meanwhile, the good news is that duty-free shopping is back for travel between the UK and EU (for alchohol and tobacco only), which means a Brexit bonanza for fans of the booze cruise. (more…)