The annual escape has begun! Nah, not the hell of Heathrow airport, but the olfactory escape of citrus colognes and wanderlust perfumes. While last year’s big summer scent was all about the return to eau-de-sun-sea-and-sex beachy hedonism, I feel this summer leans more to Mediterranean citruses and herbaceous green notes. (more…)
It’s official, we’re moving into a new era of beauty. Thanks to The Future Laboratory and its robust 2022 Beauty, Health and Wellness report, we can look ahead not only to the next 2-3 years, but future gaze on the next ten years of what TFL terms ‘Accredited Beauty’.
Taking influences and data from recent social and economic world events, Accredited Beauty describes a new era of informed consuming in which brands will be expected to back up claims with expertise and evidence. Why? Because we’ve learned to ‘follow the science’, check our facts and interrogate misinformation and disinformation. (more…)
A trend that was already on the up pre-Covid has exploded in the last year or so. Beauty subscription schemes have evolved beyond product edits and sampling boxes (although those are still going great guns – hello Liberty The Beauty Drop*) to genuinely useful services that save time and money. Specifically: skincare subscriptions.
Thanks to an overall trend in which skincare has become part of the self-care canon (one of the premises of my book, Face Values), start-up founders have spotted a market for people who are interested in the benefits of skincare, but overwhelmed by products and advice. (more…)
Here’s another recent beauty discovery that speaks to our desire for visual and tactile sensory stimulation. Oquist is a fascinating Swedish skincare brand whose USP is its packaging. Plastic or glass bottles are rejected in favour of terracotta ‘sculptures’.
Why? Because the raw material comes from the earth, so in theory, when you’re done with them, you can simply return them back to the soil. Although the founders have a better idea – to repurpose them as household objects. Namely vases, tea bowls and beautiful lidded vessels. (more…)
