Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and Sweet Valley Twins.
Included in today’s issue: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Beauty Pie, By/Rosie Jane, Danessa Myricks, Deinde, Drmtlgy, DS & Durga, Estée Lauder, Fenty Hair, Fwee, Gucci Beauty, Image Skincare, La Prairie, Made by Mitchell, Maelys, Makeup by Mario, Milk Makeup, Origins, Salt & Stone, Sam Edelman, Sarah Creal, Shaquille O’Neal, Sofie Pavitt, Sulwhasoo, Thrive Causemetics, Victoria’s Secret, Wild and fridge cigarettes.
But first…
The Substack stylists are talking about “turtleneck hair” at a party for With Nothing Underneath, the IYKYK London brand, in Tribeca. There are three of them — long necks and Leset skirts and those twisty gold rings from Rachel Comey and Paola Sighinolfi that you jam on unmanicured fingers to make it look like you’ve “done” something. They stand in their black brogues, which are a little too warm for the weather but look like real business on Reels. They say the phrase “turtleneck hair” so many times that I begin to wonder if I’m in a summoning circle, if this is a coven, if there’s some kind of magic happening with a dry shampoo and a wool collar from Extreme Cashmere. “It’s not just turtlenecks though,” says the one with an affiliate link tally that can (and does) pay her West Village mortgage. “You can do it with a trench coat, too.”
Indeed, “turtleneck hair” had its first merchandised moment in the trenches of Burberry circa 2010, when hairstylist Sam McKnight pushed his models’ hair strands into the edges and napes of their shearling lapels, making their hair look like a series of waves coming up from Burberry’s jackets for air. A few years later, we got “The Olsen Tuck,” an Ashley-fied favourite move of pulling a Row sweater over your head and refusing to re-smoothe your hair. (Vogue’s Margaux Anbouba prefers to call it “the Philo Tuck” because of Phoebe Philo’s apres-Celine bows, when she often appeared, pleased and poufed, in the same style. Her official house portrait does, too.) Call it “rushed wealth,” the idea that you don’t need people to think you’re glamorous or expensive, because you’re too busy doing glamorous, expensive things. Things like using Oribe’s $52 Gold Lust hairspray ensures your wayward blowout commits the right kind of misbehavior.
The Substack influencers were piling onto the “turtleneck hair” at Toteme’s Fall 2025 show and Khaite’s “Olsen tucks” at their Fall 2025 show. They’re vibing with the “milk manicures” that show a tiny bit of the bare nail underneath (which therefore require fewer coats of polish and less drying time). The “ghost lashes” trend that spiked in late July was a similar bid for hurried glamour — who has time for mascara when you’re trying to find your jet on the Teterboro tarmac?
Fashion and beauty have often favoured the lie of an “effortless” look. The better to gatekeep you with, my dear. The “rushed wealth” coveted by that makeshift Tribeca coven is the next step in that chain of tenuous belonging, which hinges on withholding an extra sweep of OPI gel lacquer and ensuring your Ilia mascara is brown instead of black. But there are those oblivious to the runways of “rushed wealth” purveyors like TWP and Lemaire (and likely, from what I’m hearing, from Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta), or even to current echoes at H&M and Mango. Enter “The Diplomat,” the Netflix Emmy nomination factory that features Keri Russell as a flawed political savant — and makes a punchline of her constantly careless hair. (The show counts Konnor Ryan and Nat Fox as its key stylists.) “The Diplomat’s” third season premieres on Oct. 16, and while I cannot reveal any plot details, I can say that Russell is the perfect ambassador for the coming “rushed wealth” frenzy. She is gorgeous, she is busy, she is the wearer of many turtlenecks and trench coats, and she’s simply too busy trying to be a diplomat to pull her hair onto her shoulders. How aspirational is that?
What else is new…
Skincare
La Prairie’s Pure Gold Revitalizing Essence was formulated specifically for menopausal skin, which is deeply cool. The $530 formula launched on Sept. 1 with clinical results on collagen restoration and firmness.
On Sept. 1, Wild announced British tennis ace Emma Raducanu as its first-ever brand ambassador. She appears in videos and print ads for the refillable body care brand, which is a certified B Corp. Wild was acquired by Unilever earlier in April and also sometimes smells like lollipops.
Sulwhasoo’s Essential EX Collection hit shelves on Sept. 1, and it has nothing to do with former boyfriends. The skincare trio (firming cream, toner and emulsion) is targeted at shoppers aged 23 to 34 (very precise!) as a way to set the complexion up “for long-term resilience.”
It’s apple-picking season at Origins. On Sept. 1, the Lauder-backed brand rolled out its Apple Butter Cleansing Balm, part of its Youthtopia skincare franchise. The formula has shea butter and apple seed oil, and promises to strip makeup without drying skin.
Nordstrom got the exclusive on Eighth Day’s Ultra-Rich Intensive Moisturizer, which hit shelves on Sept. 2 and is “clinically shown to reduce fat loss in skin by up to 29 percent.” The cream is $290 for 50 ml, but if you can afford enough off-label Mounjaro that you’re losing facial plumpness, this shouldn’t be a budget problem.
Can we take a break from the super-long product names? On Sept. 2, Beauty Pie launched its Youthbomb Extreme Retinal Triple Renewal Serum, a $99 bottle that has the same word count as some of my early blog posts.
Salt & Stone introduced body cream into its repertoire on Sept. 2 with three signature scents: Santal & Vetiver, Bergamot & Hinoki, and Saffron & Cedar. Each tub retails for $42 and includes Erewhon smoothie ingredients like spirulina and seaweed extract.
Deinde’s Instant-Calming Recovery Gel is being touted for “post-procedure care after cosmetic treatments,” which is a pretty remarkable skincare category. (The brand says you can also use it for sunburn, windburn, retinol scaries and general irritation.) It debuted on Sept. 4 for $42.
The race is on for injectable results without any jabs. Drmtlgy swears — swears! — they’ve got the formula with Needle-less Growth Factor Serum, a $75 bottle that relies on the purple swertia flower from the Himalayas, plus hyaluronic acid and tremella mushroom.
Makeup
Milk Makeup introduced Kush Big Hit mascara on Aug. 29. It’s a volumising formula in a bright green tube, and a rounder brush engineered for lengthening.
Fridge cigarettes are getting the beauty treatment. On Sept. 2, Fwee introduced its Cola Collection, a $17 gloss that mirrors the sticky glaze of Cherry Coke or the deeper sheer tint of Clinique’s Black Honey. (They’re literally calling it “the perfect dupe” in their press materials. Bold!) Rather go for something more elegant (and more expensive)? Estée Lauder introduced Glossy Pout Lip Oil on Sept. 2 with eight shades of super-shiny colour, including a deep berry called Mulberry Glaze that will also get the job done for $32. (The original Clinique Black Honey is currently $26, FWIW.)
On Sept. 2, Sarah Creal dropped six shades of kohl eyeliner made specifically “for eyes over 40.” The pencils promise 24-hour endurance, with a smudge-proof formula that won’t flake around lid creases or migrate under your eyes.
In July of 2024, Made by Mitchell became the first brand to earn $1 million in a single day on TikTok Shop. This week, the brand by vlogger Mitchell Halliday (mmmmitchell) officially entered Ulta Beauty with 11 items, including its viral Blursh, an ultralight creme pigment in various pinks, peaches and bronzes.
Not even a slipping credit rating can deter a fabulous brow. Just ask Anastasia Beverly Hills, the beleaguered makeup brand that launched its Microstroke Detailing Brown Pen on Sept. 4 in nine ultra-precise shades meant to mimic, or perhaps even surpass, a microblading session.
Makeup By Mario’s foundation dropped on Sept. 4 with 32 shades and a blurring, medium-weight formula. If you want to swatch it, you’ll have to head to Sephora — they’ve got the IRL exclusive.
It’s tricky to totally reinvent a category, but Danessa Myricks might have done it. On Sept. 4, the online makeup artist unveiled Yummy Skin Liquid Blurring Spray, a mattifying formula that acts like a pressed powder, but spritzes on for a lighter, more even application. It’s $36 at Sephora and pretty cool.
Thrive Causemetics debuted a new shade of its Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara on Sept. 4. The new shade is… drumroll… grey. Let’s see how this goes.
And wait… omg… did you guys know you can get Rhode at Sephora now? 😉
Fragrance
Marie Antoinette Fall continues! On Sept. 1, D.S. & Durga dropped Cognac Reign, a fragrance with notes of expensive aged booze, bergamot, “antique wood” and limousine oak. The visuals are kind of “opulent Halloween” coded, with a model in super-white face paint, a noodle-headed wig and corsetry, posing on a graffiti-covered subway seat.
Prozac in a bottle? Initio’s Lift Me Up fragrance rolled out on Sept. 1 with ylang ylang, bergamot, tonka bean and vanilla. The functional fragrance claims to “bottle the sun’s revitalising energy” and is sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus. (But they should try to do a Disneyland pop-up, right?)
It’s a big day if you want your ponytail to smell like Rihanna. On Sept. 1, Fenty debuted its Mista Hair & Body Mist, which includes notes of coconut, lily of the valley and amber. It’s $30 at Sephora.com, with rollouts later this month in brick-and-mortar stores.
Gucci’s newest scents sound like incantations. Meet Muschio Mineralis, Muschio di Luce, Rosa Sublime, and Rosa Incandescente, which hit shelves (and perhaps sorcery books) on Sept. 2 for $415 each.
According to JCPenney, Shaquille O’Neal smells like grapefruit, tonka bean and suede. The mega-mall chain debuted the basketball legend’s first cologne on Sept. 3 after selling his big-and-tall line of affordable basics since 2018.
Want your house to smell like downtown darling Sofie Pavitt’s facial treatment rooms? Starting Sept. 4, it can. The New York skincare guru partnered with the brand Sidia to create “The Studio,” a yuzu- and rhubarb-scented formula inspired by Pavitt’s Manhattan space.
Sam Edelman made a perfume called Duet, inspired by ballet-core and counts 25-year-old singer Charlotte Lawrence as its face. Unlike many Gen-Z scents, this one smells like mandarin and fig instead of strawberry shortcake, which is surprising considering the bottle is shaped like a giant cartoon ballet slipper. (Obviously, I love this deeply.)
By/Rosie Jane is going steady with Sephora. On Sept. 4, the Los Angeles-based brand launched Remi, a retail-exclusive scent with mandarin, cardamom and white amber. Besides the traditional $80 spray, the fragrance also comes as a $48 perfume oil.
On Sept. 2, Victoria’s Secret announced its first six Angels for 2025, including Alex Consani, Yumi Nu, Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, Anok Yai and Lily Aldridge. (Yay! Great choices!) This comes alongside the much quieter intel that VS Beauty has hired a “Director of Innovation.” It’s Ashley Fodor, who trained under Emily Dougherty at Elle in the 2010s before copywriting for VS Beauty, then working as a marketing director for Symrise, the fragrance house behind DKNY’s Be Delicious.
And finally…
Way back in Ye Olde 1980s, there was a book series called “Sweet Valley Twins.” It was problematic in the usual ways — its flaxen blonde heroines, Jessica and Elizabeth, were “a perfect size six” with wealthy parents and zero awareness of true rock ‘n’ roll. But it was also loads of fun for the girls, like me, who were too young to read it, but did anyway. In the very first book, Jessica plays a vile prank on a larger classmate in a quest to be popular, replacing the poor outcast’s whipped cream sundae with a shaving-cream one instead. Where am I going with this? Well, on Sept. 1, the skincare brand Maelys released a custom whipped cream flavour with the indie food brand Whipnotic. It’s based on Maelys’ viral whipped body lotion, Get Taut, which also comes in a foamy swirling dispenser. And of course, looking at the photos, all I could think was, “Oh my god, don’t tell Jessica Wakefield,” who is fictional. But still.
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