Is the threat of tariffs a good thing?

Can a contraction in the skincare space lead to a course correction?

Welcome to Beauty Bureau!

How’s your week so far? It’s really July ya’ll… wow. It’s only been a month, but I’m really enjoying writing this newsletter. Today’s newsletter is an op ed. I’d love to know what you think!

P.S. I’m interviewing Soft Rows founder, Quani Burnett for an upcoming feature. I’m accepting questions from readers to include in the interview. Send your question to hello@dardencreative.com by Friday July 4th.

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Around the Web

Haircare line Color Wow is acquired by L’Oréal Group. The acquisition signals a trend for “professional, high performance” products, similar to the desire for quality, chemical grade and effective products in skincare.

Ellie the Elephant is an Influencer ya’ll. Essie has chosen Ellie as their first celebrity spokesperson. I really love New York Liberty’s mascot Ellie the Elephant. She has created her own momentum that extends outside of the arena. I need to get to a Liberty game. Who can make that happen?!

Topicals shares promo spot for Smoothing Bar. The new promo includes emerging stars: LA Lakers Jarred Vanderbilt and Seattle Storm Guard, Lexie Brown.

topicals

A post shared by @topicals

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Is the threat of tariffs a good thing for the skincare industry?

Not too long ago, there was a period of time when everyone and their mama launched a skincare line. With many of us home looking at our screens we needed solutions to solve our crow’s feet and dark spots. From mass market to prestige, we experienced a skincare boom during the pandemic. There was a explosion of skincare lines and even celebrities (who have access to the best skincare and aestheticians) got in on the fun including: Jennifer Lopez, Ciara, John Legend, Naomi Osaka, Kim and Kylie Kardashian and Alicia Keys. ¹ You too could have bright and smooth skin like them! Celebrities, they’re just like us!(not) Moreover, Korean skincare and the 18 step skincare routine ushered in a season of skincare maximalism with single use face and eye masks, toners, serums and multiple moisturizers. In other words, everyone is doing too much.

In recent years however, the space has cooled down, with a handful of brands decreasing distribution (J.Lo Beauty leaving Sephora for example) or shuttering. Experts estimated that between 2018 and 2025, the skincare industry was set to increase annual revenues by $4.9B however, the rate of growth was projected to be 3.2% compared to the average of 5.5%.

Of course $4 billion is nothing to sneeze at but there are multiple reasons for this cool down including: consumer shopping behaviors, shifting skincare trends, less funding opportunities and the threat of Trump’s tariffs casting a looming shadow over many consumers and founders.

Trump’s tariffs, which now have a July 9th deadline, are causing a ripple effect that is affecting consumers and founders alike, with many making adjustments (shopping and sourcing respectively). Consumer spending declined in May by 0.3% cutting back on luxury purchases (and I’m not talking about groceries). Meanwhile many suppliers who rely on China for raw materials (i.e. packaging and ingredients) for skincare products are scurrying to find alternatives.

I have a less is more approach to living (I blame Erykah Badu’s song Bag Lady) so I may be biased. But considering consumers’ fatigue, less brands being able to go to market or having to decrease retail distribution and skincare’s shifting trends, it’s possible these factors can lead to a course correction in the skincare industry where less is more and quality trumps (no pun intended) excess.

Can a contraction lead to a course correction?

Simpler beauty routines vs over complicated multi-step routines

Experts agree that over complicated multi step routines lead to more breakouts and damage our skin barrier. Consumers learned the hard way that doing too much leads to breakouts. As a result, many are going back to a simple 3-5 step skincare routine (cleanser, 1-2 serums, moisturizer and sunscreen).

Beauty influencer and “In Rotation” guest Seyi shared her experience: When I first started to experiment with skincare and makeup routines I found myself doing the absolute most to get the results that I would see other influencers have only to damage my skin barrier. There is no one size fits all when it comes to beauty. Different things work for different people. Honestly you only need 4-5 great products in your rotation to achieve visibly healthy skin.