May 2, 2025: Beauty News to Know
If Ulta hosts a beauty convention in San Antonio and no one posts about it, does it make a sound?
Happy Friday, and welcome back to my little corner of the internet.
Are allergies hitting anyone else particularly hard this year? I’m not sick so much as I am deeply annoyed by the slight inconvenience.
Oh, and happy May! My wedding is officially next month—ah! We’re on track, but even so, I’m surprised how much is left to the last minute. Little notes, welcome bags, seating arrangements, song selections, dress fittings, and so on. My face is currently recovering from my last round of Clear + Brilliant before the wedding, so I’m on a strict suncreen-gentle-cleanser-gentle-moisturizer regime—boring but necessary. I have a few different posts planned regarding beauty prep and the wedding, which will likely be exclusive to paid subscribers. It’s never too late to support your favorite local beauty gal by upgrading your subscription:
On a completely separate note, I’d like to take a moment of silence for two recent fallen soldiers: Juice Beauty and Ren. Both were early adopters of the clean beauty movement, which I consistently rant and rage against, so I wasn’t a particularly passionate fan of either brand, but may they rest in peace.
Ahead, we’ve got rebrand woes, more beauty ambassadorships, and a brand that’s bringing together beauty, fashion, gaming, music, and “culture.”
Beauty’s Biggest Headlines
Boy Smells’ rebrand faces major consumer backlash—and simultaneous increased sales (Glossy)
TLDR: Boy Smells, a niche fragrance brand known for its queer-coded ethos (it released a poppers-scented candle last year for Pride Month) and genderless scents, finds itself in hot waters after unveiling what it calls “Boy Smells 2.0.” This goes far beyond a rebrand—yes, the classic pink-and-black packaging has been replaced with sleek, bicolored glass bottles that feel very Gen Z- and Alpha-targeted, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The brand lowered prices across the board, while discontinuing beloved scents like LES in lieu of new trendier gourmands, and reformulating all remaining fragrances. It’s worth noting this revamp comes after years of declining sales and diminishing awareness amid a fragrance-industry boom. Fans and early adopters are not happy with the changes—declaring the reboot a failure and accusing the brand of abandoning its queer heritage. And yet, Boy Smells seems to be doing quite well, according to reporting from Puck’s Rachel Strugatz, selling more products in three weeks than during an entire quarter last year.
The Glossed Over Take: Rebrands are hard to pull off, especially in fragrance, and especially when accompanied by reformulations. Still, the strong negative response—and slew of coverage from mainstream beauty publications—is surprising for an indie brand of its size. To me, Boy Smells always occupied a very specific spot in the fragrance zeitgeist: The type of brand you’d come across at a fancy pharmacy or shoppy shop every few months and think, “You know what? I deserve this moderately expensive candle.” You’d use up the candle and promptly forget about the brand until the cycle repeated itself. It’s important to keep in mind that most of the outspoken critics, at least the beauty writers, are far older than Boy Smells’ new target demo. And whatever they’re saying doesn’t really seem to matter much given the brand’s newfound success. As a self-proclaimed Zillennial, I find myself squarely in the middle of the Boy Smells 2.0 debate. There was a certain comfort and reliability to Boy Smells’ original brand, but honestly, I always found the old perfume packaging perplexing—that custom oversized black cap must’ve cost a ton of money for its nonexistent functionality—and the new embossed bottle is chic (there! I said it!). I can’t speak for the reformulations and new fragrances, but you can’t blame a brand for trying to keep up with the times, can you?
Japanese singer Rina Sawayama and American actress Chloë Grace Moretz announce GODMODE Beauty, a new brand combining gaming and beauty (Feed Me)
TLDR: Not a ton of information to report here yet, but the basics are as follows. Chloë Grace Moretz took to Instagram last week to introduce GODMODE, explaining the brand as, “where gaming meets beauty” with elements of her other passions, namely fashion, music, and culture, baked in. That’s a pretty tall order. The brand, which describes itself as “inspired by creativity of digital artists, fashion designers, and music tastemakers,” will release its first drop this coming month. No word on what exactly that will be, though according to its Instagram, we can expect “vibrant colors and otherworldly looks with high-performance formulas.”
The GO Take: The world certainly doesn’t need another celebrity beauty brand, but I will give Sawayama and Moretz credit for doing something different. From the bits we’ve gotten so far, GODMODE seems to be going for a sci-fi-meets-anime-meets-outer-space vibe that feels like a modern version of what r.e.m. beauty tried to do. The first launch will probably come with some sort of online gaming element, maybe your icon can wear the makeup on Roblox or some other e-verse? And then as for the music part, I don’t know, maybe there’s a playlist? Clearly, gaming and music are not my areas of expertise. It reminds me of celebrity makeup artist Jo Baker’s Bakeup Beauty, which, at one point, called itself a beauty brand for the multiverse—offering physical products as well as NFT iterations for the NFP (non fungible people) avatar community and augmented-reality wearables (read: photo filters) on Snapchat and Instagram. Given that it’s been largely erased from the brand’s website, I’m not sure if Bakeup still going for this angle. The forthcoming GODMODE represent a new frontier in beauty, but it’s unclear whether consumers are ready to embrace it.
Legacy brands (and good old normal ones) continue to shell out for celebrity and influencer sponsorships—and The Ordinary is calling them out (Multiple sources)
TLDR: We talked a lot about the influx of beauty brand-celebrity partnerships—Neutrogena’s work with Tate McRae and John Cena, as well as Lancôme’s partnership with Olivia Rodrigo. We’re now seeing influencers—who possess a very different, but still very real, type of fame—nab those coveted beauty endorsement deals, going far beyond the usual sponsored post or two. In the last few weeks, there’s been countless major influencer-led beauty campaigns: notably, Nara Smith for Cetaphil, Emma Chamberlain for Dove, Alix Earle for Pantene, and Liza Koshy for Supergoop (Note: Supergoop is not a legacy brand but still demonstrates my point). Elemis just signed Formula 1 racer Jessica Hawkins as an ambassador, too. With its latest NYC pop-up, The Ordinary is making sure everyone knows just how price-y those campaigns can be. The Secret Ingredient Store is meant to “shed light on the true cost of fame when it comes to skincare marketing,” noting that multimillion-dollar celebrity endorsements can raise product prices by between 30% to 100% or more. “We think the best product endorsements come from you, our community,” reads an Instagram post from The Ordinary.
The GO Take: Celebrity endorsements are some of the oldest marketing tactics in the book. Some work really well, others not so much. Is The Ordinary’s campaign going to make any real change on the celebrity-endorsement front? No, but I understand why it was done. The Ordinary’s brand is all about cutting through the bullshit of the beauty industry; it makes sense. That being said, I think its egg stunt had a larger impact. On the endorsement front, I think I favor the ones with influencers and athletes—if only because influencers tend to feel a bit more approachable than true celebrities and it’s nice to see athletes, particularly female athletes, get recognition in the beauty sphere. In general, I’m most interested in partnerships that come with a great story. For example, Alix Earle’s Pantene campaign was born from this organic TikTok. Maybe it wasn’t really organic, and this was all part of a long grift, but either way, it worked.
Ulta Beauty World happened (BoF)
TLDR: Ulta Beauty World, a consumer-focused convention that’s strikingly similar to Sephoria, took place April 26 in San Antonio, Texas. The one-day event wast hosted by Ulta Beauty associate-turned-beauty-influencer-and-beauty-brand-founder Mikayla Nogueira and featured activations from nearly 200 brands, offering on-the-spot sampling, experiential moments, interactive games, and photo opportunities. There were also live tutorials and music, opportunities to meet with brand founders, and bespoke DIY beauty goodies, like keychains and cowboy hats. Tickets were priced at $160, and sold out in late March or early April, with 1,500 attendees (including more than 80 influencers). All attendees took home a gift bag valued at over $1,000.
The GO Take: For someone whose social feeds are all algorithmically plugged into the beauty space, I saw surprisingly little about Ulta Beauty World. In fact, I’m not sure I even knew about the event beforehand. I’ve seen the same criticism from many loyal Ulta shoppers, who only learned of it after the fact. That feels like a massive oversight on Ulta’s part. As for the great Sephora versus Ulta debate, I’m going to compare Ulta Beauty World to Sephoria 2023 in New York City for two reasons: 1. I went to that Sephoria, and 2. The 2024 event was cancelled halfway through due to weather so the 2023 stats feel more complete. Sephoria 2023 featured around 55 brands, quite a weak showing compared to Ulta Beauty World’s nearly 200. On the flip side, Sephora’s multi-day event saw over 4,000 attendees, more than double the amount at Ulta Beauty World. I know Sephora had several events for influencers and media before the event began in addition to inviting them throughout the weekend—I’m not sure if that was the case for Ulta. Sephora has held Sephoria across several international hubs, including New York and Dubai, which makes sense for the brand and its identity. Likewise, I think Ulta’s choice of San Antonio is bang on, given the retailer’s focus on its core American audience. Unfortunately, I think Ulta really failed to adequately market the event, both before, during, and after. Hopefully it’ll course-correct in 2026.
Fresh on the Shelves
Kosas Plump + Juicy Gel Cleanser ($38) and Cleansing Oil ($48)
Release Date: Available now on Kosas’ e-commerce site.
What It Is: A quick overview of the product or launch.
The GO Take: I don’t think about Kosas a ton—and to be totally honest, that’s because I’m not always on its email list (Kosas PR team, let’s talk), so I feel like I might have a slightly skewed view of the brand. Regardless, it’s been a brand that’s perplexed me for a while. Some of the launches are major—coverage from every publication, try-ons from TikTok’s best, selling out of multiple shades. Others kind of fall flat—I’ve heard very little about the new setting spray, and only marginally more about the loose powder. This isn’t to say I don’t like the brand; I really do! I often recommend the Blush is Life baked blushes, DreamBeam SPF, and the Brow Pop Nano. I think these cleansers, which I was surprised to see are already available online, might be two more of Kosas’ quieter launches. I know several makeup brands try their hand at skincare—REFY and Hourglass come to mind immediately—and for some reason, it rarely lands for me. I don’t know why. I just feel like I come to Kosas to makeup, not skincare. Why change the game now? That being said, I would be willing to bet these formulas are pretty solid given the brand’s many skincare-makeup hybrids. I just don’t really care (though if Kosas PR wants to send it my way for testing along with a few refills, I once again say, let’s talk).
Tower28 SOS FaceGuard Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($32)
Release Date: Available on Sephora.com and Tower28’s e-commerce site May 19th, and in stores May 22.
What It Is: A mineral sunscreen with a subtle tint and creamy, hydrating texture. Clinically proven to be non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic, the SPF has three medical seals of approval: the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance, National Psoriasis Foundation Seal of Recognition and the National Rosacea Society Seal of Acceptance.
The GO Take: Sunscreen launches from beloved brands are always exciting. Even Brandon said something when this came in the mail last week—he’s a huge fan of the SOS Spray. I haven’t tried this yet (I’m sorry! I promise post-wedding I’ll be more on top of testing new products), but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t very good. Tower28 makes great, simple formulas that work for even the most sensitive of skin types, and I know founder Amy Liu wouldn’t put out a half-baked product.
Emi Jay Heavenly Hair Milk ($40)
Release Date: Available exclusively through the Sephora app on May 5, on Sephora.com and Emi Jay’s e-commerce site May 6, and in stores May 16.
What It Is: A lightweight three-in-one hair milk that detangles, smooths, and protects. It’s lightly fragranced with a milky vanilla scent featuring notes of sweet almond and creamy oat. The brand says the milk helps reduce drying time, but I can’t tell if that’s for heat styling, air drying, or both. It provides heat protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and reduces frizz with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, quinoa seed, and flaxseed oil.
The GO Take: I really like Emi Jay’s clips, but beyond the Angelstick, I haven’t been particularly interested in its haircare launches. I’m very low maintenance when it comes to my hair and very loyal to my routine, so this has more to do with me than it does the brand. I imagine this will do fairly well, and I like the focus on the fragrance aspect.
Most Valuable Product
Cyklar Vanilla Verve Sensorial Body Wash ($35)
Why It Stood Out: I didn’t really care about Cyklar when it initially launched—founded by Claudia Sulewski (or as I know her, Billie Eilish’s brother’s girlfriend), it seemed like another middle-of-the-road influencer brand. But after an investment from The Center, the brand incubator and investment firm behind Phlur, Make, Prequel, and Saltair, and a complete rebrand with a new focus on fragrance, Cyklar finally piqued my interest. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every product I’ve tried from the brand, and I think the body wash in Vanilla Verve is especially great—I actively look forward to using it in the shower. It has a silky gel-oil feel that works into a nice lather and leaves skin feeling soft (not sticky or stripped). The vanilla scent is nuanced and mature, with notes of bergamot, green cardamom, musk, and amber. It’s a sexy, spicy, and layered gourmand that feels wearable year-round. It leaves behind a subtle-but-present whiff that layers nicely with other scents or can be amplified with the corresponding body cream, body oil, and perfume oil.
Final Thoughts
That’s all I’ve got for this week, folks. I need to go take another Allegra or blow my nose or something. If you like what you’ve read, please consider liking, restacking, and commenting on this post—I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!
As always, thank you for being here; your support really means the world to me. Glossed Over has nearly 400 subscribers, and it’s growing every day!
Here’s a picture of my dog looking like a sweet little baby for good measure.
Xx