The Business of Beauty Haul of Fame: Off-Label Meds… Or Skincare?

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and a tiny suggestion that scrunchies might be a viable accessory now. (Sorry.)

Included in today’s issue: Allies of Skin, Alpyn Beauty, By/Rosie Jane, Fenty Beauty, Gen See, ghd, Hanni, Hourglass Cosmetics, J.R. Liggett, Louis Vuitton, Morphe, Naturium, Nyx, Pottery Barn, Quip, RMS Beauty, Snowfox Skincare, and Tamagotchis.

But first…

I’m friends with a TV star who rose to fame as a dream-girl blonde in the 1990s. She’s now 55, but her face doesn’t look it. “Fillers?” I asked her. “Estrogen,” she corrected. “You get it prescribed as a cream during menopause. You’re supposed to use it vaginally. But everyone in Hollywood uses it as a skin cream, even in their 30s and 40s. They’re doing it off-label.”

Her phrasing made me curious. Even five years ago, “off-label” was a medical term. Now the phrase — which means using a prescription substance for something other than its intended purpose — is a rising beauty buzzword. That’s mostly thanks to Ozempic, the diabetes regulator that’s now used as weight loss candy off-label, of course.

Today, “off-label skincare” is a popular TikTok tag, with recent view surges for the Juvaderm injectable Skinvive, along with estrogen and tretinoin, a Vitamin A derivative used for acne and fine lines. Even Josie Maran, the Maybelline model turned natural beauty entrepreneur, told her 260 thousand followers that she was using her argan oil “off-label” in a recent Instagram reel. She was employing it as a heel moisturiser and cuticle oil.

Why is “off-label” so on-trend? Partly because in today’s super-stressful medical landscape, feeling like you might know better than your doctor — and certainly better than Big Pharma — is a way to take back some agency from opaque insurance bills, impossible appointment bookings, and the very real fear that your doctor just isn’t listening to you.

Who is listening? Marketing executives and entrepreneurs.

Which brings us to the menopause-led brand Alloy, one of the brands hopping on the off-label tagline with their M4 Estriol cream. Created last year and available for about $50 per tube, the cream is “a powerhouse for ageing skin,” according to Dr. Corinne Menn, one of Alloy’s prescribing physicians, who dealt with early menopause herself after combating breast cancer.

“Estrogen is responsible for stimulating collagen production and creating hyaluronic acid,” said Dr. Menn. “That’s what fillers are made of — but we can stimulate our bodies to create it naturally when estrogen is around. In my opinion, that’s a much better way to go.”

Many studies and doctors agree with Dr. Menn. Many others — including my gold standard, the OBGYN Dr. Jenn Gunter, have said there’s too little evidence and too many unknowns, which is a real risk when dealing with skincare chemicals. So this week, Alloy released a new peer-reviewed study about the cream’s safety and effectiveness when used as directed by a doctor. Dr. Menn hopes that Alloy and other companies can use the added science, along with studies by menopause experts like Dr. Ellen to take the off-label trend and turn it into an on-label reality.

“I once used my vaginal cream as an eye cream for sure,” she laughed. “And it was good! But that part of the body is… uh… wetter. Your face absorbs products differently. So when a brand gives you an on-label option, you know, it’s not trying to trick you. It’s trying to give you better results.”

Allies of Skin introduced its Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum on July 10. It “promotes skin recovery by addressing the seven telltale signs of a damaged barrier,” and comes in the deep blue packaging also favoured by Augustinus Bader and Prequel.

Starting July 10, Alpyn Beauty’s Willow & Sweet Agave Plumping Lip Mask will be available in a tube instead of a jar, which is great for anyone trying to apply in-flight skincare without actually touching the face.

J.R. Liggett’s Body Oil in a Bar is a solid moisturiser that boasts plastic-free packaging (yay!). Available starting July 9, it’s meant to be used wet or dry, and made with coconut, lavender, jojoba and almond oils.

Quip’s 360 Oscillating Toothbrush launched on July 10, with a teeny tiny head to actually scrub every individual tooth. Have you heard of people using (new, clean) Quip brush heads as pedicure tools during DIY spa days? It’s happening.

Snowfox Skincare’s Anti-Pollution Bio Polymer Serum hits shelves on July 11. Its founder, Phoebe Song, says “pollution is one of the worst enemies of sensitive skin.” She is totally correct — which is why I assume all her products are made without plastic or single-use packaging, right? Right? (Insert Natalie Portman Star Wars meme here.)

Hanni — the self-proclaimed “go-to for lazy people”— has a new body care stick called The Fatty. It hit shelves on July 9 and includes lots of fatty acids to help moisturise skin. It does not include fragrance, which might be why the National Eczema Association gave it their seal of approval, a first for the brand.

On July 8, Herbivore unveiled Blue Wave, a salicylic acid serum with blue tansy, a teeny tiny flower that grows around the Mediterranean shoreline, and has been used as a folk remedy for burns.

Makeup

Naturium’s first batch of Phyto-Glow Lip Balms sold out four times. Its new range, the Fruity Collection, drops on July 12 and includes watermelon, strawberry, mango and peach flavours. They cost $10 and the tweens in my life have already swiped them from my purse.

Fenty Beauty’s hotly anticipated Gloss Bomb hybrid lipsticks and Trace’d Out lip pencils go live on their website starting July 12. There are ten shades each, including the absolute banger of a name “Blaz’d Donut.” It’s a light pink beige and I’m sold.

Want a cheaper option? Nyx Cosmetics introduced six new shades of their Fat Oil, which is also a hybrid lip pigment, on July 9. It’s about half the price of Fenty, but the names — “Chillin Like a Villain” and “Living the Cream”— could use some work.

More blush! (Who’s surprised?) Gen See’s Flush Glow sticks launched on July 9 with five cheeky shades that can be used as a blush, highlight or contour. It features the cream-to-powder finish that seems to be very popular this season, and also appreciated in a heatwave, where you don’t want to feel like your creamy makeup is melting off. Meanwhile, Morphe’s Hot Shot Blush Drops debuted on July 11 with a water-based formula that lets colour build from sheer to “Dove Cameron at Valentino.” There are also Hot Shot Sun Drops for bronzing. And Hourglass Cosmetics has Unreal Liquid Blush, a serum-like formula, dropping the same day.

A certain corner of the internet is going insane because Tamagotchi, that little Japanese toy that looks like a robot egg from a Happy Meal, is getting its own makeup line — mostly pots of jelly-coloured lip gloss. It’s courtesy of parent company Bandai, and hit the internet on July 5.

Hair Care

On July 10, ghd released its Duet Blowdry tool, an electric dryer wand that uses “20 percent less energy consumption” than previous models while promising zero heat damage and visible shine and body. It’s $400, or about 8 blowouts at Drybar.

Fragrance

RMS Beauty’s first perfume, Scarlet Moon, launched on July 9. It’s a collaboration with Douglas Little from Heretic Perfumes (which makes a surprisingly good bug spray!) and smells like blood oranges.

On July 9, By/Rosie Jane introduced its Missy fragrance as a body oil. It’s still got pineapple, mandarin and amber notes, but now it can slide around your legs after a shower.

Louis Vuitton unveiled a campaign for its LVERS fragrance on July 10. The scent is “inspired by light and photosynthesis” and the imagery includes sun-drenched shots of shirtless men in jorts holding perfume bottles like skateboards. This is actually kind of thrilling, and it seems Pharrell is determined to shake up the ways men see luxury fragrance. Let’s see how it goes.

And finally

Did you know Pottery Barn sells $40 scrunchies now? There are also sheepskin Prada scrunchies happening. I fear this is going to be a thing.