The Niche Beauty Brands Poised to Dominate in 2025, According to Us! Plus - The French Pharmacy Renaissance and Embracing Slow Beauty.

0:00The following podcast is a dear media production.

0:07Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products, and moments in beauty. We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins.

0:20Welcome back to Breaking Beauty podcast, everyone. I'm Jill Dunn, one of your co-hosts. I'm sitting here alongside Carlene Higgins like we are every single Wednesday in your feed. Hi, Carlene. Hello, Jill. So, of course, we are two longtime beauty editors turned beauty podcasters. And we're in your feeds every single Wednesday with the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty. And we're mid-January at this point. Blue Monday is behind us. I still have not looked at my credit card bills. So there's that. In today's episode, we're kind of like looking ahead in 2025 about what we're excited about, what products we think are going to pop off.

0:55some launches that we think are coming with, you know, it's a bit of a vibe check. And I want to talk about some of those. And we're going to round out today's conversation with a very exciting interview. Yes. So one of the brands that we're excited about is called Neal's Yard. You're going to find out why toward the end of this episode. But we are doing kind of like a phone a friend and partnership with our friends at Neal's Yard with the CEO and co-owner. Her name is Annabelle Kindersley. And I met her when I was in New York and we had a great conversation about beeswax and this idea of vegan skincare.

1:35And I was like, it's kind of sad that beeswax has gone out the window with this kind of rise of vegan skincare. So people, you know, maybe you're going to come at me, but honestly, hear me out, hear her out. We're going to talk about this toward the end of the episode, the case for beeswax in skincare and why it's actually better for the bees. Okay. Interesting. I am curious about that. So in today's episode, we're going to be talking about some skincare that we're excited about, some makeup launches. So let's kick it off, Carleen. I want to hear a little bit about what's on your radar for 2025.

2:12Yeah. So Pamela Anderson, you know, I'm really into her whole no makeup look. She really ruled 2024, I would say, and representing the Gen X. I really want to see that movie that she was in. Showgirl. Showgirl. Last Showgirl. Last Showgirl. She just, she got like such great buzz for that performance. So I can't wait to see it. So probably most of our listeners know that she got involved with a brand called Saunsi Skincare, which is kind of like that all natural, really minimalist, like feels like a small batch brand maybe about a year ago now. So she invested in that brand, but we really didn't see her involved in it.

2:51So it was just like, what is happening? Well, finally, what's happening now is that she helped to develop some new products. There's a cleansing mousse, which was formulated with a natural essence of rose hips. And this was apparently inspired by her rose garden. and she told WWD, I start every day. I start each day when I'm home in my rose garden. So I felt, how do I bring that with me? So this is a very like back to nature type of approach, but I have sensitive skin. I like rosehip oil. So I want to try this. And she also co-created with the brand, a moisture mask, a super serum and a lip balm.

3:31So finally, I'm excited to try that right now that she's actually stepping up. What about you? So tell us about Paris Hilton, because I heard that this is more than just like a brand that's launching. It seems to be part of her media enterprise. What do you know? Right. It's it's called 1111. And what was really interesting to me is that she's gone on a few podcasts to do to do a bit of a soft launch. And she talked about how she she said, I've I feel really proud that I'm all natural. Oh, yes. Quote. I stayed out of the sun. I've never done any Botox injectables, no surgery, nothing. Yeah. Are you buying that?

4:14Well, I do believe what she said next, which is that her mother told her from a very early age to say to stay out of the sun. Kathy Hilton. She's like very beauty focused. And I do believe that, that her mom probably taught her really good habits. And having watched Paris's documentary, Paris and Love, she has an entire wing basically of her house called that's dedicated to spa treatments. It's called the Sliving Spa. Oh, my gosh. And so she has like an LED bed in there. She has all these gadgets. And I do believe that she does a lot of maintenance. Do I think she's probably had Botox? Yeah. Or a nose job or something?

4:53Yeah, but I mean, I actually don't know if she's had a nose job, but she has a really great nose. That's for sure. It's going to be coming out in March. So, yeah, to your point, Carlene, it's 1111 Media and it's this entertainment company that's like the center of pop culture. So she does content, community commerce, and it spans a lot of businesses. So it just makes sense that she's getting into skincare and I will be trying it. Yeah. I've been trying to track down the PR. So yeah, I'll stay tuned for that. So does that mean that there will be some kind of a website that will kind of have more content?

5:31Yeah. I mean, she has content that is around her DJing career, all of those things. And then the beauty vertical will be another one. Like a life, kind of a lifestyle. Yeah. And she's coming back, I do believe, with Nicole Richie on like The Simple Life. There's a 2.0. So that all makes sense. Like when you're going to be on TV like that or you're going to have another show, why not branch out into beauty? Yeah, well, she sort of did before. She had a skincare line back in the day. Right. I don't remember anything about it. Didn't really go anywhere. She has fragrances as well, which are still popular.

6:05I think, yeah, the skincare line, I can't really remember what happened. It was just like bad timing, I think, maybe before it's time. So we'll see. But I mean, I'm a fan. I find her entertaining. And now that she's a mom, I find her more relatable. Yeah. I think it's just interesting and we kind of saw it. I just think there's these people who are ever present in media and in culture. She's one of them. Yeah. Trump was another. And it's like you just feel like you know them because you see them constantly. And she has that as well. Yeah. So no matter what or when she launches something, people are going to be interested.

6:41Yeah. You know, she does look like she hasn't aged. And she looks great. Like, honestly.

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8:21We will link to this offer in our show notes and on our website. Now back to the show. Hi, I'm Pia Barangini, a creative director of LPA, an entrepreneur, a wife, and a dog mom based in Los Angeles. This is my new podcast, Everything is the Best, where we basically ask interesting people, how did you go from zero to yacht? I'm always curious how the hell people became successful, and I figured you would be too. Get on the internet with me. Let's laugh, let's cry, let's overshare, and let's get inspired to live our best lives. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. It's all for you, baby. Thanks for listening.

8:53Love you, mean it.

9:04I want to tell you about another one that I'm interested in for 2025. It's called Cleos and Clea. And this is a really beautiful aesthetic skincare line. And it's all about these, again, like back to nature. You know, I'm into this idea. But the founder, what interests me about it is that the founder is, her name is Tammy Demos. And she had a past life working for a skincare brand called Cosmetics. And in 2007, she co-created another line called Osmosis Beauty. So Osmosis Beauty, I recognize because my facialist in Toronto, I go to Maria Christina Bruno. And she recommended this product to me, this Osmosis Rescue that she carries at her atelier.

10:00And this is Rescue Epidermal Repair Serum. And they just like rave about this product, how good it is at like calming redness, irritation. It's like a best-selling serum. So I started to look into this Osmosis line and it was co-created with a doctor and it was actually designed for oncology patients. So I just think it's really interesting. And now it was kind of like a professional skincare line for facialists and spas. But her second iteration, Second Life is like a direct to consumer brand. Right. So I just think it's really interesting, this idea that she has this past history and knowledge, but then she's branching out into this completely different idea.

10:46You can see how stunningly beautiful the packaging in it is. It's very like sculptural. Right. Right. It kind of reminds me of the sacred shampoo packages. Yeah, it's kind of that vibe. It's like a ball on the top. And then the other thing that is interesting about it's launching with four products. There's a cleanser, a toner, a serum and a moisturizer. And a couple of the products are the like powders that are water activated. So we've seen this technology before and like very kind of sustainable brands and also in shampoos and conditioners. So what I would say about this one is it's just so elevated.

11:23Like the cleanser, it has 90 % organic active ingredients, including like vitamin C, goji berries, antioxidants. So that's the thing with this powder because we know vitamin C is unstable. So it's like it's activated with the water. So I think that's an interesting concept. Plus, it's very concentrated. So we know that these powder formulas go a long way because there's no water in the actual bottle. Anyway, I have yet to try it, but I do have it at home and I'm excited by it. I'm excited to try it. Right. Okay. You know, we'll report back. Yeah. I'm interested. It's piqued my interest for sure.

12:01How do you spell it? It's Kleos, K-L-E-O-S plus Klea, K-L-E-A. And that's like her kids' names or something? No, I think it's all inspired by like Greek kind of like ancient, you know, it has like ancient volcanic ash in some of the products. So it's kind of like hearkening back to the past. Right. Okay. Interesting. Yeah. Now, I just want to shout out a couple of things really quickly. There's a distributor in Canada called Living Beauty. And they're rocking it with the brands that they're bringing in to Canada. They're bringing like importing brands that are hard to get. And so I popped into their pop up that was at Gaspard in Toronto, which is a amazing like kind of French style clothing store.

12:51Right. And I clocked a couple of things that I'm really excited are coming to Canada. One of them is a brand called Le Bon Brass. Did you see this? Yeah, the hairbrushes. They are so stunning, you guys. And they are the actual the founder is somebody who herself experienced issues with her scalp. Yeah. So that's why she created this brush brand. And they're it's kind of in the vein of Mason Pearson, I would say for sure. it's supposed to be very gentle for your hair. So it has like these ball tips with these nylon fibers that like gently detangle and massage the scalp. And they also have boar bristles.

13:35So it's all again about that, that health. And because they're so gorgeous, they look like ceramic and it has a twist to it. They are like$200, but they make like an amazing gift. I would love to own one of these. They come in like a powder blue, yellow, pink. Very, very stunning. I know that in the U.S. they're available at Moda Operandi. Yeah. And detox market. And detox market. Yeah. And then the other line that they're bringing in that's very cool is Ruby Hammer. Yeah, I know her. Yeah. And she's a makeup artist. Yeah. She was actually she's from the U.K. and she was awarded an MBE in 2007.

14:17I had to look up what MBE stands for. Yeah, Charlotte Tilbury also has one. So cool. It stands for Member of the Order of the British Empire and it's an honor given by the British monarchy to people who have made significant contributions to society. So Ruby Hammer is very well known in the UK. She's a global makeup artist. She has 30 years under her belt where she's worked like backstage, worked poker shows. television. And so I didn't I wasn't aware of her. She wasn't on my radar. But I really vibe with Ruby Hammer. She's all about products that simplify your life. So, you know, that's perfect for me.

14:55Lazy slash busy. So it's about simplifying your routine. And I started following her on Instagram. And she's one of those people, kind of like a Lisa Eldridge, where it's just like very, very practical tips for your life about like how to apply blush so it doesn't look too strong, like very accessible, kind of the opposite of TikTok world. I think there's a lot of people, we've talked about this before, kind of looking for like the old school YouTubers who would do that. It's kind of hard to find that and in bite-sized information. So I really, I really like jive with her. And I've been using her mascara.

15:36It's a mascara and brow duo. And so on one side, it's just like a clear. See how it's got this tiny brush. I used it today. Again, it's like the opposite of the hard gluey gel freezing versions. And then the mascara, it's got this tiny, tiny little wand. Almost like the Japanese metal ones. And they really get at every lash. So I wore it today. I find my lashes are just like standing up at attention. Right. It's a great product. This is the blush, like so pretty. It's in a stick. And she also has a genius invention that's like a makeup brush wand. So it's like this long, probably like five inches, but it twists at different points in it.

16:21So there's actually like three or four brushes in and it's magnetic. So just really clever things like that. I'm jiving. Trini has the same one. Yeah. Yeah. I'm jiving with this brand. So Ruby Hammer, it's like dark red, Ruby color. It's also available in the U.S. at Bergdorf's. And I'm into it, guys. Yeah. I've been following her for a while. It's the little things. It's the little things that make me excited. Yeah. So just have a few more minutes. I think we should talk about what we think are going to be some trends for 2025. Yes. So what, If there was a word that you think is going to define beauty for 2025, what do you think it is?

16:58Oh, wow. That's a loaded question. I think that I do think that the undetectable work I think is going to continue this trend of people going to going for micro surgeries. I think that's going to continue. Micro surgeries, micro Botox, micro fillers, all that stuff where it's really undetectable. We've talked about this before, too, but I think it's really catching on now, this idea of like micro treatments over time instead of like, oh, I've saved up all my money. I'm coming in with a big bang. See, I just I kind of disagree. I think the trend right now is doing it all at once. Yeah. Yeah, I disagree.

17:40I think the best work is when you go in and do little things over time. Yeah. I think that's the best work that's being done. But I know what you're saying, because there are certainly examples on Instagram and in Hollywood where we see these people who have a whole new face like Christina Aguilera and Lindsay Lohan. But they probably. Yeah. I mean, that's that's another way to go. Yeah. Then you also get hit with that. It's very noticeable. Yeah, sure. And so. Yeah. It's just like you look like yourself 10 years ago. All of a sudden. Yeah, exactly. Which I think, you know, for most people in real life probably wouldn't want that.

18:17But if you're fighting for your life and your career in Hollywood, then, you know, go for it. New face. I think for me, what is going to define 2025 in a word is like biohacking. I think every brand is going to want to tap into having your body or your skin, your hair, not regenerate, that's the wrong word, but basically products that help your own skin and hair look its best, repair itself. and I think we're even seeing that with like spa treatments like everything has like a biohacking element and so many brands are going in this direction like on our show coming up and just some of our recent guests this is like what's coming up time and time again and I think people are really interested in making your skin work in its optimal way so you look younger for longer and I think that that is definitely the trend.

19:10Yeah I mean I don't disagree I think this this comes from longevity is another word that this is sort of linked to that. It's this idea that your body can regenerate itself if you just help it versus kind of like putting things on top of it that are foreign to it and then expecting some big results. So in that sense, it's kind of feels more natural. So like PRP is the ultimate example of this, right, where you would actually use your own blood, but optimize it by putting it in that Sutterfuge, you know, getting taking out just the plasma and re-injecting it. So that's really the prime example of biohacking.

19:51But I agree with you that we're going to see this trickle down effect. So one example of that, another brand that I think is really cool that's coming now, it just launched in, well, October 2023, but it's trickling to North America now. It's called Mimetic. Do you know this brand? I've seen headlines. I've not read anything about it, though. Yeah. So this is a very high aesthetic kind of French skincare line. It looks like French pharmacy. And the reason it's called Mimetic is because it's mimetic. Right. Biomimetic. Biomimetic. Right. That's the whole concept. Yeah. Like K18 is biomimetic. Yeah.

20:30It's this whole idea that it's so this particular product, what they have is this formulation complex. And it's who cares what it's called? It's a bunch of numbers and letters, but it's this mimetic restore complex. So it's designed to jive with your skin. So it actually does penetrate and and helps it to function optimally. The founder, her name is Fabienne Sebaun. She formerly worked at La Mer and Guerlain, so came from very, you know, prestigious contagious luxe background. And I'm actually excited to try this product line as well. I think it's great for barrier repair. But yeah, so they I guess the best word to describe this biomimetic is skin mimicry.

21:17Yeah, is what they're saying. Yeah. Yeah. So we're yeah, biohacking, biomimetic, whatever you want to call it, skin mimicry, definitely going to be hearing a lot about that. And I think there's a flip side to that, too, though. And I mark my words. If the trad wives don't have skincare brands by the end of 2025, I'll eat my arm. So if Nara Smith doesn't have a beauty brand, I'd be shocked. Yeah. Yeah. If Ballerina Farm does not have a farm to face moisturizer by the end of this year, knock me over with a feather. Honestly, there's the two camps, right? Yeah. biohacking, getting all, you know, the latest, the greatest, the longevity.

21:57And then there's the trad wives making everything from scratch. Yeah. Everything's on a farm. And that those two will see. I think Nara will launch something, but it remains to be seen what it is. I mean, a cookbook would be the natural first thing to launch. For sure. But I just mean like in the beauty space. Yeah. If somebody is not making something for her right now, I'd be shocked. Yeah. Well, we'll see. It could be that. It could be something else. We'll see. But she is, I saw they just bought a home, you know, so I'm sure something will be cooking. Yes. But I think it's interesting, like some there really is in reality, it's there are people who are interested in the high science skincare, high science beauty, and then some people who really do crave that back to nature.

22:44You know, the May Lindstroms of the world. Pamela Anderson. And I think on that note, Neal's Yard is another brand that I'm personally excited about. Like, this is a very accessible version of Farm to Face. The prices are really accessible. So I don't know how many of our listeners are familiar with Neal's Yard Remedies. But this is a brand that is very, very popular in the UK. Yeah, Little Blue Bottles. That's where it was born. in little blue bottles, very apothecary, but the prices are quite reasonable. The reason that I'm interested in this brand is because it's big in Japan. Okay. I'm just going to say it.

23:23I love Japanese skincare. I feel like they really know what they're doing when it comes to skincare. And they have adopted Neal's Yard Remedies so much that some people like the CEO, the co-owner Annabelle told us that when they sometimes will meet people from Japan, they're like, I thought this was a Japanese brand. And actually some of their products, like they have a beautiful frankincense essence. It's so like, I love an essence, a hydrating essence. So it's like this weighty beauty water that you put on and it's just so hydrating. And when I tried it, I was like, how is this this like British kind of homeopathic feeling brand?

24:05It feels so like K-Beauty or Japanese. And then the story started to come together when I realized that they're big in Japan. So I love this fusion. And honestly, everybody needs to try the Wild Rose Beauty Bomb. It's$65 US, like very reasonable price point. This is like their cult product. So we're going to she'll talk about it and name drop like all the celebrities like Kate Moss who love this product but it's so soothing at night it smells like the spa it's like all botanical ingredients that just like calm my skin you can put a bit on over makeup but it's a very interesting company as well because they're not they're very unique in this space what they do it's called vertical integration.

24:52That's like the technical term for what they do. But what it means is that they do it all. They do the growing, the manufacturing, the packaging all under one roof. I believe it's in Dorset in the UK. And they really are masters at like following organic certification. So everything is totally legit, very ethical. They will not compromise, even though they're all about this like high performance. Right. Right. I mean, so it's very interesting that way. But the way that I met Annabelle is that we just had coffee in New York. And as I mentioned in the intro, we just had this really interesting conversation about beeswax.