Beauty and the Breaux: Transitioning my content from music to beauty & luxury
Switching focus and writing about new things in 2025!
Happy Sunday!
I’ve been thinking about what direction to take my newsletter for some time now. Where can I provide insight?
For those who are new here, you probably know me as your Client Solutions Manager at Meta or your coworker (hey Team Beauty!) This newsletter is for you. What you might not know about me is that I worked in the music industry for 10 years before pivoting into my current position. I started this newsletter and put out music marketing content several years ago. I will NOT be talking about Meta’s best practices, platform updates, etc. We do enough of that every single day! Instead, I’ll be informally highlighting some of my favorite pieces from the beauty and fragrance industry.
And for those who know me from my music days, I left the industry altogether after the pandemic shuttered my business. I’m working at Meta now supporting the Estee Lauder Companies. My focus area is luxury fragrance & beauty and I currently support Estée Lauder, Tom Ford, Le Labo, Balmain, Aveda, Jo Malone, Deciem, Frederic Malle and Killian Paris. This content may not be for you so no hard feelings if you unsubscribe!
Anyways, I came in super green into this role but I’ve been reading and learning as much as I can to get more familiar with the space. A funny story that emphasizes just how new this is for me: In my first ever meeting with the Tom Ford & Balmain Beauty teams (September 2024), they brought out the new fragrance collection from Balmain and I found one that I loved. I proceeded to spray some on my wrists and rubbed them together. Without skipping a beat, 3 people said “don’t rub it!” Apparently, rubbing disrupts the fragrance molecules, causing the scent to evaporate faster and potentially altering the intended scent profile by mixing it too vigorously with your skin's natural oils. Oops!
With the new direction, I’m planning to recap some of my favorite reads, listens, and content from the beauty and fashion world. I have to emphasize: I am not an expert on these topics and I’m not going to pretend like I am. I’m on this journey of learning and appreciating the craftsmanship while providing some of my own commentary. There is no cadence for this newsletter but I’d like to get something over to you all once a month. I thrive on feedback and engagement - tell me what you liked or disliked. Hate my spin on something? Tell me. Read or see something you think I’d also enjoy? Send it to me on Instagram!
Ok, let’s get into it. Here’s what stood out to me this month.
The absolutely sensational launch of Dior’s Homme’s La Collection Privée Bois Talisman perfume.
Dior is putting on a masterclass in content strategy and execution. I’m loving it for so many reasons. The content is special because it features their creative director, Francis Kurkdjian telling the story of how he developed the scent and the inspiration behind it.
He speaks about how he was inspired to always carry a cube of sugar in his pocket by Christian Dior who would always carry a piece of wood in his pocket. He married the sweetness of the sugar with the warmth of cedarwood and blended in vanilla to develop this scent. In my opinion, the story is largely bullshit. Brother, there is no way you’re carrying sugar in your pocket every day. But it’s a great story and THAT is what you’re buying here. It’s more than luxury and it’s more than perfume.
Coming back to the content… featuring the creative director in the content is so powerful. There was nothing lazy about this launch, Dior invested in storytelling. Francis Kurkdjian is one of the greatest perfumers in history. Layering in the ingredients, telling the origin story and giving historical context into Christian Dior’s mind all craft a captivating story that is necessary to sell a fragrance online. That’s a major hurdle fragrance brands face when selling online. The story is what piques people’s interest because customers can’t smell through the screen. I actually WANT to get my hands on a bottle now. Does anyone want to meet me at Bergdorf for some counter time??
“The Anti-Shein Manifesto - my quest to buy better, buy less.” Henry Mance for Financial Times
Read the article here. You’re wearing plastic and paying a premium for it. I’ve got my own Anti-Shein, anti-Lulu, anti-Alo piece coming soon enough. Society got comfortable in their athleisure during the pandemic and it’s time to leave that in the past. $90 for a pair of joggers made of plastic is egregious. It’s bad for the environment and even worse for the world.
The Viral Wirkin Fake Birkin. And counterfeit culture in general.
Ah yes, the first viral bag of the year. Except it’s a dupe for $78.The bag went from being aspirational and a symbol of opulent wealth to the focal point of everything wrong with luxury. Is it a threat to Hermes and the Birkin bag? Absolutely not.
Here are 4 pieces to check out:
Why the ‘Walmart Birkin’ Struck a Nerve. If you have a Business of Professional membership, read here. And here’s a link to bypass the paywall.
How the Viral Fake Birkin Bag Is Likely to Change Luxury Brands’ Marketing and Trademarking via AdWeek
Video: 60 Minutes interview with the Hermès artistic director explaining the difference between ‘costly’ and ‘expensive’, the history of Hermès, and craftsmanship. It’s an interesting rebuttal to the pieces I shared above.
Video: @tanner.leatherstein’s recap of the Wirkin bag, Hermes’ scarcity model, craftsmanship and more. Read more about it on his blog here.
Time is a flat circle: Physical retail is back.
Gen Z gets a lot of flack similar to how millennials did just for existing. Tale as old as time. But they deserve some credit. Gen Z is largely responsible for the return of shopping at a physical retail location instead of online. They’re responsible for the return of traffic at malls. Brands like Zara, Uniqlo, Mango and Primark are investing heavily in physical locations in the US as a result. If you have a Business of Professional membership, read more here. And here’s a link to bypass the paywall.
Reasons why Gen Z is shopping at malls:
Instant gratification: Gen Z shoppers like to get items immediately.
Physical interaction: Gen Z shoppers like the physical interaction of shopping in person.
Social interaction: Gen Z shoppers like the social interaction of shopping in person.
Seeing, touching, and trying products: Gen Z shoppers like to see, touch, and try products in person.
My current obsession
I’m fortunate enough to get gifted lots of goodies from the Estee Lauder team. Skin? Glowing. Scent? Maxxing. My current go-to is 1 spray of Tom Ford Vanilla Sex and 2 sprays of Tom Ford Ombre Leather. I love the combination and would love to hear other recommendations for layering!
