Cosmetic Criminals: A True Crime Parody by e.l.f. Cosmetics

‘Cosmetic Criminals’ by e.l.f. Cosmetics is the first-ever branded content spot to run on the big screen. The parody documentary has a 15-minute runtime and is based on cosmetic pinching. Further, it circles around a priced e.l.f product ‘borrowed’ by a near or dear with no intent to return it.

“Our e.l.f. community was the first to tell us about widespread e.l.f.-pinching within their households,” said Laurie Lam, Chief Brand Officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “Borrowing e.l.f. holy grails from family and friends without the intention of returning, a.k.a. Intergenerational Cos Crime is a global phenomenon – between siblings, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives – even grandparents are not spared. This insight from our community sparked an incredible idea we had to act on.”

The brand has a customer base across generations and genders, from boomers to GenZ. Hence, a movie like this is most likely to generate a lot of questions and laughter.

Discover the top generative AI trends in beauty

Perfect Corp, a tech solutions provider and creator of ‘Beautiful AI,’ released their recent global trend report. It focuses on the power of generative AI in beauty and fashion. The idea is to help brands with insights into the rise of Generative AI in the beauty and fashion industries.

“With ‘Beautiful AI’, we are transforming the world with digital tech innovations that make the world beautiful. It is exciting to share our newest global trend report highlighting the powerful impact Generative AI will have in the world of beauty and fashion retail,” said Alice Chang, CEO and Founder, Perfect Corp. “The possibilities for Generative AI are limitless, and as we look to the future, Gen AI is making the customer journey easier and more fun for both consumers and brands,” she added.

The report analyses big data obtained from Perfect Corp’s YouCam suite of apps, with a series of immersive and interactive ‘Beautiful AI’ features powered by top-of-the-line Gen AI technology. The analysis also highlights the power of Gen AI technology in creating attractive beauty and fashion experiences. It further helps in identifying the most predominant ways consumers look for inspiration digitally. The report also talks about the AI trends in beauty and fashion that might take the industries by storm in 2024 and beyond.

US Prestige Beauty reaches USD 31.7 billion revenue in 2023

According to the data firm Circana, the US prestige beauty channel, which includes department and specialty stores, recorded the third year of double-digit growth, growing 14 percent to USD 31.7 billion in sales. Their market beauty sales saw a gain of 6 percent and skincare was the frontrunner. “Prestige beauty has been on a double-digit growth trajectory over the last few years,” said Larissa Jensen, Vice President of Beauty and Industry Advisor at Circana.

The “mas-stige” brands built to carry along channels with mass pricing and prestige positioning are responsible for beauty category growth, seeing growth of 16 percent where prestige brands are growing at 12 percent and mass brands are growing at 9 percent as per Circana.

L’Oréal Groupe launches AirLight Pro

L’Oréal Groupe recently unveiled a new hair-drying tool. Developed in collaboration with Zuvi, it cares for the hair and the planet with 31 per cent less power consumption. The launch took place at CES 2024, the annual trade show by Consumer Technology Organisation in Las Vegas, USA.

Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO, L’Oréal Groupe, said, “For 115 years, L’Oréal has been leveraging science to innovate and provide consumers with unforgettable beauty experiences that fulfil their individual beauty aspirations. With AirLight Pro, in partnership with Zuvi, we prove that technology can augment beauty performance, care for multiple hair needs, and reduce its environmental impact. That’s the future of beauty we are aiming to create.”

Zuvi has developed an innovative first-generation product. To make the dryer, the brand used its patented LightCare technology on a blow-dryer. It also uses infrared light and high-speed wind to efficiently dry surface water from the hair. Further, it leaves the internal moisture in hair strands. team of over 100 engineers, designers, hairdressers and scientists from L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation Division and Zuvi worked together on AirLight Pro’s cutting-edge industrial design. They developed a professional-grade hair drying tool that shatters the barriers of performance. AirLight Pro delivers up to 33% more hydrated hair. Further, it provides a faster drying time and up to 59 per cent visually smoother hair. Overall, it results in an enhanced user experience based on feedback from leading professional stylists.

It is unlike any conventional heating hair dryers that use only heating coils. AirLight Pro uses a special 17-blade and high-speed motor.