Clarins Lip Perfector, Part II

Curiosity Killed the Cochineal Insect? After posting about lip products favored by the British royal family, curiosity got the better of me. What is it about the Clarins Lip Perfector that would appeal to the future queen of England? Is it possible that her Wimbledon appearance with it was a subtle favor arranged by a …

Do you really need to put snail secretions on your face?

The short answer: not necessarily. But if you’ve ever read the children’s book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson, it’s likely out of the question. Snail mucin is often praised for its hydrating, soothing, and skin-repairing benefits. And yes, it has some real strengths. It’s rich in humectants and nutrients that help support …

Tinted Moisturizers Without SPF for Nighttime or Low-Sun Days

“Wait… why am I wearing SPF at night?” It’s a question that hit me somewhere between removing my makeup and reading the back of my tinted moisturizer. A preference for sheer, natural coverage over full-coverage foundation often leads to tinted moisturizers, yet what’s surprising is how hard it can be to find one without sunscreen. …

well people lip oil

WELL PEOPLE Lush Lip Tinted Oil Review: With a Genius Twist

WELL PEOPLE’s Lush Lip Tinted Oil captures the spirit of clean beauty—not just in formula, but in design. Well People is a brand that was co-founded by a cosmetic dermatologist. The company is headquartered in California, however since the brand was acquired by e.l.f. Cosmetics in 2020, it seems many (though not all) of their …

What Clean Beauty Can Learn from Thirteen Lune, Silence, and Venture Capital

Clean beauty didn’t invent transparency, but it helped popularize it. And now, more than ever, that expectation extends beyond ingredients to funding, ownership, and accountability across the beauty industry. Clean beauty has always promised more than just better ingredients, it has promised integrity. Transparency about what’s in the bottle, where it comes from, and how …

The Lipstick Index: Is This the End of an Era?

Adapted from The Last Lipstick Generation, an upcoming editorial on the cultural shift from glam to glow in modern beauty. Beauty has long been considered one of the most resilient discretionary categories, a belief tied to the so-called Lipstick Effect, an economic theory that when consumers sense a recession looming, sales of affordable luxuries like …

Joan Collins Ate More Titanium Dioxide Than You Ever Will

And Look at Her Now. We just unpacked the latest science behind titanium dioxide in lip products here, but let’s take a lighter moment to ask: what would Joan Collins say? Joan Collins is 90-something, fabulous, and possibly walking, talking proof that decades of titanium dioxide-laced lipstick haven’t killed anyone. Watching her in this interview, …