EWB 5.22 V1 [00:00:00] Nick: Hello and welcome to Eyewitness Beauty, the podcast where we talk about the biggest stories in the beauty industry each week. I'm Nick [00:00:20] Axelrod Welk joined by Diamond Kriegbaum herself, Annie Kriegbaum. [00:00:24] Nick: And we were just talking about the audacity of straight men. Oh, we [00:00:31] Annie: were. [00:00:33] Nick: I mean, yeah, just the fact that like, I mean, I currently work in an industry dominated by straight men, [00:00:40] which is the first time in my entire life that I've done that the entertainment industry. And [00:00:46] Annie: is it really run by straight men? [00:00:48] Nick: uh, I mean, I guess there was that whole time in the nineties with the gay mafia quote unquote. But generally speaking. [00:00:56] Annie: Yeah, [00:00:57] Nick: like yeah, like I [00:01:00] mean mostly there obviously there's some Fagolas in and around the buildings, but generally yes, but anyway, it's interesting just to see like wait like straight Men have never been told no, or like, they've never been told that their idea is not the best [00:01:20] idea that has ever been ideaed. [00:01:23] Annie: it's so funny too, how you. [00:01:26] Nick: But dating them, I couldn't imagine. [00:01:29] Annie: they're really fragile. They're really fragile. I bet.I was doing some research on ego and I feel like maybe I don't understand the concept as well as I thought I did, but I really don't [00:01:40] like Freud. I don't really want to go and like. [00:01:43] Nick: Actually, you would love Freud. Freud is, is like, a Jewish psychiatrist. He actually is the, like, first Jewish psychiatrist. What, [00:01:54] Annie: Like, yeah, he had some, like, unfortunate ways of, like, talking about [00:02:00] homosexuality and The female gender but no, I'm more concerned that he based all of his theories on like one specific class of people, you know what I mean? [00:02:11] Nick: Well, I was going to say like maybe the next trend after evangelical Christian Tik TOK and podcasters could be [00:02:20] like Jewish. But I don't think now's the, I don't think now's the moment. What makes you say that? I just feel like there's a vibe and it's just not it's not the right time, but also I wouldn't be the person to run it. I'm the person to run a beauty news podcast. Which is why we're on [00:02:40] this one today. [00:02:41] Annie: Oh, we said we wanted to talk about Cannes. Sorry. Oh, yeah [00:02:44] Nick: We have wanted to talk about Cannes. [00:02:45] Annie: Hurry it up, baby [00:02:48] Nick: So I was reading Emily Sumberg's newsletter this morning and she included a few paparazzi pictures of Bella spritzing Fragrance on her body. Hope she hasn't [00:03:00] Have any silk clothes on because as we've also found this week from some user reviews, the shit stains. It's a, it's oil and water. [00:03:11] Annie: She's wearing full archival, like Dolce and Gabbana by the way. So [00:03:15] Nick: I am sorry to those PR people who are going to get back stained. [00:03:20] Silk share moves anyway. She's like making a show of using can or being in Canada's like a billboard for her brand. Emily posits trying to sort of make up for lack of impressive or really big numbers when she launched in Ulta last week and she [00:03:40] quotes an article in puck than other newsletter that said 350k in the first few hours which I guess would have been. if you or I launched a brand, we made that much money in a few hours we're right. We're going all the way to the top. Bella Hadid has 60 million Instagram followers. [00:03:59] Annie: Yeah. Apparently [00:04:00] 350, 000 in the first few hours of e commerce is not impressive if you're Bella Hadid. [00:04:04] Nick: But also like, according to who that still sounds impressive to me in a few hours. [00:04:10] Annie: I guess they're looking at like road who just immediately sold out of everything. [00:04:15] Nick: Yeah. But like Haley Bieber. Is like [00:04:20] much more famous than Bella Hadid. [00:04:22] Annie: I mean, I say it's not Bella's fault. It's like the totally botched job they did on rolling out the launch and the website and [00:04:32] Nick: Here's what I think about that. I was actually thinking about that in the interview. Shower this morning. did I already say this? If you're Bella Hadid [00:04:40] and you are so incredibly rich, not, I'm not talking about just the money she's made in her career, but I'm talking about her dad's money. He's like an incredibly rich real estate developer. Why would you not invest your own money and make the brand great? [00:04:59] Annie: I think she [00:05:00] did. [00:05:00] Nick: Well, she partnered with people. Guess what? They did all that website doesn't look a dollar over 25, 000. [00:05:08] Annie: Listen, far be it from us to do any research, but what was the split between what she did in building the brand and what Ulta did and building the brand? Do we know? Oh, [00:05:17] Nick: well, it wasn't Ulta. It was like, she partnered with. [00:05:20] This is, I'm now quoting, uh, Rachel Strugatz's newsletter line sheet. She had some major partners, John Howard and Alan Shapiro. Howard was a backer of Rag and Bone and Aviation Gin and Good American and Skims. And Shapiro is the former CEO of Dick [00:05:40] Clark Productions. They launched a company called Celebrands. To invest in celebrity brands. And the only other projects that they have done up until this point are about face Halsey's line and then the diffusion line AF 94. [00:05:55] Annie: Okay. Well, I can see why she would think that they're the right people to partner with. [00:06:00] Not rag and bone guy. He's random. I would just take his money and tell him to That's what I'm [00:06:04] Nick: saying. Like, well, maybe she just didn't know, but like when you look at that website, maybe Bella Hadid doesn't have a computer. I would not put it past her. she like looked at the website over someone's shoulder on a cell phone and was like, This looks so cool, [00:06:20] right? [00:06:21] Annie: But, and I say this all [00:06:22] Nick: with love, by the way. [00:06:24] Annie: Yeah, we're blaming everyone but Bella. She just was not, she sent me the [00:06:30] Nick: best Tik TOK of like this, of someone who bought the fragrances and it's like this oily, watery stuff. Substance that's like dripping [00:06:40] down, you like spray it. And it's like an oil water bi phase formula. And it like drips all over your hand. It's all oily. You have to like kind of rub it. And like, you can't really put it in your hair because it would make your hair greasy. You can't spray it if you have clothes on. [00:06:56] Annie: I, um, did I send you? It's such an, [00:06:58] Nick: it's an ill conceived [00:07:00] idea. [00:07:00] Annie: Did I send you, I think it was, it must've been, they must've posted it on AuraBella. Instagram. But they did a post that was, that said this has been lab tested to show that it does not stay in clothes. It's not comedogenic. It's non greasy. I [00:07:15] Nick: mean, I know that we talked about it on our two niche episode where I was talking about [00:07:20] Lady Gaga's. The fame fragrance, which was black, it wasn't oil based, but it was black. And so they had to do a lot of like, marketing around it, not staining because it sprayed black. I think, and like, I learned this when I launched necessary and we were like launching with the lube. [00:07:40] Like adding a sort of like chic version of a lube and it is the gay agenda. No, it's one task to like launch a brand. Trying to turn your Sephora [00:07:53] Annie: teens into [00:07:53] Nick: louvers. Um, it's, it's one thing to like launch a [00:08:00] brand. And that's a challenge because you go from zero awareness on day one, you have to build awareness. But it's another thing to have to like educate an entire consumer population about like. Like how to, like, if you're creating something new, that's never existed in this case, like a beauty brand lube, [00:08:20] right. You have to like talk, like you have, like, that's a full other job of like, so you have to launch a brand. Then you have to like launch a lube essentially to like people understand what it is, how you use it, et cetera. [00:08:33] Annie: And may I, may I chime in on this? I've been thinking about consumer education as well. [00:08:40] And not only do you have to educate people, you have to educate people that didn't sign up to be educated at that moment. You know? So it's like, you're educating them through like emails and like Instagram posts and like, you're [00:08:50] Nick: asking nobody's like, yeah, you're like, because you're doing the two, it's a two handed thing where you're like having to be like, hi, we're necessary. And hi, We have a lube which can [00:09:00] be used in all these like different ways, but also you don't want, you know, whatever [00:09:03] Annie: you're literally like the ASPCA people on the street being like, Oh, do you have, do you have five minutes [00:09:09] Nick: and it's, and it's a really hard job. And so I would say similarly. You know, when you're launching a fragrance, that's one thing you have to like, create awareness [00:09:20] about and educate people that like, Hey, Bella Hadid, Lady Gaga, we have a fragrance. But then when you add a second love, like layer of complexity, like it's black and it won't say like, and you have to like preemptively educate on like how to use it. I just feel like that's a really, really tough. Sales. [00:09:39] Anie: Mm [00:09:39] Nick: hmm. [00:09:40] Journey. I mean, clearly, Lady Gaga's fragrance doesn't exist anymore. Like Lady Gaga. [00:09:46] Annie: Yeah, but she's also doing like, Zyrtec commercials, so. [00:09:49] Nick: anyway, yeah, so Bella, it's just like a lot to be like, oh, it's oil based and here's how you use it so that it won't like stain your clothes. Not the right gimmick. [00:09:58] Annie: There is something to be said about [00:10:00] gimmicks and like novelty products and things like that. [00:10:02] Nick: As Gypsy Rose. said, I think it was Gypsy Rose, not Blanchard, Gypsy Rose, as in the musical Gypsy, you gotta have a gimmick. Was she a prostitute? I don't know. I don't think so. I think she was a burlesque dancer. [00:10:18] Annie: Okay. What about [00:10:20] Holly Golightly? Was she a prostitute? [00:10:22] Nick: I don't know. So I'm, this is my disclaimer is that I don't know, but I'll answer. Uh, I think that it's like maybe implied. [00:10:32] Annie: Because her and her neighbor always had, you know, guests over. [00:10:36] Nick: Yeah, maybe she's like a really high end [00:10:40] call girl. Maybe she's the first sugar baby. [00:10:45] Annie: Very interesting. [00:10:46] Nick: [00:10:46] Annie: There's a new ruler of Banana Island. And her name is You sent her to me, Nick. Okay. It's your fault. Oh my [00:10:52] Nick: god. She, she, she made like apple, she made like cinnamon rolls with icing [00:11:00] the other day. She's incredible. And so she made cinnamon rolls with icing and here's the recipe. Slice a banana, put it in like lengthwise. Like long ways, long ways. Put it in a dehydrator. And then roll them up and take another [00:11:20] banana and put some cashews in the banana and a little bit of cashew milk in a blender. [00:11:28] Annie: And one date. [00:11:29] Nick: That's interesting. Always one [00:11:31] Annie: date. If you're blending something, there better be one date in there. [00:11:38] Nick: And then you pour that, you like, [00:11:40] spread that over the dehydrated, curled up banana, and that is a cinnamon bun. [00:11:46] Annie: No, it's not her. It's not her. Who's, she did, there was a crazy lady that did the banana cinnamon roll recipe, but it was the Australian woman who's like, fully on banana island. [00:11:59] Nick: That's her, isn't [00:12:00] it? [00:12:00] Annie: No, you, I just, I just saw, I just saw This also [00:12:03] Nick: reminds me, do you remember back in the day, quest bars? [00:12:07] Annie: Back in the day, those things are still everywhere. [00:12:09] Nick: I know, but they were like, too good to be true. It was like, it was like, uh, Tasty Delight. Where like, they just tasted too good. And like, the cookies and cream flavor had like, actual chunks of cookie. And they were [00:12:20] supposed to be like, 20 calories and have 40 grams of protein. And like, whatever. I, one time, got really stoned. With friends and we were like looking up recipes, like there's a whole community there was at the time of people who make recipes using quest bars, like it'd be like an ice cream sundae. It's like, you do 1 part, [00:12:40] like ice cream flavored quest bar and then, like, try to, like, melt down a chocolate quest bar and pour it on the vanilla quest bar. And then you, like, the way that they would make quest bar. High protein cookies is you would take a chocolate chip cookie dough quest bar cut it into little pieces and bake it in [00:12:57] Annie: the oven Yeah, yes [00:12:59] Nick: It's like [00:13:00] the lanes that people will go to [00:13:02] Annie: I know you're just like just have a fucking Oreo Just eat it have an [00:13:05] Nick: Oreo. It's like are you on water talk? I mean, you're not on TikTok, which is like the most interesting thing about you. [00:13:14] Annie: Well, we're about to, none of us are about to be on TikTok. [00:13:16] Nick: True. But do you know, like, about water talk, where they do like their [00:13:20] water of the day? [00:13:22] Annie: But do they put flavoring and stuff in it? [00:13:24] Nick: Yeah, yeah. So it's like women, mostly women, in their huge, like, Stanley cups. And most of them have like lost 70 pounds. You know, in the last five months and are on a journey. And so they have these ice makers with [00:13:40] like little like pellet, you know, ice, and they do that first. And then they're like, OK, here's what they [00:13:47] Annie: buy. [00:13:48] Nick: It's so much Amazon shit. It's like, okay, y'all, I'm going to try, uh, this one's called blue lagoon. And then it's like literally, you know, it's like five different like food coloring, flavor [00:14:00] enhancers that are all branded like crystal light and Dr. Diet, Dr. Pepper or whatever. And then they add in like, uh, a diet Fanta and like, They like shake it up and they're like have a good day y'all. I mean, honestly I'm making fun of them and I feel bad now because no literally just bringing joy grow [00:14:19] Annie: [00:14:20] up. No, they need to grow up That's just like it's so wasteful. They're [00:14:23] Nick: happy. They're making a beautiful concoction People [00:14:27] Annie: that do that are not happy. No people that are on tiktok like that are not happy They're seeking external validation for drinking water [00:14:37] Nick: I wouldn't I mean It's like those [00:14:40] jugs that are like you're almost there keep going [00:14:43] Annie: i've become an expert on personality disorders. So They're depressed. [00:14:47] Nick: So what? Okay, [00:14:49] Annie: they're like they're on edge. They're cut. They're ready for they're ready to get the needle for ketamine. I mean And then and then also Ben and [00:15:00] jlo That one is textbook [00:15:05] Nick: I've long felt that like every picture of them You They've called the paparazzi on themselves because it's like them walking in the middle of a street like in [00:15:20] LA or the Hamptons Or like that, you know, it's like why like you have to remember like why would there be paparazzi at this time? At you know what? I mean like their morning walk to get coffee like [00:15:32] Annie: also him getting the doughnuts every morning [00:15:35] Nick: Well, that was part of like a deal he had with Dunkin Donuts. I [00:15:38] Annie: know, but I'm, it makes me mad [00:15:40] that like was so long in the future when they started like acting like paparazzi were just taking photos of him at his front door. [00:15:46] Nick: But it's just like, it's, but anyway, so the pictures of him and JLo, I've always thought, I'm like, they're so famous. They're both individually famous and they're even more famous together. Like, why do they need to be photographed? Like, why are they [00:16:00] calling their own paparazzi? Like, Beyonce and Jay Z are [00:16:02] Annie: not over here getting paparazzi ed all the time. [00:16:06] Nick: Like, Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan aren't out here calling the paparazzi. Like, I don't understand. I, maybe it's because they like the two most famous couples in the world. Okay. That's gives you a [00:16:20] little peek into my brain. But like, I just don't understand where that's coming from. And then there was the picture, you know, so there's been all the talk about them getting divorced and been living in a hundred thousand dollar a month rental. And there was a picture, um, of them like having a heated conversation in the [00:16:40] car, but it was like a crystal clear photograph. And Ben is holding his phone, and he's like talking to J uh, J Lo, but he also has like a perfectly, also crisp, crystal clear, like, picture of his phone that has a picture of Jenny from the block, and it [00:17:00] says like, Jennifer Affleck is calling, you know, like, on his phone, and I'm like, what game do they think they're, like, who is masterminding, who is not masterminding this, like, middle minding this? [00:17:10] Annie: You know what's so freaky about him too? It's he looks like he's just a normal guy from Boston who made a good movie with his best friend. I think he's really sad. Oh, [00:17:20] he's, he's borderline. [00:17:23] Nick: That makes sense. [00:17:25] Annie: It's not just when he's with J Lo. He did this with Anna, Anna Darmus, if you recall the paparazzi photos of them, he did this with like that other chick. Is it like love bombing [00:17:34] Nick: kind of what he's doing? [00:17:36] Annie: Why am I getting balloons? It's like [00:17:40] a weird like exhibitionist. He's obviously trying to send a message to Tom [00:17:44] Nick: Cruise jumping on the couch. [00:17:46] Annie: I think that's something else. I don't know enough about Tom. Tom doesn't give me borderline for some reason. [00:17:52] Nick: No, but actually side note, there's a wonderful podcast about Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch called [00:18:00] you're wrong about it's a great, I mean, it's a famous podcast, but anyway, go to the episode about Tom Cruise jumping on the couch and they contextualize it in a really interesting way. It was basically like the first viral YouTube video. [00:18:11] Annie: Interesting. [00:18:13] Nick: Because no one would have, like, before YouTube, no one really, it wouldn't have been a moment, and also, like, Oprah was egging him on. [00:18:20] Anyway, continue. [00:18:21] Annie: Well, they're digging out all the skeletons from Oprah's closet right now. I saw, like, a slideshow on Threads or whatever, it was like, her and Bill Cosby, her and Harvey Weinstein, her and Diddy, her and Diddy. I'm glad. You know who knew Diddy was shit for a long time? We [00:18:40] did. We said. But I guess that was when the first news cycle about him being a piece of shit came out. [00:18:47] Nick: Yeah. I mean, I don't recommend anyone watch that video of him. [00:18:51] Annie: I was at the gym running and they had it playing on CNN. [00:18:55] Nick: It's so horrible. And he's disgusting. I guess I'm like, just not [00:19:00] surprised that these really powerful men are horrible. [00:19:06] Annie: Makes you think, doesn't it? [00:19:08] Nick: Well, it's the same thing. Like, do you remember when? During the pan. No, this was before the pandemic, but during Trump, when the chairman of the related [00:19:20] group, which owns Equinox was hosting a Trump fundraiser at his house in the Hamptons. And like, hysteria ensued, like people were going to cancel their Equinox memberships. And I'm like, guys, Did you not think, no matter what company or what industry, like, if you go high enough up [00:19:40] that it's evil, like, did we not think that? Like, did we think that people were creating equinoxes to sort of develop neighborhood and give homeless people housing? No, that's not, that was never the goal of Equinox. [00:19:54] Annie: It was [00:19:55] Nick: to give you an eczema flare up from their [00:19:58] Annie: Grown alchemist bullshit. Grown [00:20:00] alchemist [00:20:00] Nick: products. And it was to make money for Republicans, obviously. [00:20:06] Annie: I will say every time I go into Equinox, I'm like, everybody here is a Republican. [00:20:11] Nick: Is Equinox still, like, it's funny that they still have like a chokehold. [00:20:17] Annie: It is the nicest gym. Because like it, [00:20:19] Nick: yeah. But like, [00:20:20] I feel like it was during that moment that Trump. Moment in the pandemic, obviously, like I thought that that was going to really be like the nail in the coffin. [00:20:29] Annie: The only successful canceling that's happened truly is euphoria, I think, and still jury's still out. They might, they might come back. Oh my God. Have they [00:20:40] posted anything? Guys, it's been so long. It's, this is kind of a crazy case study in crisis management. Let's check [00:20:48] Nick: mismanagement. [00:20:49] Annie: They still haven't posted anything on their Instagram. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow, even on if you go to their Instagram shops the What's it called at the top [00:21:00] the hero image at the top is about their date night foundation. I Think if you go to their website too, it's like on their homepage. It's really wild. It's really really really wild. I feel terrible for [00:21:14] Nick: It's also funny that they're still selling that color. It's so wild [00:21:20] It's still on it's still when I google euphoria that color is the first color that comes up [00:21:28] Annie: Oh my God. I didn't, did I tell I, you weren't, I did tell you this and you were not upset for me, but there was a weird talent agency online that was claiming to represent me as like speaking talent. And they had like [00:21:40] an AI generated bio about me. That was like completely wrong. And it was this, and then I looked them up and this company has good reviews. Like it looks like a legitimate company, but then I dug deeper and I found that this other woman was like, they said that they represented me and they had my photo on their website and I've never heard of these [00:22:00] people. [00:22:01] Nick: And I said, you know what, if they want to work for you for free, [00:22:05] Annie: I was just mad. Cause it was like on Google. Not that I Google myself often, but that day when I did, it was like on the front page, [00:22:13] Nick: Google is all Google is good. Google. [00:22:15] Annie: No, I disagree. [00:22:17] Nick: Speaking of [00:22:20] youth [00:22:22] Annie: me, [00:22:23] Nick: yes, there is a California Congress assembly member who is trying to create a skin care ban for children under 13. California bill AB 2491 was introduced by assembly [00:22:40] member Alex Lee, a Democrat representing a district outside of San Jose, California. He said, kids don't need Anti aging products and AB2491 will protect children and preteens from the potential harms of using products that may lead to short or long term skin challenges they wouldn't [00:23:00] otherwise have. [00:23:01] Annie: I think that this is incredible news for the skin. I think this should be a nationwide policy [00:23:06] Nick: they say it could include signage. It could be asking customers for their date of birth or asking you could get carded at Sephora. [00:23:15] Annie: I agree. And here's the thing. It's not cause I like kids and I want to protect them. [00:23:20] I just, not that I don't think that they should be protected. I just don't have any skin in that game right now. But less liability on the company, the beauty companies, because I think what's the consumer demand is for these like really efficacious formulas that, you know, have very high acid content, like retinol things [00:23:40] that sensitize skin. And if you don't want the heat, you got to stay out of the kitchen. And the kids, what do kids do? They go in the kitchen, they touch everything. They put their hand right on the stove. [00:23:53] Nick: so then you're saying that they should be able to buy it and touch the stove and learn from it. No, no, [00:24:00] no. [00:24:00] Annie: I'm saying we, we have to have somebody step in and put up the baby gate and say, no, not for you. Just like they did with every other, like, product with a liability, so the V peel, I was doing it at home and I was like, yeah, there's no reason, it sucks that I have to spend so much, I say I, like, people, not me, because I'm [00:24:20] special have to spend all this money to go into an office to do this Because it is possible just to do this at home. You just have to follow the directions. And wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of way and brands won't do it because it's too much liability because everyone gets sued in the U S and there's so much room for user error with a formula that is like, [00:24:40] has high actives. And wouldn't it be great if some of that liability was taken off of the brand so that they could do more innovation, but it was still in a way that's still safe for customers. And then we can look at more barriers in place. Okay, so you feel like the government [00:24:54] Nick: should be making decisions for us, okay. [00:24:57] Annie: I do. I've already talked about how I [00:25:00] think that they should approve new companies. I said that we should actually be the committee that approves new beauty companies. I don't think capitalism should end altogether But I do think that the government should like control the market more than they do. [00:25:14] Nick: I have a new story and this story is a year old[00:25:20] Estee Laundry, which was the relatively short lived Sort of beauty answer to diet Prada, but hasn't posted since 2013 [00:25:34] Annie: 2023 [00:25:39] Nick: or they haven't yeah, [00:25:40] December 2023. They haven't posted. Is there a [00:25:42] Annie: reason why? [00:25:43] Nick: No idea. If anyone knows, let us know. I somehow was looking on their Instagram and found an interesting, uh, little tidbit, which I just thought was worth talking about, which was that L, [00:26:00] that brand. that stands for eyes, lips, face, but also sounds like elf partnered with this ad agency called movers and shakers. the ad agency was founded by, uh, high level members of the NXIVM cult and [00:26:20] devotees of, uh, Keith Ranieri. Remember that, that charming man? [00:26:26] Annie: I haven't heard that name in years. [00:26:27] Nick: I know. So I just wanted to say that, that basically a report came out that's, that was tying elf to using this agency called movers and shakers to do a [00:26:40] Tik TOK campaign, movers and shakers. [00:26:43] Annie: I'm Googling them now. I want to see who the other clients are, or work. I mean, the website is actually a lot of elf Hasbro, Netflix. Why? Interesting how they tear down a brand. Is Elf run by [00:27:00] women? I don't know. But yet they have Warner Brothers, they have Amazon, they have Mattel, they have Razor Scooter, Little Tikes. They're going after our kids, is what they're doing, but you guys are worried about ALF? [00:27:15] Nick: Oh, okay. Movers and Shakers, and this is an ad age from [00:27:20] 2023. Again, this is not breaking news. Following its acquisition by Stagewell, allegations spread on social media that Movers and Shakers was associated with Nexium. But I don't have an ad age login, so I won't be able to read that article. Anyway, if anyone has [00:27:40] any scoop on movers and shakers, because I can't, all of, I mean, this is the state of modern media. Guess what? We're the fucking idiots, because every time I try to read an article, there's a paywall. But guess what? You're listening to this through your ears for free. We're giving away the cow, when [00:28:00] every other news media organization, ad age, For example, is not. [00:28:06] Annie: Neither is my substock anymore. [00:28:09] Nick: Really? You're now pay to play? [00:28:12] Annie: I'm telling you, when I say my substock is the place to be. If [00:28:20] you've subscribed to my sub stack, I'm really, I'm so happy. Thank you so much. Truly. I just can't even believe it. [00:28:26] Nick: Subscribers. [00:28:28] Annie: Yeah. Yeah. And it, it's nice too, because it's validating. Cause I really did. I tried hard on the last article, you know, [00:28:39] Nick: I was talking to a [00:28:40] friend of the pod, Esther Pavitsky about sub stack. And she was like, I think you should launch one. And I was like, should I call it the anklet? Like, you know how there's like the ankler, which is like a Hollywood one. What if I call mine the anklet? [00:28:54] Annie: I wouldn't have gotten the joke, but I'm sure somebody would. And I like the name anklet. [00:28:59] Nick: [00:29:00] Your last one was about the soft services. Hand cream packaging development. And it was very like Dieter Rams, like good design is two things, simple and pleasing or something like that, right? Don't [00:29:14] Annie: be mean to me. [00:29:15] Nick: I [00:29:16] Annie: will. That wasn't me. If you want to, if you want to make fun of the Dieter Rams mention, you need to make fun [00:29:20] of Merit Beauty. [00:29:21] Nick: Merit Beauty is doing some interesting stuff on their social media where they're like comparing their design to like Dieter Rams design. [00:29:31] Annie: Which would have been. Less LOL had I not, I had just gone into Sephora this weekend. [00:29:40] I haven't done like boots on the ground type research in a while, but I went in and I did, I've been intrigued. I wanted to try some of the merit products because people really like them and they do single eyeshadows, which I'm like, I love a single eyeshadow. So I wanted to support the girls over at Merit. Like the packaging was just falling [00:30:00] apart on the displays. Like the lipstick was like, came completely out. It's because of the kids. [00:30:05] Nick: It's probably the kids. [00:30:06] Annie: No. And it's very flimsy. It is, the packaging is so flimsy. It's like, if there were two ends of the spectrum, it would be Merritt and it would be like Gucci Westman, Westman Atelier. I was like, if I put this on the table, is it going to [00:30:20] stay there? Is it going to float away? You know? And so then we saw that post that was like, On their Instagram, which was like, our design approach is inspired by Dieter Rams. That was the Dieter Rams thing. My whole thing is like, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I like, I don't, I couldn't even, if I open an Adobe program, [00:30:40] I'm like, I'm completely fucked for the rest of the day. [00:30:42] Nick: I was being sarcastic, but I think that what you were trying to do was put into words, like your actual thought process, you were trying to describe like actually how you were not trying to create, you were not trying to create a philosophy. [00:30:55] Annie: No, I cannot create a philosophy. That's the whole thing. It's like different every time, but yeah, I'm just trying, it's like word vomit on [00:31:00] paper and how, like, I came up with the idea for a product or how I come up with ideas for products. And then how I like actually like make them come to life. It's kind of the point of the series. But yeah, and at Substack is so, I'm still like getting used to it. I guess they added this new feature. That's kind of like people's random thoughts, like Twitter. And that's a little [00:31:20] confusing cause it's people you don't follow. I don't like love that part, but. mean, we always talk about Emily, Emily Sundberg's newsletter, which is called feed me. And I didn't realize like people are paying so much money to subscribe to subset newsletters and the power that Emily wields across industries because she covers. [00:31:40] She covers a lot of beauty stuff, but then she covers like a lot of DTC, like businesses and just other like economic and cultural trends and things like that. And she can like change the course of a business with like a single mention. It's crazy. And really powerful people are [00:32:00] subscribed to her. You can see who, you know what I mean? Like you can see everybody's email addresses and their information. It's not like podcasting where you have no idea who listens. Is that interesting? [00:32:11] Nick: My mom, like last week, sent me an article about something that we had covered on the podcast and I was like, you know it's bad when even your [00:32:20] mom isn't listening. I was like, mom, I talked about this. I know. It's like, ouch. Do we have other top stories? [00:32:28] Annie: Who are you loving at Cannes? [00:32:30] Nick: Just talk about Bella. [00:32:31] Annie: I think what they're doing is, you know, They got the memo this year that you know that Monica, Monica Bellucci, one of her most famous [00:32:40] photos, which means it's one of the most famous photos ever to make its way through every Instagram account ever, is her at Cannes in like 1999 and she's wearing this like slinky, I think beige printed dress and she's covered in crystal white diamonds [00:33:00] and she's like, like this, like pulling her hair back. And she's surrounded by men all behind her. And it's like candid, like, Oh, I've arrived at can photos. I think, cause I didn't, they used to come off boats and it would be like a whole photo op of them. Like, well, [00:33:13] Nick: there is a whole yacht. Like, there's a dock or a yacht station, whatever, in Cannes. [00:33:20] I went once, which is my only reference point. And I wasn't invited as like a guest of Cannes. I was like, brought in as a journalist for a brand. But it is kind of crazy. It's very old school Hollywood. Like there's this hotel called the Martinez and it's like thousands of people and photographers [00:33:40] waiting outside to get like one view of whoever. [00:33:44] Anie: Yeah. And [00:33:45] Nick: after sunset, you have to, it's black tie. Yeah. I remember, [00:33:50] Annie: remember when I told you about like going on, we went to the premiere and the guy I was with was wearing, um, sneakers. But they were like Loro Piana [00:34:00] sneakers, you know, but they, they wouldn't let us go. They wouldn't let us go. He was in a tux. I was like in a gown and everything. [00:34:07] Nick: They said, nope. It's kind of crazy, [00:34:11] Annie: but anyway, my point is every celebrity and brand, you know, cause now it's like models go for brands. I'm like, it's so funny to see. Well, there's always been [00:34:19] Nick: [00:34:20] models. Like there's always like sports illustrated and like IMG, maybe there's some sort of a deal because it's like, Oh, it's like Joan Smalls will walk the red carpet and you're like, what? [00:34:31] Annie: It's so random. The people that you see at Cannes or [00:34:34] Nick: Bella Hadid. Why is she there? I guess for Dior. [00:34:38] Annie: No, she went to a, uh, [00:34:40] I think they go to, that's my whole thing. If anybody is a manager of a celebrity that goes to Cannes, I would love to know, like how that all comes together. Cause I think you're not in [00:34:49] Nick: a movie. [00:34:50] Annie: Yeah. If they're not in a movie, cause I think they put together like a whole agenda for them to go to like this party here for this brand and then like, go and do this here. And like, we're going to stage this photo shoot [00:35:00] here. It is kind of cool being there because. It truly, well, it's not the whole, the whole town was I found it to be like quite tacky. It was like all shopping, like mall shopping, there's the nicer stores are closer to the water. And then like a block after is like Zara and then a block after is like H& M. But it's, [00:35:20] but then you drive down the highway and then it gets like really beautiful. But the actual like area where can is, is like kind of like, Fine. But like not very cute or quaint or special. It's like Las [00:35:31] Nick: Vegas on the water. [00:35:32] Annie: Yeah. Yeah. [00:35:34] Nick: But [00:35:35] Annie: the cool thing was it truly every, like most people are really dressed up like all day [00:35:40] long. So it's kind of, if you like getting into costume and like dressing up and being like super glamorous, it is kind of fun just to like be amongst that I hate it. I got dressed up today. You didn't even say anything. That's so rude. [00:35:53] Nick: I know. I, I love it. I think it's gorgeous and amazing. Should we do products of the week? [00:36:00] I don't have a product of the week, but I have a thing that I bought and paid for myself that I will be testing for the next week. And I just want everyone to know it is the Dew Skin. Line have you ever tried any of the products? [00:36:17] Annie: Yeah, I'm friends with Marta. [00:36:18] Nick: Really? okay, so [00:36:20] I bought the serum and the cream and One other thing. And because I, I have heard things that like, it's doing really well. And like, I think a lot of their content is really good. Like educational content. So I bought it all on my own time and I'm going to test it this [00:36:40] week. [00:36:41] Annie: I like it. I think the point of [00:36:44] Nick: view, like the, like as a brand, that's my only question. [00:36:48] Annie: I think they're like active products for really sensitive skin. [00:36:53] Nick: It's called like Angel Glow and like, it's a little Bella in the like marketing, but I'm [00:37:00] excited. So I'm just curious. [00:37:03] Annie: Watch this [00:37:04] Nick: space. What do you have? [00:37:05] Annie: I, we never shouted out the people that sent in voice recordings. I asked for tips on applying a pearlescent nail polish because that is the nail polish of summer 2024. Got it. It's pearlescent [00:37:20] colors. So [00:37:21] caller: one, of course, always start with a base coat. Allow that to dry. Well, two. When you go to apply the polish, there's two tricks here. The number of brushstrokes and the amount of polish being applied. So you want to start with a heavy droplet of polish on the brush. We're [00:37:40] not going back for more. We're starting with one big puddle on the nail so apply that in one stroke down the middle and then one stroke on either side to help disperse it and place it on the sides of the nail we are not doing more than three strokes or else you're gonna start it's gonna start drying and it's gonna [00:38:00] start [00:38:00] Annie: a couple weeks ago, I don't remember how long we spoke regarding OPI's Kyoto Pearl, which was like a frosty white pearl. This week, I bring you, currently on my toes, is OPI's Cosmo Not [00:38:20] Tonight, Honey. [00:38:22] Nick: That's what it's called Cosmo not tonight, honey. [00:38:25] Annie: Yeah, I [00:38:30] Nick: Don't is it like a person you're like talking to a person named Cosmo or is it like I'm not having a Cosmo tonight Like I think it's [00:38:38] Annie: a mix of that with the [00:38:40] word Cosmo not [00:38:42] Nick: Got it. [00:38:43] Annie: It must be part of like a space themed collection Terrible name. We'll just we'll just Okay, all right. Let's get that out of our system. Horrible. [00:38:54] Nick: Do you know what a cosmonaut is? [00:38:56] Annie: It's like a space man. [00:38:59] Nick: It's a [00:39:00] Russian or Soviet astronaut. [00:39:03] Annie: Hot. I mean, they were the first in space. [00:39:06] Nick: There you go. [00:39:06] Annie: Listen, I'm not on Team Russia, but you gotta get rid of it. There's no changing history. [00:39:11] Nick: You can't rewrite it. [00:39:12] Annie: You can't re I mean. [00:39:14] Nick: Nope. I'm [00:39:15] Annie: not saying they went about it the right way. I'm pretty sure they sent a dog first. I'm not saying that. I don't agree with [00:39:20] how they did it. I'm just saying they did. They were the first. Um, Anyway, the shade is a beautiful, cool, taupe y color with a silvery, [00:39:33] Nick: do you see? It's almost like bronze y or like copper y. Yeah, you said copper y. [00:39:39] Annie: Copper, [00:39:40] I think is too orange. This is more of a neutral Topi. Brown. [00:39:43] Nick: Yeah, [00:39:43] Annie: metallic. Pearly, [00:39:46] Nick: like a cool [00:39:46] Annie: copper. I feel like Carmella soprano probably has this on her fingernails. [00:39:52] Anie: Okay. [00:39:53] Annie: But for summer, it's on our toes. It's a neutral with a twist. And [00:40:00] that is the foot look. And, oh, I never follow through on my promise to do a video with the Victoria Beckham Beauty. Another brand that understands the importance of weighted packaging. This is a very, very, very heavy, Lip tint [00:40:20] tube. And I think before I said it, I didn't like it, but then I discovered, Oh, I have a better way of applying it. And that is to, instead of putting it all over your lips with the wand and just like letting it stain, I just do a dab like this and then I just blend with my fingers and then I have [00:40:40] this stain that's more diffused and it doesn't like settle into my creases and my lips. Do you love? [00:40:47] Nick: Yeah. It's just like a little color. Like a, like a, like a you ate a few blackberries. Berries. [00:40:55] Annie: That's such a great. Yeah. And it's in the shade. be Zoo.[00:41:00] [00:41:02] Nick: Well, with that, we can say bezoo for now and we are produced by Jonathan Korman and we are edited by AJ Mosley and we are on Patreon at patreon. com slash eyewitness beauty where we post [00:41:20] our video episodes and we respond and talk to people and have fun over there and we will be back next week. [00:41:31] Annie: Bye. [00:41:40]