The Glossy Beauty Podcast

• TSG Group's Phlur acquisition, Shiseido's layoffs — and everything you should know about sunscreen in the US

  In this episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon Dr. Jane Yoo, and the Melanoma Research Foundation's director of advocacy, Kim Wezik, MPH, chat with Glossy podcast co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner about how the U.S. wound up so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to sunscreen, how the Melanoma Research Foundation is working with congress to try to make progress in the field, and what's at stake (20:00). But first, co-hosts Lexy Lebsack and Emily Jensen discuss some of the week’s biggest beauty news, including TSG Group's acquisition of Chriselle Lim's Phlur, which was relaunched by Ben Bennett's incubator, The Center, in 2022. They also discuss a recent controversy surrounding the introduction of an AI fragrance influencer "launched" by another incubator, Slate Brands. The influencer's profile has since been deleted. And finally, they discuss recent layoffs at Shiseido — the parent company of Drunk Elephant, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, Nars, and several fragrance licenses including Tory Burch and Narciso Rodriguez — as well as at Walmart.

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• Prime Day's results, Beauty's wrestling opportunity — and a lawyer's take on beauty’s dupe lawsuits

  Beauty dupes have never been more popular. But is mimicking a competitor a sound business decision?   “This might surprise people, [but] dupes may not be illegal on their own," brand protection attorney Elizabeth Milian told Glossy. The word “dupe” is shorthand for “duplicate” and often denotes a product that is inspired by a higher-priced luxury offering. A dupe is different from a counterfeit product that presents itself as the original.  It's very common for duped brands to regularly bring lawsuits against the companies allegedly infringing on their trade dress, or IP, such as packaging, branding, logos or any other unique asset. While the majority of these lawsuits pop up then quickly disappear, Milian told Glossy they’re a vital action for long-term brand IP protection.  Most cases quickly settle out of court and so there is little legal precedent, yet most are based upon the same thing: Is consumer confusion happening? To better understand this growing issue, and how it impacts beauty business on both sides, Milian breaks down four recent cases. Beauty dupes have never been more popular. But is mimicking a competitor a sound business decision?   “This might surprise people, [but] dupes may not be illegal on their own," brand protection attorney Elizabeth Milian told Glossy. The word “dupe” is shorthand for “duplicate” and often denotes a product that is inspired by a higher-priced luxury offering. A dupe is different from a counterfeit product that presents itself as the original.  It's very common for duped brands to regularly bring lawsuits against the companies allegedly infringing on their trade dress, or IP, such as packaging, branding, logos or any other unique asset. While the majority of these lawsuits pop up then quickly disappear, Milian told Glossy they’re a vital action for long-term brand IP protection.  Most cases quickly settle out of court and so there is little legal precedent, yet most are based upon the same thing: Is consumer confusion happening? To better understand this growing issue, and how it impacts beauty business on both sides, Milian breaks down four recent cases.

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• Debut Biotech’s Joshua Britton on the breakthrough beetle pigment set to disrupt beauty, plus Amazon Prime sale news

  The female cochineal beetle may not be aware of it, but it owes a debt of gratitude to Joshua Britton. In February, Britton’s Debut Biotech unveiled a breakthrough set to disrupt how beauty products are formulated. Using biotechnology, the San Diego-based company created a vegan, bio-identical alternative to a common red cosmetics colorant traditionally harvested from the cochineal beetle. This beetle pigment can be found on ingredient labels as “carmine,” “cochineal extract,” “crimson lake,” “natural red 4” or “C.I. 75470.” A quick online search reveals carmine in products from Stila, Fenty Beauty, Maybelline, M.A.C., Chanel and dozens more brands. Britton has had a team of 10 researchers working on this for around four years. Debut has invested around $10 million in the project thus far, and the new, vegan pigment will soon be available for the industry at scale. Britton has a PHD in biochemistry and organic chemistry and launched Debut six years ago. Debut is backed by L’Oréal’s science-focused incubator arm Bold and was named a Time 100 2025 Most Influential Companies of the Year. The company also launched its first in-house skin-care brand, called Deinde, in 2024. Glossy awarded Britton a Glossy 50 award last year. Britton joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the breakthrough and its impact, and provides a primer on the power of biotechnology in beauty today. But first, Lexy Lebsack is joined by senior reporter Emily Jensen to discuss the news of the week. This includes early results from Amazon Prime Days, which is on track to be the retailer’s largest annual sale yet. Jensen and Lebsack also discuss Sephora’s newest brand, Beauty of Joseon, which is known for its viral and hard-to-get sunscreens. Founder Sumin Lee joined the Glossy Beauty Podcast late last year to discuss its stunning growth in the U.S. market. The company hopes to sell $120 million in the U.S. market this year.

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• Unilever's acquisition, Glossier's CEO shakeup and Arrae's Siff Haider on predicting wellness trends

  In the big wide world of health and wellness, there is always a buzzword du jour. In the past couple months, you've likely heard buzz about gut health and GLP-1s, ingredients like creatine and colostrum, and, of course, protein. For many of these trends, Arrae, the supplement brand co-founded by Siffat "Siff" Haider and her husband, Nishant Samantray, has been right there, answering consumer demand with a product featuring that of-the-moment ingredient or speaking to a top-of-mind concern. Wellness is Haider's passion and something she enjoys thinking about constantly, she said, both to live her best life and to get ahead of the zeitgeist for the brand. She also has a built-in focus group via her online community of 117,000 Instagram followers. Her podcast, "The Dream Bigger Podcast" — where she focuses on business, beauty and wellness — has another 38,000 Instagram followers. Arrae, meanwhile, has 222,000 Instagram followers. On June 12, the brand introduced its first protein product, Clear Protein+. A box of 20 single-use sachets is $55, without a subscription. The protein is raspberry yuzu flavor, which Haider likens to a "raspberry refresher." In addition to its hero ingredient, hydrolyzed whey protein, it includes electrolytes and collagen peptides. In this episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast (16:50), Haider chats with Glossy senior reporter Sara Spruch-Feiner about how she stays on top of wellness's next big things, how she knew creatine was going to have a big moment and what's special about Arrae's latest launch. But first, co-hosts Lexy Lebsack and Emily Jensen discuss some of the week’s biggest beauty news, including Unilever’s acquisition of the buzzy men’s grooming brand Dr. Squatch, which recently made headlines for selling soap infused with Sydney Sweeney’s bathwater. They also touch on Glossier’s search for a new CEO, as current chief Kyle Leahy is set to step down at the end of the year, and Dossier’s expansion into brick-and-mortar retail.

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• Beauty news from L’Oréal, Coty and Byredo — plus, Sahajan Skincare’s Lisa Mattam on clinical testing

  Earlier this year, Sahajan founder Lisa Mattam shared insights into her clinical testing strategy with Glossy, including the difference between clinical testing and consumer perception testing; the cost, challenges and complications that can arise with this sort of investment; and how she uses the results to market her line.  In today’s podcast episode, she breaks down all of this in more detail, including the challenges, cost and unseen hurdles.  But first, Glossy Beauty Podcast host Lexy Lebsack is joined by senior reporter Emily Jensen to discuss the news of the week. This includes the latest C-suite shuffles at Byredo and Kering, plus analysis of L’Oréal Group’s big #JoinTheRefillMovement refillability campaign that kicked off this week. It marks L’Oréal Group’s first global multi-brand, multi-category, multi-channel campaign — but is it a worthwhile investment?

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