News! About beauty things!

I know that I don’t talk about news on the daily and that there are plenty of other ways to get your beauty news (like maybe the YouTube channel Beauty News, which I love. Those Aussie ladies are my homegirls), but in the last 24 hours there have been some stories that I found interesting and/or exciting, so I wanted to talk about them. Briefly.

Kiehl’s has come to Ulta: Every time a new high-end brand comes to Ulta I get a little twinge of satisfaction because it means there’s one less thing I need to go to Sephora for, with their snotty salespeople and shitty rewards system. I don’t like Sephora. I worked there for about a month and it completely destroyed my love for that store. If you want a Sephora holiday employee storytime, let me know.

Haus Beauty website launches: Early in 2018 Lady Gaga’s company filed a trademark for Haus Beauty, and as of Monday, December 31, 2018, Haus Beauty has a website. Right now it’s a landing page with a box to enter an email address to receive future emails and nothing else, but it’s progress. I’m really hoping that Lady Gaga/Haus Beauty will step up and be the brand I really wanted Kat Von D to be. When KVD launched a decade ago I really hoped she’d be weird and quirky and goth, but without all of the bullshit that’s been included because of who she is as a human being. I signed up for the Haus Beauty emails, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of it.

Fenty is launching 50 shades of concealer: This might not be new news, but Fenty will soon be launching a concealer in 50 (!!) shades on January 11, along with a setting powder and more shades of their foundation. I’m still not into Fenty, but this is a huge launch and it’s awesome that the brand keeps setting the bar so high when it comes to shade inclusivity.

The Today Show’s beauty and style trends for the new year: This isn’t news per se, but when I saw this story I was simultaneously amused and horrified. There’s a lot to unpack here. First and foremost, who in the hell is taking beauty and style tips from the Today Show? I’m genuinely curious since the only people I know who watch the Today Show are either very young, like little kids before school, or people who wake up at the crack of dawn and don’t need to do anything because they’re retired. For that matter, who even watches live tv? The only time I subject myself to that nonsense is when I’m in a hotel and the wifi is garbage, i.e. when I don’t have a choice.

So, after being shocked that this is still a thing, I actually looked at the “trends”, and… oh my, so terrible. Neons, “fun” bags like fanny packs, and bold eye looks. That’s it! That’s the whole list! Two are laughable because it’s not 1985, and the other is so face-palmingly obvious that anyone who takes a stroll around Ulta or Sephora and checks out the new eyeshadow or mascara releases will realize this. Even drugstore brands like L’Oreal and Wet ‘n Wild have been into the bold eye thing since over the summer when they were releasing colored mascaras and bright palettes. I don’t even understand.

What do you think about these stories, or the Today Show “trends”?