Editors' Top Reads: News from Molton Brown, Bubble Skincare, Selfridges and more...

Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.beauty team.

The Interview: Hairstylist Anna Cofone talks backstage beauty at London Fashion Week

Through the eyes of attendees, London Fashion Week presents itself as a series of perfectly organised catwalks, presentations and events. So, it's easy to forget there's a hidden world of chaos, hard work, and exceptional attention to detail taking place behind the scenes - and not just by the designers.

From makeup artists to hairstylists and nail technicians, the backstage beauty teams work tirelessly to complete each season's looks, helping to shape the industry's next trends.

Hairstylist Anna Cofone is just one of the creatives behind some of fashion week’s biggest hair looks. When she’s not styling the likes of Lana Del Rey or Dua Lipa, she is working with designers on shows across London, Paris, Milan and New York.

In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty Cofone speaks about the backstage buzz of London Fashion Week, how she collaborates with different designers to create looks, what brands she is working with this season, and more. An interesting read amid this London Fashion Week, if I do say so myself.

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer. 

The Interview: Bubble Skincare's founder Shai Eisenman on bursting into the affordable skincare market

Shai Eisenman is nothing short of a success story, so when I was offered the chance to interview her, it was a no-brainer. Eisenman, the founder and CEO of Bubble Skincare, burst (quite literally) into the then-untapped teen skincare market when she launched Bubble Skincare in 2020. Tackling a myriad of skincare concerns from acne breakouts to dullness, the affordable yet effective solutions thrust Bubble into the skincare stratosphere.

Though many followed in Bubble's footsteps, it really did burst open the door to teen skincare solutions at affordable price points.

She said: "There was so much innovation and so many things happening for the prestige customer, but when you look at the price point of £20 and under, people are still stuck with the same products that I used when I was younger and the same products that my mom used when she was younger. I felt like there was an opportunity to give consumers something so much better". But, despite Bubble being created for the teen market, its effective solutions work for any age range - take it from me, I'm well past my teenage years and I'm a big fan of its Slam Dunk moisturiser.

Read the full interview to find out about how she started her career at age 15 and her upcoming plans to grow the US-based brand's presence and community here in the UK.

Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.

Selfridges is rewarding customers for time spent in store as well as their spend - here's how

If only this new loyalty scheme was in place when I was a young, child-free woman about town; I would have been a Selfridges VSP. I remember once asking the former CEO of Selfridges if I could just move into the store, as it would save me so much time of travel since I was there most days just soaking it all it. I was only half-joking and he knew it. He still said no (boo!) even though I promised to be no bother.

These days customers who spend time in the store are rewarded and, you guessed it, actively incentivised to spend even more time there (though I still don't think you are actually allowed to move in). The more you participate in events, visit restaurants and buy things, the more access you will get to special events and experiences, and receive early opportunities to buy even more things! It's a very smart scheme as it will lock in true fans of the store, by discouraging them from buying elsewhere.

Let's face it, a lot of what you can buy in Selfridges, you can indeed buy elsewhere. But why would you buy it elsewhere when the experience in Selfridges is so epic? Just walking through the door sets my heart racing, It's one of those few special stores on a global level that really delivers something far greater than the sum of its parts.

I've never really needed an incentive to go to Selfridges but I shall gladly take advantage of them moving forward.

Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.

Molton Brown partners with shoe designer Ancuta Sarca for new fragrance launch

When I attended the Ancuta Sarca presentation at Fashion Week this time last year, I was mesmerised. I spent far longer in that room than anyone else, soaking in the Romanian-born designer's collection with unabashed awe and appreciation. This woman is taking a Nike football boot and making it the chicest little Carrie Bradshaw-coded stiletto you ever clapped eyes on. One day, I thought, one day.

Whilst a pair of Ancuta Sarca shoes – priced somewhere between £450 and £750 – will have to be earmarked as my "Mum, I've made it" purchase, her collaboration with Molton Brown is something I might just be able to swing. The second chapter in its Artists of Note series, the British brand brings together the Sarca with fragrance’s creator, Véronique Nyberg, for a collaboration centred around the themes of "contrast, hope, optimism and renewal".

The new Bluebell & Wild Strawberry fragrance uses top-notes of wild strawberry, with warm amber accord and soft driftwood at the base, alongside a note of earthy violet leaf. If that sounds like a bit of you, it's available now for £140 for 100ml from the Molton Brown website.

Katie Ross, Content & Events Executive.