Retail Recap: The big beauty launches of November 2023

This month saw a variety of new beauty launches across the UK, from new brand launches and retail expansions, to tech and product innovation.

Here's a round-up featuring November's highlights from businesses including Emma Lewisham, Lush and The Fragrance Shop, as well as this month's feature content from TheIndustry.beauty.

Launches at UK retailers

Emma Lewisham lands at Liberty as it continues UK retail expansion

Luxury skincare brand Emma Lewisham launched at Liberty London, strengthening its retail presence in the UK. It marked the first New Zealand born skincare brand to land at the British department store and offers its full range. 

Prai Beauty lands at Waitrose in first supermarket launch

Prai Beauty launched at Waitrose, introducing its Ageless Throat & Decolletage Creme, Ageless Throat & Decolletage Serum, Ageless Throat & Decolletage Night Creme, and Ageless Upper Arm Creme to a supermarket environment for the first time.

New brands

The Steam Bar launches at Selfridges with new salon experience set for next year

The Steam Bar, a new premium haircare brand designed for people of colour, launched exclusively at Selfridges. It claims to be the first haircare brand to merge the art of ‘skinification’ with steaming - a key ritual for people of colour for many generations and centuries - to deliver "exceptional scalp care".

Tech & Innovation

The Perfume Shop launches "industry-leading" fragrance refill station with L’Oréal

The Perfume Shop partnered with L’Oréal to introduce the UK's first multi-brand fragrance refill station, helping to meet customer demand for more environmentally friendly options. The service launched for the first time at the retailer's store in Nottingham.

Very introduces generative AI to “revolutionise” shopping experience

Very expanded its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to “accelerate retail innovation” with generative AI. As part of this, the retailer launched a new ‘Gen AI Innovation Lab' to deliver interactive and personalised digital shopping experiences to its customers.

Lush continues 'big tech rebellion' with new Black Friday initiative

Lush continued its "big tech rebellion", raising money for decentralised movement People vs Big Tech on Black Friday. The brand set out to donate 100% of the sales price (minus the VAT) of its new limited-edition 'The Cloud' bath bomb to People vs Big Tech.

How Dove is championing inclusivity in gaming with first coding guide for textured hairstyles

Dove partnered with Open Source Afro Hair Library to launch the "world's first" free guide for coding textured hair and protective styles in video games. Created by Black artists, Code my Crown is a instructional guide for developers to code more diverse, true-to-life depictions of Black hairstyles in 3D to encourage more representation in the virtual world of gaming.

L’Oréal partners with Cosmo International Fragrances for new scent extraction process

L’Oréal launched an exclusive, industry-first partnership with Cosmo International Fragrances to "revolutionise the art of fine fragrance creation".  Developed by Cosmo International Fragrances and made exclusively available to L’Oréal, the patent-pending process is a waterless, low-energy, slow extraction process that reveals the exact smell of an ingredient while preserving its integrity.

The Fragrance Shop to welcome UK’s first AI fragrance machine as part of new experiential flagship

The Fragrance Shop introduced the UK's first Artificial Intelligence fragrance machine as part of its new London flagship, allowing customers to create personalised scents in-store. The retailer has partnered with AI-guided scent creation platform EveryHuman to launch the 'Algorithmic Perfumery’ experience at the opening of the retailers new Oxford Street store on 16 November.

Features

• In Depth: Why supermarkets are betting on beauty.
• The Interview: Badria Ahmed, Founder of Holy Curls, on the brand's inclusive approach to curls.
• The Interview: Caglar Odabasi, Head of Education at Fresh, on 30 years of innovation.
• Are beauty brands ready for the last-minute holiday rush?
• The Interview: Jake Xu, Co-founder of Shakeup Cosmetics, on building a beauty brand for men.
• The Interview: Indu Co-founder Aaron Chatterley on his skincare and makeup brand for teens.
• The Interview: Lush Head of Retail Kasey Swithenbank on the expansion and elevation of its store estate.

TheIndustry.beauty LIVE!

• The Glowcery and Shakeup Cosmetics on sustainability, authenticity and diversity.
• Founder Joanna Jensen on Childs Farm's journey to success.
• Newby Hands on how to bring a beauty brand to market and stay there.
• How to level up on customer loyalty and service.
• BigCommerce on creating a personalised omnichannel experience to future proof beauty brands.

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