February is the month between commitments. The January reset has held or it has not, the Valentine’s Day push from every brand starts mid-month, and the first whispers of Spring 2020 launches are landing in editor inboxes. The world has a new respiratory virus moving through Asia that the World Health Organization is now naming COVID-19, and we are starting to see early supply-chain ripples on the brands that source heavily from Korea and Italy. None of this has changed what is on shelves yet, but it is reshaping the conversation in interesting ways. Here is what is actually worth your attention this month.
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi is here
The bronzing-drops product we anticipated last month arrived: Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops. The formula is positioned as a “drop in” you mix into your moisturizer or sunscreen for a wash of warm color, with the brand’s signature anti-pollution and antioxidant story attached. It is the brand’s first launch under Shiseido ownership, and the rollout — hard launch at Sephora with full marketing support — does suggest the new owner is already accelerating the calendar. Worth trying if you have always found liquid bronzers too pigmented; D-Bronzi blends much sheerer.
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair, redesigned
Estée Lauder rolled out an updated formulation of Advanced Night Repair this month — the first significant redesign in roughly five years. The new formula adds a chronolux pollution complex and tweaks the existing repair-system technology, and the brand has been on a press push to remind editors that ANR was the original “serum” before the category existed. We are reserving judgment on whether this version meaningfully outperforms the older formula, but the price has held steady at one hundred and five dollars for the medium bottle, which counts as restraint.
The Valentine’s Day gift that actually works
If you are buying a beauty gift for Valentine’s Day, the answer this year is unambiguously the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Intense lipstick wrapped with the original — the new shade extends the franchise and the duo lands as both thoughtful (you remembered her favorite) and current (you knew about the new one). For a less makeup-forward gift, a six-week supply of The Inkey List Retinol at fifteen dollars and a tube of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream is a complete starter routine for under twenty-five dollars.
Olaplex No. 8 is in development
Olaplex has been quietly briefing salon partners on the No. 8 product, which is being positioned as a deep moisture mask. The brand’s release cadence — one product per year — has been their distinguishing strategy, and No. 8 is slated for second-half 2020. We will have early impressions when it lands. For now, the No. 7 Bonding Oil from October remains the most useful new addition to most people’s haircare routines.
NYFW Fall 2020 in the rearview
The Fall 2020 NYFW shows wrapped in mid-February. The dominant beauty story was a continuation of September’s skin-first pivot — Tory Burch, Brandon Maxwell, and Proenza Schouler all sent looks with fresh, almost untouched skin and a strong brow. The makeup product of the week was the Glossier Boy Brow, used backstage at three different shows. Six years in, Boy Brow is still the most quietly dominant single product in the prestige category.
What we are wearing in February
Our February face leans into the Pat McGrath foundation we picked up in January and a single statement element on top — either the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Intense lip or a Patrick Ta Major Beauty Headlines blush in the warm-pink direction. The eye stays soft. The nail stays clean — we have moved on from December’s burgundy to a milky beige we would not have had the patience for in our twenties. Essie Allure is the right bottle. We will see you on the first Tuesday of March.