November is when the holiday gift edits land in earnest, the Sephora Beauty Insider sale opens, and we start to seriously think about the year-in-review pieces that will run in December. This November came with two of the biggest acquisition stories of the decade and the official launch of a category we have been waiting for. Pour a glass and let us walk through it together.
Estée Lauder acquires Dr. Jart+ — it actually happened
The October rumor became a November announcement: Estée Lauder closed its acquisition of Korean skincare leader Dr. Jart+. Reported price tag: north of one billion dollars. This is the largest K-beauty acquisition by a Western conglomerate to date, and the implication is enormous: the boundary between “K-beauty as separate category” and “K-beauty as integrated part of global prestige” effectively closed this month. Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass and Ceramidin Cream are about to get the kind of distribution they have always deserved.
Patrick Ta launches his own beauty line
Makeup artist Patrick Ta, the man behind a decade of red carpet faces for Camila Cabello, Gigi Hadid, and Olivia Munn, finally launched his own line at Sephora this month. The Major Glow Body Oil and the Major Beauty Headlines blush duos are the standouts — the body oil is the kind of glow that finishes a strapless dress, and the blush duos are formatted as a cream and powder pair you blend into one finish. The brand is positioned as the prestige expression of the natural-glow look that has dominated 2019.
Sephora’s holiday gift sets are the smartest they’ve been
The 2019 holiday gift set lineup at Sephora has reached the level of curation we have been waiting for. The Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Trio (lipstick, liner, mascara) at sixty-eight dollars and the Drunk Elephant Littles set at eighty-nine dollars are the two best buys of the season for someone you actually like. The Sephora Favorites: Give Me Some Lip set is the best gift under fifty for the person you do not know that well — fifteen mini lipsticks across the prestige brands.
Glossier Play is quietly struggling
Six months after launch, Glossier Play — the company’s color cosmetics sub-brand — has not landed the way the original Glossier line did in 2014. The Vinylic lip glosses and the Niteshine highlighter dust are good products, but they are positioned for a customer who already overlaps with the original Glossier shopper, which makes the sub-brand feel redundant. We are watching this one carefully — Emily Weiss has not been wrong yet, but Play has not produced a single breakthrough hero product the way Boy Brow did six years ago.
Pat McGrath Mothership V Bronze Seduction
Pat McGrath Labs launched Mothership V “Bronze Seduction” in time for the holiday season. Where Mothership IV “Decadence” was burgundy and copper, V is gold, bronze, and warm brown — the holiday party palette of the year. The price is high, the formula is the best in prestige, and these palettes do not go on Black Friday discount. If it is on your list, buy now.
Burgundy nails, third year in a row
It is officially the third consecutive winter that deep burgundy is the dominant nail color, and we are calling it: this is no longer a trend, this is the new winter classic. Essie Wicked is still the gateway shade. OPI Lincoln Park After Dark is still the deepest. Chanel Rouge Noir, the original from 1994, is still the prestige version. Pick your tier and commit.
What we are buying in November
The cart this month is mostly gifts and a few self-purchases tucked alongside. Patrick Ta Major Glow Body Oil for ourselves. Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Trio for the friend who needs an upgrade. Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream as the affordable winter rich-cream pickup. And one tube of Essie Wicked because we go through one every November. We will see you on the first Tuesday of December for the year-in-review.