Lianna Albrizio, Assistant Editor01.02.23
Beautyque NYC—an experiential retail marketing platform for emerging beauty, health and wellness brands—recently hosted a pop-up store at the W Hotel in partnership with fashion marketplace Style Lab.
The store, which was set up beside the lounge area of W Hotel in Times Square from December 10 – 31, showcased luxury, doctor-backed and affordable skincare, wellness offerings and cosmetics.
For Beautyque NYC Founder Sonia Khemiri, the pop-up provided a post-pandemic boost to the physical retail experience of buying beauty.
“We are looking to expand, and W invited us to activate the space because they are branding into wellness and well-being,” she told Happi.
Ambitious Founders Take Skincare to a New Level
Here is a look at some of the brands that participated in the pop-up:
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Founder Janice Hardoon has been a cannabis guru since 2018. One of the first women in the industry to cultivate her own hemp plantation, of which she personally performs the extraction, Hardoon creates solution-targeted products. The line includes tinted moisturizer, hand soap, collagen boost serum, activated charcoal cleanser and sheet masks that address many skincare issues from calming and soothing redness to decongesting clogged pores to help in the eradication of acne in those with sensitive skin. The three-year-old brand is sold through Beautyque NYC and online at elevatecbdcosmetics.com.
Wow Cream
Is there a better way to sell consumers on your brand’s moisturizing cream than calling it “Wow This Cream is Really Good?” That’s Austin Nagel’s plan.
The skincare brand, founded by the American-born doctor in anthropology living in Tokyo, was created in Switzerland. This all-in-one day/night moisturizing cream retails for $285 and contains 16 bioactive plant botanicals and is designed for men and women of all races and skin types.
The moisturizer has a full concentration of peptides, antioxidants and natural moisturizing oils, and potent brighteners help skin look better in five weeks, according to the company. Peptides including Argireline, Matrixyl 3000 and Eyeseryl, soften and help skin renew, reducing wrinkles and fine lines with the goal of building collagen. The formulation also contains sugarcane squalane, Japanese diglycerin and Japanese L-Lysine to provide hydration and skin elasticity; bioactives sulforawhite to brighten; Glycyrrhetinic acid to soothe skin; Longevicell as an antioxidant; CM-Glucan to calm sensitive skin; niacinamide/vitamin B3; hyaluronic acid; C12-13 alkyl lactate to gently exfoliate; and Swiss glacier water.
Founder's Formula
Anthropologist and aspiring ethnobotanist Annie Holden developed her brand following a trip to Cosmoprof five years ago. Upon recognizing the lack of Australian botanicals in skincare products on display at the show in Bologna, Italy, the self-professed “research nerd” discovered plants such as Illawarra Flame Tree and Emu Apple contain active, potent ingredients and that could be used in skincare. The brand says it uses newly-researched Australian Botanticals harvested from pristine environments, for results-driven skincare.
For example, its Phyto-A+ Australian Native Tobacco Serum is a retinol alternative that utilizes Australian native tobacco. The company contends it is four times more effective than both retinoic acid and retinol at stimulating collagen. The brand’s Wild-Harvested Kakadu Plum Vitamin C Serum uses plums with high levels of phyto-nutrients, and works to reduce rough texture, improve dullness to promote a dewy complexion, reduces acne scars, builds collagen, and inhibits dark spots and hyper-pigmentation.
Taila
This skincare brand is committed to the science of Ayurveda. The brand’s Kaya Flora Body Elixir contains sesame seed to deeply moisturize; brahmi to firm skin and reduce the appearance of cellulite and pigmentation; and neem to sooth irritation and stimulate collagen production while treating dry skin. Talia’s Detoxifying Jungle Mask brightens and exfoliates by resurfacing facial skin while decongesting pores, removing dead cells and refining skin to treat blemish-prone skin.
Immunocologie
Celebrity esthetician Karen Ballou knew the heartbreak behind a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. While she’s now cancer-free, there was no beauty in beating the disease; the rounds of chemotherapy took a massive toll on her skin. Immunocologie was developed from Ballou’s drive to understand the importance of the skin microbiome. Among the brand’s products are Super 7 Elixir Serum, a multi-benefit reparative face serum, and Vital Clay Mask, a deep-cleansing mask made from the brand’s proprietary French green clay blend with 12 essential minerals to purify skin by drawing out pollutants and excess oil.
Mindful of the circulation-boosting properties of heat therapy and the minerals found in soils of volcanic-dusted earth, Immunocologie’s Lava Mask features self-heating Lava Gel to send the repair-stimulating benefits of 12 essential minerals into the epidermis to regenerate at the cellular level to hydrate and leave skin glowing, according to the brand.
Other Indie Brands at Pop-Up
Additional brands at the pop-up included Amazing Cosmetics, Code8 Beauty, CMYK, Dome Beauty, Chro.Mat by Liftlab, Sixgldn, L'Odaites, Saints and Sinners, Olecea Beaute, Bath Slut, Cleo + Coco and more.