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Welcome to Launch Digest, where we bring you the latest and greatest product launches to hit the market across the DTC universe.
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Heaven-Scent Launches
It’s as if Glossier’s perfume expansion last week (and Vintner’s Daughter’s limited scent launch) rang the bell: beauty brands are getting increasingly olfactory. I’m not complaining.
Crown Affair collaborated with Nette on a candle, and it might be one of my favorite brand partnerships of this year. Each time I shower with the brand’s Ritual Shampoo and Conditioner, I’m complimented on my “perfume” for the rest of the day. The new Take Your Time candle is an answer to many Crown Affair devotees’ pleas for a way to bottle that scent of amber, apple, peony, cedar, yuzu, and bergamot. Base notes of teakwood and sandalwood give the candle a cozy warmth, ideal for lighting up beside your bath as the months get colder.
MERIT is everywhere: your five minute morning routine, your coffee cup, your cab. But the brand isn’t stopping there. It’s coming for your signature scent. After four years of working with master perfumer Fanny Bal, MERIT has officially entered fragrance with Retrospect, a concentrated extrait de parfum with nearly 30% fragrance oil. Doubling the fragrance of most perfumes, Retrospect was engineered to last (and subtly evolve) all day with just one spray. Soft and clean notes of bergamot, pear, and ambrette meet a warm, sultry base of musk, vanilla, and moss and obviously make for a beautiful Fall / Winter scent – one that changes the second it touches your skin. Samples are shipping now with every MERIT order, and you can sign up for the waitlist here (the scent will officially be available on the 22nd). Taking bets on whether Saie or ILIA will be next in the perfume department…
When it comes to scent, LOEWE’s not new to this, it’s true to this. The expertise is showing! The luxury house’s new Textura Collection made its debut this week, featuring three exclusive floral scents each housed in artisanal ceramic vessels and unique glazes that reference the flowers for which they’re named. They’re not just candles, they’re art objects (and priced accordingly).
Some other fragrance news on my radar: Les Fumées, a unisex line of “pheromonic” fragrances, layered with distinct notes that mold to your individual skin chemistry. Try a sample set if you have commitment issues. For our readers who lean even more granola, meet & Tread Well, a sister-founded brand powered by natural botanicals. Their latest launch is Alpine, a woodsy, warm natural fragrance made with whole plant oils; apply liberally on your pulse points and enjoy a subtle scent that lingers for hours. Even Branch Basics launched a candle (although technically it’s not scented – just a gentle honey aroma that comes from the 100% pure beeswax as it burns).
Advent Calendars That Are Genuinely Awe-Inducing
As a Jewish person, Advent Calendars have always completely amazed me. This year, they’re getting even better. The Diptyqe Paris Advent Calendar is the stuff of dreams: 25 days of home candles (including three completely new holiday scents), personal fragrances, lotions, and decorative pendants, thoughtfully curated to brighten your holiday season, and tucked away in a calendar shaped like a charming sewing box.
If Diptyque’s $495 calendar didn’t wow you enough, might I direct you to Astrid & Miyu? Choose between a 12-day calendar that’ll only run you $515; a 24-day calendar for $1,030; and a Solid Gold calendar for $1,475. You can’t buy love, but if you could, these calendars packed with sparkly objects would hypothetically get you pretty close.
Compartes’ Gourmet Chocolate Advent Calendar, packed with 24 pieces of artisan chocolate, looks like a steal in comparison.
It Wouldn’t Be A Launch Digest Without An Addition To Your Kitchen
Kosterina launched a Green Goddess Olive Oil made in collaboration with Melissa Ben-Ishay, who essentially invented the Green Goddess salad. Another cooking oil brand will be launching infused oils next week (you’ll be the first to know). Seems to me like Graza’s the only one yet to announce something infused…
Sweet Loren's is about to launch two limited-edition seasonal cookie doughs: Chocolate Mint and Gingerbread. Both are vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, pre-cut, and perfectly portioned to bake in less than 15 minutes. Set your alarm for when they’re available to shop on Monday.
For your new afternoon pick-me-up that looks destined for the shelves of Erewhon, explore Wanderlands, a pecan snack mix invented by a winemaker and a neuroscientist (really). The pecans are estate-grown, non-GMO, and 100% vertically integrated, made extra flavorful with a mix of seeds, vegetables, legumes, and spices. Needlessly fancy, but I’m kind of obsessed.
Before You Go…
The Launch Digest that never ends.
goop Beauty launched a clean retinol (!) developed to address deep wrinkles, rough texture, and skin laxity. Powered by three different types of retinoids to renew the dermal layer and balanced by collagen-boosting peptides and botanicals to soothe and protect, this shit is the real deal. goop’s clinical study found that 100% of participants showed improvement in deep wrinkles, pores, and hydration after just four weeks of using the Regenerative Serum. Get into it and be the next goop beauty clinical success story.
Reformation founder Yael Aflalo has a new eponymous line. It looks like Ref; just a little grown up, more austere, less cutesy, and ambiguously better quality (or just a higher price point, I can’t yet tell).
More things for feeling younger vis a vis connecting with your inner child: Glossier launched a Hot Cocoa Balm Dotcom for the holidays. Clinique’s cult-favorite Black Honey lipstick is now available in a bedazzled case. Dare to be that absolutely fabulous!
Happy shopping. Email me directly – zoe@thequalityedit.com – with any launches you’d like to see in the spotlight, or DM us over @thequalityedit.
