The Glossy Beauty Podcast

Glossy
  • 4.0 (160)
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Updated Weekly

The Glossy Beauty Podcast is the newest podcast from Glossy. Each episode features candid conversations about how today’s trends, such as CBD and self-care, are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. With a unique assortment of guests, The Glossy Beauty Podcast provides its listeners with a variety of insights and approaches to these categories, which are experiencing explosive growth. From new retail strategies on beauty floors to the importance of filtering skincare products through crystals, this show sets out to help listeners understand everything that is going on today, and prepare for what will show up in their feeds tomorrow.

  1. Is agentic shopping the next big thing in beauty? Sephora and Ulta are betting yes

    6d ago

    Is agentic shopping the next big thing in beauty? Sephora and Ulta are betting yes

    Artificial intelligence is the undisputed main character of 2026, showing up everywhere from the wedding industry to perfume creation. But even while AI’s place in society remains contentious — in the buzzy “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” AI is a bigger antagonist than Miranda Priestly — beauty brands and retailers are rushing to adopt AI into their platforms. That includes two of beauty’s major players, Sephora and Ulta.  In March, Sephora announced an integration of its app within ChatGPT, while Ulta Beauty announced its own artificial intelligence integration via a partnership with Google Gemini just a month later.  On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner are joined by senior beauty reporter Emily Jensen to discuss Sephora's and Ulta’s recent investments into AI, and how agentic shopping is poised to evolve in the beauty industry. How exactly AI will shape the consumer pipeline and influencer beauty shopping in the months and years to come remains to be seen. But with Amazon (and its proprietary AI capabilities) on Sephora's and Ulta’s heels as a major beauty retailer, the beauty retailers are diving right in rather than risking getting left behind.

    32 min
  2. L'Oréal-owned Lancôme is leveraging longevity in prestige skin care under veteran exec Vania Lacascade

    May 21

    L'Oréal-owned Lancôme is leveraging longevity in prestige skin care under veteran exec Vania Lacascade

    Over the past three years, L'Oréal Group has been quietly assembling the perfect team, ingredient, product and marketing rollout for its next big skin-care category: longevity.  Helmed by veteran L'Oréal Group executive Vania Lacascade, a doctor of pharmacy and MBA who has spent more than 15 years with the conglomerate, the first longevity skin-care range dropped on May 1 under the Lancôme brand.  Lacascade has worked across brands for L'Oréal Group and served as the chief innovation officer from 2023 to 2025. where she readied the conglomerate for its pivot into longevity. In 2025, she became the global brand president of Lancôme, overseeing the launch.  “One of the most significant projects I had to lead was this ambitious roadmap around longevity for beauty, and now, as the president of Lancôme, I have the opportunity to bring this roadmap to life,” Lacascade told Glossy. “With this launch, [called] Absolue MD, it's really this bridge between laboratory science and women's daily lives.”  The term longevity has become mainstream since the Covid-19 pandemic, as the wellness industry has exploded in popularity. Longevity is defined as living a longer, healthier life. In the health and wellness fields, it’s often measured by a mix of lifespan, or how long one lives, and healthspan, or the quality of that life. How the term applies to beauty is still being decided.  “If we manage to live longer, the first priority is to live better, and what was interesting to me is, ‘How do you translate this shift when it comes to skin? When it comes to beauty?'” she said.  Lacascade told Glossy that she sees anti-aging and longevity products as complementary. For example, anti-aging is corrective: “Correcting the loss of collagen, correcting wrinkles, so those types of skin care are here to treat the symptoms and address very, very specifically different kinds of signs of aging,” she said. Meanwhile, longevity is “treating the root cause of aging,” she said.  To power the company’s vision, L'Oréal’s venture capital fund, BOLD, acquired a minority stake in Swiss biotech company Timeline in 2024. It then leveraged the company’s Mitopure ingredient, which works through cellular repair, to power L'Oréal’s first longevity skin-care launch, called Lancôme’s Absolue MD. The new line dropped with three moisturizers made for different ages. The Anticipate cream is for those under 35 years old, while Intercept is made for those ages 35-55, and Reset was designed for who are 55-plus. Each is $155. In today’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Lacascade walks host Lexy Lebsack through her vision for L'Oréal Group’s continued expansion into longevity, the Lancôme launch that kicked it off, and how the team is leveraging celebrity ambassadors like Demi Moore and Zoe Saldaña to spread the word.

    44 min
  3. Amazon wants to be a beauty powerhouse. Is a big beauty sale the answer?

    May 14

    Amazon wants to be a beauty powerhouse. Is a big beauty sale the answer?

    On Sunday, Amazon wrapped up its fourth-annual Summer Beauty Event. Over two weeks, Amazon tempted shoppers with discounts of up to 50% on everything from makeup to vitamins. Even prior to the sale, the retailer did not seem to have trouble courting the beauty consumer. According to data from e-commerce agency Front Row, Amazon cleared $8 billion in U.S. beauty revenue in the first quarter of 2026. But Amazon wants more than just a place to snag beauty at a discount; it wants to be known as a premium beauty destination. On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner are joined by senior beauty reporter Emily Jensen to discuss the strategy around the e-commerce giant's beauty sales and assortment, and how it's attempting to position itself as a prestige beauty retailer on par with the likes of Sephora and Ulta Beauty. For Amazon, that means not only upping its brand assortment, which has grown to include everything from K-beauty favorites like Medicube to Puig-owned Charlotte Tilbury in recent months, but also encouraging consumers to use its AI-powered shopping assistants in lieu of in-person sales associates. According to Amazon, 300 million customers used its AI shopping assistant Rufus in 2025. On Wednesday, after the recording of this episode, Amazon announced it would replace the Rufus AI assistant with Alexa for Shopping.

    37 min
  4. Why are people flying to Korea to inject salmon sperm in their faces?

    May 7

    Why are people flying to Korea to inject salmon sperm in their faces?

    What is PDRN? You've probably seen the four letters on serum bottles, sheet masks and even lip balms — or heard them on TikTok. PDRN stands for polydeoxyribonucleotide and typically refers to a DNA fragment that's often, but not always, derived from salmon sperm and most commonly found in K-Beauty. Of course, on social media, PDRN has an obvious shock value to it, which has led to an onslaught of posts in which lines like, "I just got salmon sperm injected into my face," provide perfect hooks to start videos. In this week's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner explores what PDRN is, what it purports to do for the skin, how it got so popular and how it is expanding beyond Korean beauty. To explore the topic, Spruch-Feiner speaks with New York City-based dermatologist Dr. David Kim; the former editor-in-chief of Allure magazine and fractional CMO for K-Beauty distributor Landing International, Michelle Lee; and the founder of Rodial, Maria Hatzistefanis.

    38 min
  5. L’Oréal's product placement strategy for "The Devil Wears Prada 2" with exec Laura Branik

    Apr 30

    L’Oréal's product placement strategy for "The Devil Wears Prada 2" with exec Laura Branik

    L’Oréal Paris is betting on “The Devil Wears Prada 2” through an official partnership that spans TV ads, OOH advertising, social campaigns, consumer eventing and product placement in the film. L’Oréal officially announced the partnership in March through a commercial that debuted during the Oscars, which drew more than 17 million viewers this year. “It was a huge, huge success and [created] huge buzz,” Branik said. “We also dropped it on social [media] that night, and we had more than 7 billion impressions in one night.” The commercial starred L’Oréal Paris spokespeople Kendall Jenner and Simone Ashley, set in the movie’s fictional “Runway” magazine offices. Similar commercials were released in the subsequent weeks starring L’Oréal spokesperson Isabella Rossellini and actress Pauline Chalamet, who joined the franchise for the sequel alongside Ashley. “It’s the first time we’re doing something so big,” Branik said. “We have done product integrations before, but this is a whole new level for us.” Branik sat down with podcast host Lexy Lebsack to walk through all of the details of the campaign, ways its success may lead to similar investments for L’Oréal Groupe and best practices for navigating product placement. Read Glossy Beauty's coverage: Exclusive: Swan Beauty CEO on the @acquiredstyle bachelorette party that broke the internet

    39 min
  6. Can a diffusion beauty line work? Indie Lee hopes to prove it can

    Apr 23

    Can a diffusion beauty line work? Indie Lee hopes to prove it can

    Indie Lee launched her namesake beauty brand — a pioneer of the "clean" beauty movement — in 2010. Now owned by parent company American Exchange, the brand is embarking on a new chapter: a diffusion line, Indie Lee Botanicals, which launched at Whole Foods in February. The range launched with a tight edit including a cleanser, toning mist, serum and moisturizer, each priced $20-$25. On this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, Lee joins co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner to explore why now was the right time to launch a lower-priced line, how she approached maintaining efficacy while cutting costs, and how this diffusion brand will grow and shape her core collection's future. The conversation also dives into how shifting consumer behavior, whether driven by economic pressure or interest in ingredient safety, is reshaping how and where people shop for beauty products. Read Glossy Beauty's coverage: Why ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is the collaborator fashion and beauty brands have been waiting for The beauty industry welcomes a flood of new peptide products as ‘peptide therapy’ trends online

    42 min
  7. Wonderskin CEO Michael Malinsky on turning a viral product into a thriving beauty brand

    Apr 16

    Wonderskin CEO Michael Malinsky on turning a viral product into a thriving beauty brand

    Michael Malinsky’s 6-year-old brand Wonderskin could have easily become a one-hit wonder.  Wonderskin launched in 2020 with a peel-off lip stain that immediately went viral on TikTok for its metallic blue formula and social media-friendly reveal. Since launch, the brand has sold more than 6 million units of the $22 Wonder Blading Lip Stain Peel-Off Mask, according to Malinsky.  “The unique visual ‘wow factor’ helped us tremendously in capturing attention, but just standing out is a small part [of success],” Malinsky said. “Delivering curiosity, entertainment and ultimately the desire to try a product is what we spent the first two years of the business really honing in on.”  In fact, Wonderskin’s viral success took years to build. “Our virality curve wasn't instant and up into the right; it was a slow-building momentum while we figured out the right messaging, the right visuals, the right branding, the right communications, the right packaging, the right pricing,” he said. “Only when we were very, very confident in the complete package were we more comfortable in activating the bigger partnerships and shouting a little bit more loudly about our product.”  As early adopters of TikTok Shop and live selling, Wonderskin leveraged seller tools to grow an online community and saw a 328% increase in return on ad spend, plus a 182% increase in click-through rate, according to a TikTok case study on the brand.  “The digital entrepreneurs’ anxiety is always there, because whenever something is working well in digital, there's always the concept of the half-life, because at some point, it will be less efficient. At some point, it will be less viral,” Malinsky said. But what happened next could be considered the more novel part of Wonderskin’s rise: The brand successfully launched into several more categories, including eye and complexion; took on $50 million in funding led by Insight Partners; and launched into traditional retail with Sephora.  This growth is partially fueled by Malinsky’s data-first approach to performance marketing, including a test-and-learn philosophy to new product launches. "We are confident and comfortable enough to move away from things that don't work," he said. Wonderskin’s sales revenue grew by 300% in 2023 and 2024, and in 2025, the brand did more than $125 million in revenue, according to Malinksy. Today, Wonderskin sells DTC and through Amazon and TikTok Shop, plus Sephora, Boots, Nordstrom and Revolve.  Malinsky joined the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss the challenges in turning a viral product into a full-fledged beauty brand, including learnings along the way and advice for fueling the fire behind a viral product.

    45 min
  8. What's going on at Glossier?

    Apr 9

    What's going on at Glossier?

    As the beauty industry moves past the direct-to-consumer boom of the 2010s, some of its most influential brands are being forced to redefine what success looks like. One of the most closely watched is Glossier, which recently appointed a new CEO, Colin Walsh, who joined from Ouai.  On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner is joined by senior beauty reporter Emily Jensen to discuss the staple millennial brand — which famously helped pioneer the modern "clean girl" aesthetic — and what its next chapter may hold.  In recent months, the company has undergone several changes. Since Walsh’s appointment, they've included layoffs affecting roughly a third of its workforce, a pullback on physical retail, and a renewed focus on hero products and fragrance, a category now driving significant growth. Headlines about the brand have often forecasted inevitable doom, but this episode explores Glossier’s current moment beyond a foregone conclusion, examining what it takes for a beauty brand to achieve longevity in an increasingly crowded market, the balance between newness and attention paid to hero products, and the challenge of maintaining relevance across generations.

    30 min
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About

The Glossy Beauty Podcast is the newest podcast from Glossy. Each episode features candid conversations about how today’s trends, such as CBD and self-care, are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. With a unique assortment of guests, The Glossy Beauty Podcast provides its listeners with a variety of insights and approaches to these categories, which are experiencing explosive growth. From new retail strategies on beauty floors to the importance of filtering skincare products through crystals, this show sets out to help listeners understand everything that is going on today, and prepare for what will show up in their feeds tomorrow.

Information

  • Creator
    Glossy
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    387
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 3cf86e00-eb15-11f0-b690-47a1cf307d27
  • Show Website
    The Glossy Beauty Podcast

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