Can a Shaving Company Teach Girl Scouts About Confidence?

Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas and Wicked 2 perfume…

Included in today’s issue: Ariana Grande, Cyklar, Dr. Dennis Gross, Derma E, Elizabeth Arden, Everyday Dose, Fazit, Formulary 55, Glossier, Goody, Half Magic, Ipsy, Kimchi Chic Beauty, Kosas, La Mer, Lancôme, Lolavie, Mediheal, Melanie Martinez, Neutrogena, Peter Thomas Roth, Rare Beauty, RMS Beauty, Sabrina Carpenter, Sacheu, Shark Ninja, Therabody, Ursa Major, Virtue, Wet Brush and Ursula the Sea Witch.

But first…

Visit the “body hair care” brand Flamingo’s homepage this August, and the first thing you’ll see is marketing copy blaring “hot days and smooth bikini lines” next to a photo of razors at the beach. It’s fun and flirty; it makes me want to buy their stuff. And yet, it’s also gnawing my guts.

That’s because while I’m seeing product photos of juicy watermelon hunks alongside “I shaved for this” stickers and spray-on body gel, I’m hearing from the Mammoth Brands-owned label about “empowerment” among school-age girls. That’s their goal with a Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) partnership, which was announced in 2023 but kicks off its first big activation, a program called Camp Confidence, on August 12.

The event happens on Governor’s Island in New York City, an idyllic hunk of land floating between the Financial District and the Statue of Liberty where colonial barracks still stand and rock bands like Empire of the Sun used to play until 2 am. (It’s where the Governor’s Ball music festival got its name.) Next week, it’ll host Flamingo and GSUSA as they debut a “body appreciation program” for Scouts in kindergarten through high school. “Our research showed us that girls and their families were interested in programming that allowed them to talk about their values and develop confidence,” GSUSA vice president of experience Sarah Keating told The Business of Beauty. “What girls and families were saying is that the ability to act confidently and feel confidently and be empowered is a life skill that they want.”

Flamingo approached GSUSA three years ago to build a partnership, said Mammoth Brands (formerly Harry’s Inc.) head of social impact Maggie Hureau, and together, they developed a “research-backed body appreciation program [that] helps girls build confidence, practice self-care and develop lifelong positive habits.” Keating explains that for GSUSA’s youngest kids — the Daisies, aged five to seven — that means learning how moving your body can be fun, and also help your mind. Middle school Cadettes are subject to more targeted conversations about beauty standards and mental health. Teen Girl Scouts are encouraged to ask, “How does my mindset and attitude impact what my body can do?” For each program, there’s a merit badge. (E.g., Cadettes can earn the “Outside the Mirror” badge “through creative activities like exploring personal style, trying playful makeovers, or creating campaigns that champion authenticity,” according to GSUSA.) Sadly, they don’t have flamingos on them, but they do feature cats doing yoga, pandas with hula hoops and high-fiving hands. (The patch graphics are both finely embroidered and wonky. If Alessandro Michele put them on a Valentino denim jacket, nobody would blink an eye.)

This isn’t Girl Scouts’ first foray into self-care. The beloved organisation licensed their cookie flavours to Lipsmackers in 2011 and made Hard Candy makeup, like a Coconut Crush eyeshadow palette, in 2024. Around the same time, Native launched deodorants and body lotions that smelled like Thin Mints. But this is the first time a beauty brand has sponsored a merit badge program, which adds extra responsibility for GSUSA — and extra opportunity for Flamingo to introduce its brand to Gen Alpha shoppers at a personal level.

As part of Camp Confidence, Flamingo has made a $1 million donation to the Girl Scouts of the USA, which Keating hopes will “really empower girls and provide support to the adults around them. It’s not just girls who are influenced by the program. The adult leaders are so important. The families of the girls are so important. It’s a widening circle.”

Flamingo’s mission when it comes to hair removal, said Hureau, is “all about choice — you can do it or not.” This sentiment feels totally genuine, but it chafes against Flamingo’s online messaging that calls its body-hair products “essential”— the very opposite of optional. The website’s models are all wrinkle and cellulite-free. And when Hureau explained Flamingo’s point of difference and alignment with GSUSA, she noted that “unlike others, we won’t talk about your bikini line at the beach.” When asked to reconcile that sentiment with its beachy summer campaign about “pubic care” Hureau clarified that a smooth body is about a feeling, not a look. It’s undeniable Flamingo makes quality products and donates real money to great organizations. It’s also tricky to navigate a “body neutrality” lesson when ‘smooth’ bodies are so central to the company’s mission.

Does this mean the whole program is a wash? Absolutely not. Donating a substantial amount of money to the Girl Scouts is amazing. Being willing to confront and adjust body standards is necessary and cool. Flamingo and the GSUSA are doing necessary work— and they’re certainly doing it better than the hundreds of brands that claim to “empower” girls just by selling them a random lip gloss that supposedly helps boost mental health awareness. And it is a small, real relief to see girl-focused organisations admitting that some young women enjoy the excitement of shaving, waxing and scrubbing, without falling into a blind moral panic about girls (gasp) enjoying the feel of their bodies, and the agency to alter them.

Girl Scouts, after all, are some of our most brilliant young Americans. They can handle the duality of wanting to shave their legs while acknowledging it’s important to support people who don’t want to shave their legs. And they can manage the knowledge that anyone trying to sell them a product — yes, even a great mission-based brand like Flamingo — will center their own idea of desire in order to achieve success. Ad messaging may be “empowering,” after all, but money? That’s real power. Fortunately, girlhood has real power, too. Acknowledging it early, instead of trying to scrub it away with platitudes about self-esteem, is how beauty brands can move forward with integrity and success. And, if they choose, with smooth bikini lines at the beach.

What Else Is New...

Skincare

La Mer is getting into academia. On Aug. 2, the Lauder-owned luxury skincare label announced a partnership with the Salk Institute in California “fund a three-year postdoctoral position focused on foundational research on human aging at the molecular level,” plugging La Mer into the “longevity” conversation while also, perhaps, encouraging skincare studies that confirm various product results.

Does the buzzy new ingredient PDRN kinda look like “porn?” Yes. Is this middle school humour exacerbated when I tell you that K-beauty brand Mediheal’s PDRN toner pads are soaked in “vegan salmon sperm?” Also yes. Yet salmon sperm facials have become such an Aniston-approved thing that I will dutifully report you can now buy their plant-based “poly-deoxy-ribo-nucleotides” for $24 on Amazon. Enjoy.

Derma E says they “partnered” with Joe Jonas on a TikTok video where he put the brand’s Vitamin C eye patches on his nipples. On Aug. 4, the company began touting its stick-ons as “the skincare equivalent of chicken cutlets.” Wonders. Ceasing.

This is clever: Formulary 55 just debuted a solid soap disc with an exfoliating side and a smooth side. The formula includes fine-ground walnut shells, aloe and hempseed oil. It’s $14, and as a reminder, bar soap uses 25% less energy to produce than liquid soap. (Plus, no plastic!)

Steam facial, meet steamy content. On Aug. 4, Neutrogena released two spicy short stories with influencer Serena Kerrigan to hype its new vitamin C serum.

Cyklar’s Lactic Acid Foaming Body Polish launched on Aug. 5 with the rare feat of having a tube the exact same colour as the formula — both are a Kardashian-worthy greige. The formula retails for $32.

On Aug. 5, Dr. Dennis Gross introduced Alpha Beta pH Balance Replenishing Cream, a $64 jar with a light gel texture that promises to reduce redness and help with “late summer skin recovery” from sun damage and chlorine.

Lancôme made Gemma Ward look like a cyborg for its Génifique Ultimate campaign on Aug. 6. I don’t think the $135 serum can make me or anyone look like the 37-year-old runway goddess, but nevertheless: Wow. Put this shot on billboards everywhere.

Ursa Major might be taking a page from Ursula the Sea Witch: Don’t underestimate the importance of… boooody language! On Aug. 6, the Vermont-based brand launched a body trio based on its best-selling Golden Hour face cream, including a dry oil, serum and moisturising butter. The brand’s messaging around the launch is especially admirable: “Founder Emily Doyle is intentional about simplicity: She doesn’t believe customers need all three products — just the one that feels best to them.” Right on.

First Vacation, then the world. After the Aussie holiday brand hit the jackpot with its clever whipped sunscreen, Peter Thomas Roth embraced the texture for its Water Drenched Whipped Cream Cleanser. The can debuted on Aug. 7, with a $34 formula including apple extract and coconut acid.

Elizabeth Arden’s Hyaluronic Acid + Peptides Ceramide duo — a capsule jar and a rich cream — hit Ulta Beauty on Aug. 8. Both formulas contain plant-based phytoceramides meant to mimic the fat in our skin’s outer layer, which is often depleted by GLP-1 drugs.

Makeup

In May, we reported that Fazit was working on temporary eyeliner tattoos. On Aug. 6, they happened, along with glimmery shadow patches. Each pack costs $16 online, with store rollouts happening this fall, and a promise to last three days. Will test and report back.

Soulgazer is a new Kosas mascara that dropped July 31. The $28 formula claims “visibly longer, fuller and stronger lashes in just 6–8 weeks” and comes in a metallic tube with puffy purple font that’s basically Gen-Z bait.

Half Magic claims its Glitterpuck Pressed Fairy Dust has sold out at Ulta Beauty five times. On Aug. 4, they augmented that supply with a new champagne-coloured shade called Glimmer Pop. The brand says the secret to its success is infusing the eyeshadow with water to minimize fallout and smearing. I think the names — like Dopamine Sparkle?! — help, too, though I can’t imagine spending $29.50 for eyeshadow as a teen.

In the midst of the athlete beauty boom, Ipsy is releasing a campaign called “I Play Beauty,” comparing beauty enthusiasts to recreational sports players. The commercial features a roller derby team, a burlesque dancer and a bunch of bodega girls adjusting their lip gloss in the security mirrors (#dead).

Glossier Skylight highlighter is one of those things that just makes you go, “Ohhhhh, pretty” when you see it. It’s a shimmery but sheer formula in a bigger-than-expected tube the diameter of a poker chip. The six shades retail for $24 each; they debuted on Aug. 7.

Kimchi Chic Beauty debuted Puff Puff Pass mini-compacts on Aug. 8. Each one is $12 and filled with the brand’s signature face-baking powder.

Haircare

SharkNinja is coming for… well, everyone. This month, the brand with the easiest hair dryer I’ve ever used hired Hilary Neve, the former global head of influence at Google who helped launch Zara in the States. She’ll be leading partnerships and communications as the Massachusetts-based brand dives further into hair and skincare tools. Amy Pellicane, Clinique’s former PR powerhouse in the Tavi Gevinson days, is already there. Look out (or buy stock).

Overnight Scalp Elixir is a formula from Virtue that promises “beauty sleep” for your strands. It’s infused with keratin and ceramides and debuts Aug. 1 at Ulta. It’s $60.

Lolavie’s Powder Perfect Dry Shampoo debuted on Aug. 4 at Ulta Beauty with colloidal oat flour and crushed rose quartz, emerald and topaz dust. This is amazing to me — essentially, a tiny ground tiara on your head! It’s kind of a bummer that founder Jennifer Aniston didn’t make some gemology content for her Insta, but maybe next time.

On Aug. 6, Goody announced the Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez as its newest campaign face; she’ll be supporting the new line of Goody Sport hair ties and clips. Cute!

Wet Brush introduced a limited-edition Tutti Frutti collection that’s basically their classic brushes covered in cherries, oranges and lemons. It’s a little goofy, but as someone who always loses my plain gray brush in the morning primp panic, a neon yellow one would probably be useful.

Fragrance (All Celeb Edition)

Glinda’s colour palette in Wicked 2 has shifted from pink to purple. Naturally, so has Ariana Grande’s perfume. On July 31, her namesake scent brand released Lovenotes Plush Vanilla, a lilac-tinted fragrance with puffy white hearts on the bottle. Grande wears a witchy lavender dress by Vera Wang in the ads.

Melanie Martinez’s Cry Baby Perfume Milk is back after five years. The fragrance has strawberry, milk, powder and wood notes, and comes in a pink and white bottle. It relaunched on Aug. 4 with backing from Flower Shop Perfumes Co.

Sweet Tooth got a passport. The Sabrina Carpenter fragrance franchise hit Europe and the UK on Aug. 5, four months after she finished her European Short n’ Sweet tour.

Smelling Rare probably won’t be rare after Aug. 7, when Selena Gomez’s close-watched beauty brand dropped its first-ever eau de perfume. It includes notes of caramel, pistachio and pink pepper, and comes in a bottle that looks like a jar of jam. Meghan Markle, call SG for some packaging ideas…

Retail News

Everyday Dose is a coffee that is also a supplement? I think? It says its $15 instant coffee packs come with “skin support” ingredients like collagen and chaga mushrooms, and hit 1,500 Target doors on Aug. 4. Take that, matcha latte lip balms.

Welcome to Ulta Beauty, RMS! The beauty brand from makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift entered 200 stores with a new product launch, Revitalize Hydra Concealer, a formula available in 26 shades.

You can now get a Theragun Mini at Ulta Beauty, along with the gizmo company’s Depuffing Wand, Sleep Mask and SmartGoggles for sleep and headache help. The gadgets hit Ulta’s website on Aug. 5, and will roll into 300 stores this fall.

And Finally...

How mad is Skindinavia that it’s no longer making Urban Decay’s setting spray? You know it’s serious when they pin the tea to the top of their Instagram grid.

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