Beauty in LA: the new addresses and trends to know about
Los Angeles is synonymous with beauty: the city is to beauty what Silicon Valley is to tech. Once considered merely the playground of the skin- deep-beautiful, with more cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists and aestheticians per capita than anywhere else in North America, it has now evolved a more inclusive landscape that innovates the latest in beauty, workouts and wellness. With so many start-ups sprouting up – a mix of slow burners and instant success stories – just like South Korea in the noughties, Los Angeles has become the destination to watch when it comes to the beauty zeitgeist.
The LA star hasn’t always been in the ascendant. New York, for the longest time, was the epicentre of the biggest beauty movers and shakers, from brands and influencers to writers. But from about 2013, USA-based YouTubers began migrating to LA to be closer to management, celebrity events – and the money.
The upward trajectory of the influencer demographic has had an enormous impact on the beauty economy. Hugely successful influencer-owned brands, including Summer Fridays by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland, Bad Habit by Emma Chamberlain and Forvr Mood by YouTube powerhouse Jackie Aina, are translating the LA lifestyle into something more attainable and tangible for their many global acolytes.
Specialist founder brands such as Ole Henriksen, Kate Somerville, Hourglass and Murad sprouted from roots in LA, to be acquired by some of the beauty world’s biggest conglomerates with a keen eye on the next big thing. The city’s nascent batch of cool indie companies, such as Youth To The People, Topicals and Versed, were built on a progressive ethos, influenced by California’s obsession with the health of self and environment that is now front and centre in the industry. Clean or good-for-you ingredients are so much the order of the day that even formulators such as Spatz Laboratories, which develops beauty products for figures including Kylie Jenner, have had to incorporate them. Now there are countless ways to honour your body as the temple it is, in true Angeleno style.
From gold-standard facials and all things Goop-y to the latest flamboyant fitness craze, it can be hard to keep up with LA’s vanguard. See below for our shortlist.