6 New Skin Care-infused Makeup Launches From Glow Recipe, Versed and More

Call it the “makeup-ification” of skin.

While the inverse expression was coined during the early days of COVID-19 to describe a then-nascent group of benefit-infused makeup products (think: Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint, Merit Flush Balm), a new cohort of launches is taking the hybrid trend to new heights.

This time, skin care brands are leading the charge, with color cosmetics forays from Peach & Lily, Versed and Glow Recipe at the forefront.

Data from Spate shows such expansions are well aligned with consumer priorities: “When you look at the top-trending claims today versus last year, in skin care we’re seeing things like ‘glowy’ and ‘blurring,’ which otherwise have largely been reserved for makeup, and in the makeup space, we’re seeing ‘moisture,’ ‘cooling’ and ‘hydration’ as top-searched benefits,” said Yarden Horwitz, Spate cofounder.

Glow Recipe’s new Dewy Flush tinted cheek serum, for instance, delivers the niacinamide, centella asiatica and watermelon extracts the brand’s Watermelon Glow franchise is best known for, while delivering a pinky flush in two shades. The launch is “powered by 100 percent skin care,” said cofounder Sarah Lee, while cofounder Christine Chang added the product is projected to reach $135 million in retail sales during its first year on the market.

Peach & Lily, meanwhile, is launching a luminizing stick meant to be worn atop makeup or on its own to amplify the “glass skin” look the brand first popularized in the U.S. via its hero serum of the same name.

“This launch is a very big moment for us — we, first and foremost, through and through, knew it needed to be a skin care formula — and at the same time, relentless about the color payoff,” said Peach & Lily founder Alicia Yoon.

Pat McGrath Labs, too, is launching a Glass Skin-esque product — this one a play on the viral, porcelain doll-like makeup looks the makeup artist created for the Maison Margiela Couture spring 2024 runway show.

Here, six need-to-know skin care-infused makeup launches cranking up the intensity on the hybrid products trend.

1. Peach & Lily Glass Skin Luminizing Stick

$39 at Ulta.com, peachandlily.com

It’s only fitting that Peach & Lily’s first makeup product plays to the “glass skin” theme underpinning the brand’s skin care portfolio. Formulated in response to consumer requests for an offering that would allow one to showcase their “glass skin” even while wearing makeup, the brand’s Glass Skin Luminizing Stick taps nine peptides, green tea, heart leaf and hyaluronic acid to nourish the skin while offering a highlight payoff. “We iterated many times to ensure the stick glides over makeup — whether it’s oil-, water-, or silicone-based — seamlessly,” said Yoon. “This can be used for a ‘no-makeup makeup’ look, but also for a full beat, to which it will bring that same glass skin look.”

Versed Makeup

$10.99 to $19.99 at Target and versedskin.com

Versed, the mass skin care brand Katherine Power founded three years before launching Merit, is making a color cosmetics play called Versed Makeup. The line debuts with 14 products ranging from $10.99 for a Smoothing Lip Blush to $19.99 for its Skin Solution Multi-serum Skin Tint SPF 40, which comes in 14 shades.

Other offerings include a serum concealer, blush, bronzer and illuminating sticks and liquid eye shadow, infused with ingredients such as caffeine, kojic acid, argan oil, vitamin E and niacinamide. “We formulated the products for the older Millennial woman — our core consumer — who values ease and results,” said chief operating officer and chief financial officer Andy Chiu, adding the brand anticipates makeup could “grow to represent 20 to 30 percent of Versed’s total sales over time, and play a meaningful part of our long-term growth.”

3. Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dewy Flush

$25 at Sephora, glowrecipe.com

Glow Recipe’s new flush product has both both skin care brawn plus buzz — generating a 15,000-plus person waitlist within one week of its product page going live in January. Launching Tuesday, the serum comes in Watermelon Flush and Berry Flush, both of which deliver buildable pink tints meant to enhance the skin’s natural flush. The launch builds on the success of Glow Recipe’s niacinamide-infused Hue Drops, which brought a bronze hue to its Dew Drops formula. Industry sources previously told WWD that $300,000 worth of Hue Drops were sold during the product’s first day on the market in March 2024.

4. Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Glass Skin 001 Artistry Mask

$38 at patmcgrath.com

Leave it to Pat McGrath to not only create a viral runway moment — but then bottle it for consumers to recreate it on their own. The makeup artist/founder’s newest Glass Skin 001 Artistry Mask aims to replicate the porcelain doll-like skin look McGrath crafted for the Maison Margiela Couture spring 2024 runway show. As Horwitz put it, the product, which simplifies McGrath’s multistep backstage process into one product, is “literally glass skin that you can peel off.” It’s not all hyper-shine: the mask taps aloe leaf extract and glycerin to keep skin feeling nourished during wear.

5. Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Glow Serum in Fresh Pressed

$34 at Sephora, danessamyricksbeauty.com

Makeup artist and founder Danessa Myricks has introduced a soft pink addition to her Yummy Skin Glow Serum range. Infused with niacinamide, turmeric, vitamin C and fruit antioxidants, the offering brings a pink-hued glow and is meant to be worn either on its own or as a primer under one’s foundation for a boost of radiance.

6. Isamaya Beauty 5 Point Lift

$40 at isamaya.com

Part of British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench’s new 12-product core collection, pearl-infused 5 Point Lift comes in five shades and aims to serve as a skin-illuminator, tapping caffeine and marine bioactives to address puffiness and brighten the complexion. Ffrench’s eponymous line has reportedly grown 150 percent year-over-year, per chief executive officer Federica Nicolao.