Sara’s Big News + e.l.f. Cosmetics's Big Drama

Summary

Gloss Angeles Podcast Summary

Episode: Sara’s Big News + e.l.f. Cosmetics's Big Drama
Date: August 19, 2025
Hosts: Kirbie Johnson & Sara Tan

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Episode Overview

This episode marks a major transition for co-host Sara Tan, who announces her full-time focus on the podcast after leaving her long-held role at Refinery. Kirbie and Sara then dive into the major beauty industry headlines, most notably the backlash surrounding e.l.f. Cosmetics' latest campaign featuring controversial comedian Matt Rife. The hosts break down why this casting choice has ruffled feathers, contextualize it within broader marketing trends, and debate the implications for e.l.f. and industry PR at large. Finally, they share excitement for an upcoming fragrance launch, Lore, from Melanie Bender (of Versed, Rhode, and Merit fame).

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Sara’s Big News: Going All-In on Gloss Angeles

[00:47–03:14]

• Sara announces she is leaving her position at Refinery to focus on the podcast full-time.
  • “I'm leaving. Not the podcast, not the podcast. I'm doing the opposite. I'm leaving Refinery and that means we're doubling down on the podcast, baby.” — Sara Tan [00:54]
  • Kirbie shares her excitement, reflecting on their working relationship and mutual support:
    • “My prayers have been answered. She's leaving the corporate media.” — Kirbie [01:05]
• Emotional mutual appreciation between the hosts; both praise each other’s professionalism and friendship.
• Sara notes the podcast will ramp up: “Get ready for more content.” — Sara [01:22]

---

COVID Update & Missing Rare Beauty Event

[03:34–09:40]

• Kirbie recounts her recent battle with COVID, noting quick onset and recovery compared to older variants.
• Missed opportunity: Kirbie was unable to attend a Rare Beauty event and missed meeting Selena Gomez, which their former social media manager Jovi attended (a lifelong Selena fan).
  • Touching story of Jovi meeting Selena and showing her a childhood video with Selena products.
  • Both hosts share the significance of authentic fan experiences and fangirling moments.
• Sara and Kirbie thank their community for understanding a recent hiatus due to illness.

---

e.l.f. Cosmetics’s Matt Rife Drama

How Did This Happen?

[09:50–21:47]

• Introduction: Kirbie asks Sara about e.l.f.'s newest ad featuring Matt Rife and Heidi N Closet.
• Sara’s hot take: Surprise and mild shade at the casting—
  • “I was like, oh, who is this white man? They couldn't get Benny Drama back... sorry to this man, but he has so many followers.” — Sara [10:10]
• Who is Matt Rife? (Context from Kirbie):
  • TikTok comedian, mostly popular among women, became infamous after a Netflix special featuring a domestic violence joke.
  • Kirbie details the offending joke and subsequent “apology” (a mocking link to a helmet store for “special needs”), as well as further insensitive jokes.
    • “He starts it off with a joke of domestic violence… People did not like this. There was a cancellation, quote, unquote.” — Kirbie [11:31–12:11]
• e.l.f. controversy:
  • Kirbie questions why a brand that aligns itself with progressive values would highlight a figure facing backlash for misogynistic and ableist humor.
  • “What I do not understand is why Elf thought he should be the guy to be in this video… This completely missed the mark for me.” — Kirbie [13:54–16:27]
  • Sara is surprised at the lack of fun or creativity in the ad:
    • “It wasn't funny. I didn't really understand, like, why they felt the need to do it.” — Sara [16:30]
• Larger trends in beauty marketing:
  • The hosts talk about outrage marketing vs. authentic brand-building.
  • Sara reacts to online backlash:
    • “So many of the comments are like, I'm done.” — Sara [20:52]
• Deeper Marketing Analysis & Brand Choices:
  • e.l.f.’s PR strategy compared to American Eagle’s use of Sydney Sweeney.
  • The disconnect between brand leadership and relevant target audiences:
    • “I don't look to Sydney Sweeney to decide what beauty products I'm using... it doesn't make any sense to me.” — Kirbie [18:02]
  • The hosts debate whether online outrage will actually affect consumers’ buying decisions.
    • “We have to talk about the Internet is not real life... Will in a month they be like, oh, actually, I wanted this thing, and I went and bought it?” — Kirbie [21:03]
  • Kirbie proposes e.l.f. could recover by donating to domestic violence initiatives.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sara, about leaving Refinery for the podcast:
  “This is just the beginning for us. So buckle up.” [03:14]
• Kirbie, on the missed Rare Beauty event:
  “I was crying. I was actually crying. I told Sarah to FaceTime me. I'm in bed wearing a baby Yoda shirt.” [06:34]
• Kirbie, on e.l.f.’s decision:
  “This feels like a very bizarre move, truly. And I would love to hear from her specifically, like, why Matt Rife? Like, what. What was the thinking there?” [15:27]
• Sara, reflecting on the brand's values:
  “For a brand that is so, like, feminist and supporting, you know, women's sports and just so innovative and thinking ahead... I feel like this is taking the brand, like, 10 steps, 100 steps backward.” [19:33]
• Kirbie, on influencer effectiveness:
  “I cannot get a singular damn person to reveal to me, on background or not, how she [Sydney Sweeney] actually translates for these brands.” [18:02]

---

New Brand Buzz: Lore Fragrance by Melanie Bender

[21:53–29:40]

• Sara and Kirbie express genuine excitement about Lore, a new fragrance brand founded by industry veteran Melanie Bender (ex-Versed, Rhode, Merit) with the founders of Youth to the People, Jo and Greg.
• First Impressions:
  • The branding and bottle are described as artful, luxe, and unique.
  • “She [Melanie] wanted to start fragrance because she was tired of talking about people’s faces, which I love.” — Kirbie [23:55]
• Scents & Descriptions:
  • Sublimity: Fresh grass with sweetness; reminiscent of certain nostalgic scents and the scent experience on the Disney “Soarin’” ride. [24:31–25:20]
  • Somewhere but Nowhere: Familiar, light, slightly powdery and musky, but hard to pin down. [25:37–26:43]
  • Lovely and a Little Twisted: Fruity, cherry-like, but not gourmand or vanilla; both hosts' favorite. [27:00–27:29]
  • Disfruta: Citrus-forward and fresh; Sara’s personal favorite. [27:49–28:12]
• The hosts remark that these scents are not following the current “sugary, gourmand” trend and feel distinctive.
  • “These do not smell like any other fragrances... These are very, very different in my opinion.” — Kirbie [27:13]
• Lore will be launching at Sephora; more details to come.

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Quick Mention: Made by Mitchell Controversy

[29:40]

• The hosts acknowledge a trending topic about Made by Mitchell but admit they haven't researched it enough to discuss it responsibly this week.

---

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Sara’s Announcement: Podcast Goes Full Time — [00:47–03:14]
• Kirbie’s COVID Story & Selena Gomez Rare Beauty Event — [03:34–09:40]
• e.l.f. Cosmetics & Matt Rife Controversy — [09:50–21:47]
• Brand Marketing Analysis/American Eagle & Sydney Sweeney — [17:12–19:49]
• Lore Fragrance Launch: First Impressions — [21:53–29:40]
• Wrap-Up & Forthcoming Topics — [29:40–End]

---

Bottom Line

This episode is a blend of personal milestone, industry analysis, and product excitement. Sara’s leap into full-time podcasting promises even richer content going forward. The main story—the e.l.f./Matt Rife campaign—sparks thoughtful debate about brand responsibility, marketing strategy, and the true impact of “outrage marketing.” Finally, the preview of Lore fragrance offers listeners an early scoop on a thoughtfully-crafted, non-cookie-cutter perfume lineup debuting soon at Sephora.

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If you want more real talk on beauty, culture, and behind-the-scenes dish, stick with Gloss Angeles—now with even more content as Sara and Kirbie double down.

Transcript

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[Sarah Tan]

GLAM Los Angeles. Hi, Kirby.

[Kirby]

Hi, Sarah.

[Sarah Tan]

Welcome to Los Angeles.

[Kirby]

We have major breaking news. Exclusive, exclusive to Gloss Angeles.

[Sarah Tan]

I'm leaving. Not the podcast, not the podcast. I'm doing the opposite. I'm leaving Refinery and that means we're doubling down on the podcast. Baby.

[Kirby]

My prayers have been answered. She's leaving the corporate media.

[Sarah Tan]

It only took me six years of.

[Kirby]

This doing this podcast and now we're full time into the Los Angeles darling.

[Sarah Tan]

Can't get rid of us now.

[Kirby]

Woo hoo.

[Sarah Tan]

It's gonna be more, more, more, more, more.

[Kirby]

Get ready for more content.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh my gosh. I'm so, so excited.

[Kirby]

I am thrilled. Sarah has done so much for Refinery. They were lucky to have her. It's their loss that she's leaving. I'm so sorry to everybody that's still working there because she is a just bright beacon of joy. So smart. Oh, I love you and so keen on everything that's going on in the world.

[Sarah Tan]

You're so sweet. I'm going to cry, but I, I literally have been crying like all the time, but I couldn't have done it without you.

[Kirby]

Oh, oh, don't cry. I'm gonna cry now. Oh, I'm gonna cry.

[Sarah Tan]

No, but I, I appreciate, I appreciate you so much. Like, we would not have gone this far without you.

[Kirby]

And I'm just like, so grateful for you. Oh my God. Okay, first of all, don't say that.

[Sarah Tan]

Second of all, it's true. People are like, I've been telling them, you know, like, oh, I'm leaving and we're gonna focus on the podcast and some other things. And they're like, yeah, I don't know how you did it all. And I was like, I literally could not have done it without Kirby. Like, you literally held and continue to hold the fort down. Thank you. So.

[Kirby]

I love you. I always feel seen with you. This woman lets me go diabolically insane and just like nods her head and is like, valid, valid, valid feelings. I hear you. She hears me. She makes me truly feel Like, I'm not losing it. She lets me say anything, and then we'll say, okay, let's rein it back in. Or, yes, no, but valid. You are very important to have in a work life. Truly.

[Sarah Tan]

You, like, truly are the best person to work with, and I feel so very lucky. And you have the best sense of reading people and everything. So, like, that's why I'm with you.

[Kirby]

Best relationship ever.

[Sarah Tan]

But that's why I listen, and I'm like, okay, I didn't think about that. But no, this is just the beginning for us. So buckle up.

[Kirby]

After six years, it's crazy that this is a new frontier for us, but I am so, so excited. Thank you. And if you are following Sarah, go and wish her congratulations, and if you're not, go follow her. Now, Sarah Tan, that's me. Where she posts, like, the cutest photos.

[Sarah Tan]

Of her adorable content over there. It's very wholesome with a side of losing my toenails. Sorry about that, everyone.

[Kirby]

Yeah. But that was an important conversation. I thought it was helpful for.

[Sarah Tan]

Thank you. I thought so too.

[Kirby]

Also, listeners, thank you for dealing with the unplanned hiatus.

[Sarah Tan]

Kirby is back from the dead, y'. All.

[Kirby]

Covid is rampant in Los Angeles. I have not had Covid in years. It took me down. There's this new variant, and it starts off with, like, kind of like an itchy, scratchy throat.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh.

[Kirby]

Like, you swallow and you're like, something weird is allergies. Yeah. So immediately I'm like, allergies. I'm popping Zyrtec Thursday afternoon. I'm like, I think I'm gonna die. And then took a COVID test. And, you know, you were just raging with COVID When the test portion is immediately red and the control is still developing after, like, 15 minutes, that's, like, crazy. That was, like, how I was, I think, in the throes of it when I tested.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

Because then by Sunday, I was fine.

[Sarah Tan]

Which is crazy because before, like, the older variants of COVID it was like, it took a week for you to test negative.

[Kirby]

Yeah. I think I must have gotten it at Gaga or the Shakira event, where there was just so many people around.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah, one of those.

[Kirby]

I mean, I will suffer for my. My love of Gaga, obviously. I texted Sarah on Thursday. I couldn't go to the rare beauty event.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. It was so devastating because Jovi was with us and got to finally meet Selena Gomez, but Kirby was there in spirit and obviously on FaceTime.

[Kirby]

Jovi, our former social media manager, is obsessed with Selena Gomez. We did not know this when we hired her. We would, like, mention. Rare mention Selena, whatever. She kind of, like, pop out of the weed. Be like, hehe, like, love, love her.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

And then she one day sends us this video of her. She was, like, nine.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

Which is actually mind blowing that she was able to retrieve this from her phone.

[Sarah Tan]

Yep.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah Tan]

Yep.

[Kirby]

Videos from when I was nine.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh, no, it's not on a video. It's on, like, a tape, right?

[Kirby]

Yeah, it's a vhs.

[Sarah Tan]

Okay.

[Kirby]

But it's her sitting in her room being like, I have the new Selena Gomez fragrance. And it's the one that Joyce was talking about with all the kisses coming off of it, the lips. And then she turns her camera around, and it's just posters of Selena all over the wall.

[Sarah Tan]

And then she's wearing, like, a shirt that Selena designed. It was just.

[Kirby]

She was one of those from her concert. Yes. And so we had been basically begging the Rare team. Like, we have to get her to something. Like, we tried to pop up. The fires happened, Right?

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

There were, like, multiple chances.

[Sarah Tan]

She was in on vacation on one other time.

[Kirby]

Yes. And then we were like, the chance. And Kirby got sick. It was. No, it was so full circle, though. I love that she was able to.

[Sarah Tan]

Go, because for the perfume.

[Kirby]

For the perfume. She tested the new perfume.

[Sarah Tan]

Totally.

[Kirby]

She had the original perfume. And we're like, okay, let's get her there. And then I was like, sarah, she has to meet her. And she met her. If you. Y'.

[Sarah Tan]

All.

[Kirby]

I was crying. I was actually crying. I told Sarah to FaceTime me. I'm in bed wearing a baby Yoda shirt.

[Sarah Tan]

I also though, was like. Cause, you know, at these events, like, everyone wants to talk to Selena, and she stops and talks to everyone. Like, she takes the time to. So it's like you're just moving around her. And then she kept moving from.

[Kirby]

Like, she was, like, shuffling.

[Sarah Tan]

And, like, you just saw the masses of people shuffling. So it's like we were so close. And then Selena moved, so then we, like, had to go back in line.

[Kirby]

So Most of my FaceTime is of Sarah's chest. She's, like, holding the phone to her chest as she's moving around.

[Sarah Tan]

At one point, Jovi was like, I think I need to get some water, because I'm gonna pass out. And I was like, no, we don't have time for water. I'm so sorry. We're really close. And I lit. You see, there's photos and video of me, like, pushing her with my hand. And I'm like, just go, this is your chance. And then they had such a special moment.

[Kirby]

They did. She showed Selena the video of her with the original fragrance. Selena, I think, said something to the effect of like, I'm so glad you're here.

[Sarah Tan]

Yes.

[Kirby]

Jovi said she blacked out because she was like, trying to hold it together. I had. I normally. I feel like I'm the emo one between the two of us.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

But in the text chat, I'm like, jovi, this is a work event.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

You can. You can cry before, but you're not crying in front of Selena Gomez.

[Sarah Tan]

Yes. We're trying to help her with her career.

[Kirby]

Exactly. Because she, like, would love to work at Rare at some point in her career.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

And she, like texted me afterwards. I was like, by the way, I saw all this. I saw you were tearing up. But she was like, I couldn't help it. I'm like, girl, it's fine.

[Sarah Tan]

Like, it was. It was perfect.

[Kirby]

It was perfect. It was so perfect.

[Sarah Tan]

She did such an incredible job.

[Kirby]

Thank you to the Rare team for accommodating that. Because, I mean, she'll never forget that. That is like meeting in sync level of like happiness.

[Sarah Tan]

And I'm so glad we got to document it. And it was just all around, like a very, very beautiful, sympathical.

[Kirby]

It made so much sense. It was perfect. So anyways, I couldn't go to that had Covid horrible.

[Sarah Tan]

I was like texting Kurt. I was like, are you alive? And then it'd be like silence. I'm like, I don't know if she's.

[Kirby]

Alive, but I gotta say, Patrick Muldowney, that man came through.

[Sarah Tan]

Wow.

[Kirby]

He texted me and he was like, Covid, are you okay? And I go, can you please go get me Advil cold and Sinus? It's behind the counter. I cannot get somebody to doordash it for me. Cause you have to have an ID. It's my favorite counter. And literally 15 minutes later, he said, I'll be there in 10. And he brought me over this big bag of ginger ale, soft serve ice cream for my throat. The Advil cold and sinus chicken noodle soup.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh my gosh.

[Kirby]

He really. We're not together anymore. But like, that's really sweet. That is a good man. That is a good man. So I really was Patrick. We still communicate, of course, all the time.

[Sarah Tan]

You can always be important people in each other's lives.

[Kirby]

Yes. I care and love him dearly, but truly shout out to him for the advocate and finest. Sarah was like, you have to get this. I'm like, I literally cannot get this.

[Sarah Tan]

It saves me.

[Kirby]

And I couldn't get out of bed.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

So anyways, if you are feeling like you got hit by a semi truck and you live in the LA area and your throat is kind of hurting, it's probably COVID Test yourself and then just, like, stay in bed. But that's why there was no podcast on Friday. And then we didn't. We couldn't go into the studio to film.

[Sarah Tan]

So we need a little break sometimes.

[Kirby]

It was a nice break. It was a nice break.

[Sarah Tan]

They need a little break too.

[Kirby]

Yeah. To catch up.

[Sarah Tan]

Catch up. We've got 500 episodes.

[Kirby]

Totally. Okay. So there isn't too much going on in the beauty world right now. There is something that was brought up in the slack that I was like, yes, we should definitely cover this. Have you seen the new Elf ad with Matt Rife and Heidi in Closet?

[Sarah Tan]

Yes. Okay. So can I tell you my first impression?

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah Tan]

So this is such a flex. But we know Heidi in Closet because we were in that commercial with her for Elf for the Super Bowl. So when I saw it, and it was the same theme of, you know, legal, courtroom, whatever, I was like, oh, who is this white man? They couldn't get Benny drama back. That was my initial reaction because Benny was in the commercial with us. And then I clicked on Matt Rife because I don't know who he is. I don't know who this man is. Sorry to this man, but he has so many followers. And I was like, who are you?

[Kirby]

Okay, who is he?

[Sarah Tan]

Kirby?

[Kirby]

Matt Rife is a comedian, and I'll let y' all do with that as you will. Okay. Matt Rife is a comedian who got really popular on TikTok.

[Sarah Tan]

Is he famous with, like, young men, young boys? No. Oh.

[Kirby]

I would say most of his fan base was women. Okay, okay. Popular on TikTok, blowing up on TikTok gets a Netflix special. And it was a bit of a controversial special because of the fact that people are like, this guy's not an actual comedian. He just does crowd work, which is like a big ordeal within the comedy community. Okay, okay. During this Netflix special, he starts it off with a joke of domestic violence. Okay, I'm going to read this to you, and then I'm going to read to you his follow up.

[Sarah Tan]

Okay?

[Kirby]

Okay. So the first special is from Netflix. It's called Natural Selection. It premiered in November 2023. There was a ton of backlash. He opens it up and says that he was noticing a hostess at A Baltimore restaurant who had a black eye. And the joke. Rife's dining companion wondered why the hostess wasn't working in the kitchen so that customers wouldn't see the black eye. Rife then quipped, yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn't have that black eye. Rife added in the special that he was, quote, just testing the waters, seeing if y' all are gonna be fun or not. I figure if we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be smooth sailing. People did not like this. There was a cancellation, quote, unquote.

[Sarah Tan]

They played this on Netflix.

[Kirby]

Yes. So then in an Instagram story, after people are effectively pissed off by this, he posts, if you ever have been offended by a joke I've told, here's a link to my official apology. And he provided a link that read, tap to solve the issue. The link directed viewers to a website to buy special needs helmets, seemingly mocking sensitive viewers and adding fuel to the fire.

[Sarah Tan]

Wow.

[Kirby]

He, I guess, does a show at the Hollywood bowl later on at the bowl and says, this was a part of the Netflix's joke festival.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh, got it. Okay.

[Kirby]

And says, I got in so much trouble for making a joke about special needs helmets. And then I come to LA and perform and get the biggest helmet, referring to Hollywood Bowl's round structure. So, okay. The Variety article about this says, despite the backlash, Rife's Natural Selection special brought in more than 10 million views in the first few weeks of its release and reach the global top 10 in 42 countries. And he has two more specials in the works with Netflix. Listen. Okay. Matt Rife.

[Sarah Tan]

Wow. Had no idea.

[Kirby]

I don't know why he thought domestic violence was the way to go when a majority of his fan base are women. Are women. If you look at Matt Rife, you understand why he is a pretty boy. So women find him attractive and they found his crowd work to be palatable. Listen, with the joke in poor taste, sure. Could you also argue comedians do this shit all the time? Yes. That's my point of view. Matt Rife is not important enough for me to be outraged by. Like, I don't really care what Matt Rife has to say because he's not important to me.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

What I do not understand is why Elf thought he should be the guy to be in this video. He makes a joke within the spot for Elf about knowing what red flags are. And we live in the Internet age where people are like, yeah. Cause you are one. I'm like, that's what he's insinuating that's the joke. Right? My head goes to this. Whose idea was it to bring him on? Was he pitched to Elf as this kind of comeback thing where he needs to get back in with his women. Female demographic, and they feel like this is the way to go, where he's kind of poking fun at himself and partnering with someone like Heidi N. Closet.

[Sarah Tan]

I'm honestly surprised that Heidi N. Closet agreed to this.

[Kirby]

Well, here's the thing. Heidi N. Closet doesn't really get a say so on who is cast in these particular spots. Right. They work with her all the time. I don't want her to not get her bag. Right. And I don't think that necessarily she'd be able to speak up to be like, hey, I don't feel comfortable. I mean, I would love it if she did have the ability and felt safe to do so. But I'm not gonna blame her for doing. I think it's just a really weird casting selection from Elf to go this direction. I also would like to point out, because I'd be remiss not to, that ELF's PR is the same agency that does American Eagle's PR. A very weird month for them. Definitely getting their money's worth in a variety of ways. And it kind of leads me to think of it this way, especially in relation to American Eagle. Corey Marchiotto, who is the CMO of Elf, is pretty much on the nose a lot of time with what's going on in the culture, the Internet culture. This feels like a very bizarre move, truly. And I would love to hear from her specifically, like, why Matt Rife? Like, what. What was the thinking there? Because this pissed a lot of people off.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh, my gosh. I'm looking at some of the comments.

[Kirby]

What does it say?

[Sarah Tan]

It's Bruh, not Matt Rife. I love y' all as a brand, but Matt Rife is not a good person. You didn't have the budget for a comedian who doesn'. Abuse. Out of all the people in the world. I. I don't understand either of, like, literally, the Elf could partner with anyone at this point.

[Kirby]

I'm trying to think. I mean, I could name many, many other better options. I'm like, did somebody drop out at the last minute and they had to find somebody?

[Sarah Tan]

I feel like no, though.

[Kirby]

This completely missed the mark for me. Also, if you watch the spot, I.

[Sarah Tan]

Was just kind of like, it wasn't funny.

[Kirby]

It wasn't funny. I didn't really understand, like, why they felt the need to do it. Obviously, they're Talking about, like, tariffs and raising their prices and stuff like that. And they're trying to, like, let people know we're still affordable. But to me, this was not on the level. I mean, and of course you can say we're biased. Cause we were in the commercial. But, like, I felt like that commercial with Judge Beauty made so much sense.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh, my God. 100%.

[Kirby]

Hit it out of the park. This. I'm just like, what is this?

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

And why? I don't know.

[Sarah Tan]

But they're such an incredibly smart and strategic company. Like, there has to be reasoning behind it, but I'm just not seeing it. I don't understand.

[Kirby]

The reason why I mentioned American Eagle, outside of the fact that their PR agency represents both, is that there is a quote from the CMO of American Eagle talking about before the backlash, how Sydney Sweeney is like the it Girl of the season, essentially, and how they are so lucky to be partnering with her. And in my head, I'm like, I didn't look this guy up because. So I don't know if he's just like, white guy, but he's a guy.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

Sydney Sweeney is attractive to men. I'm not looking at Sydney Sweeney for my beauty recommendations. I'm not. And I don't mean that disrespectfully to her. I think she has a lot of things going for her. I think she's got a hot bod. I think she's a good actress and a smart producer. And I think that she is getting the bag while she can and using her looks to her advantage. Right.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

But I don't look to Sydney Sweeney to decide what beauty products I'm using. And I cannot get a singular damn person to reveal to me, on background or not, how she actually translates for these brands.

[Sarah Tan]

Totally.

[Kirby]

Like, I am begging someone to give me this information because it doesn't make any sense to me. I do not understand it. So I'm like, okay, so when you have somebody so out of touch, thinking, like, the way to go. Because I have said this, I don't know if this American Eagle good genes backlash would have been as big as it was if it were anybody else.

[Sarah Tan]

Any other white woman.

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah Tan]

Or white person.

[Kirby]

Yes. I think that because Sydney Sweeney has a lot of controversy around her in general, being for the men out apologetically.

[Sarah Tan]

So.

[Kirby]

Yes. That perhaps. I don't know if it would have gone to the levels. It's gone. Yes. I'll put it that way.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. Did American Eagle ever come out with a statement?

[Kirby]

All they said was that the campaign has always been about good blue jeans.

[Sarah Tan]

Right. Okay. And on that note, did ELF come out with a statement? No, they have not commented on this. I can't find any sort of comment.

[Kirby]

I did reach out. I have not heard anything, but I would welcome Corey or anyone at ELF to reach out to us. We obviously value their thoughts and opinions, but it just. It was. It's weird because it's such a step back for them.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. I'm like, for a brand that is so, like, feminist and supporting, you know, women's sports and just so innovative and thinking ahead, it is like, I feel like this is taking the brand, like, 10 steps, 100 steps backward.

[Kirby]

I agree with you. And I think this Matt Rife thing, the domestic violence joke, obviously, like, people are going to be upset about that. But then when he doubled down on it.

[Sarah Tan]

Exactly, exactly.

[Kirby]

That's where I'm like, y'.

[Sarah Tan]

All. Yeah. Like, if he had said it and then came out and apologized and was like, I'm so sorry. That was all right.

[Kirby]

Or not even apologize, like, I think that he would be okay even if he was just like, it's a joke. It's a comedy.

[Sarah Tan]

It's a joke. Yeah.

[Kirby]

But, like, I mean, what do you think? Do you think that if he. Like, the only way for him to be okay would be, like, apologize?

[Sarah Tan]

I just think there's so many other people, like, literally so many other people that they could have chosen that would have made way more sense than this.

[Kirby]

Totally.

[Sarah Tan]

It's like they wanted to feed into the controversy.

[Kirby]

Yeah. But I don't know why Charlotte Palermino brought this up in her newsletter.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

And she brought up American Eagle. She brought up Ari Kitzia and Urban Decay, actually, which I think is a completely different category for me. And then she brought up this and just said, these are marketers. This is outrage marketing. It's getting people talking, but it's also.

[Sarah Tan]

Getting people to not shop or support elf. So many of the comments are like, I'm done.

[Kirby]

Just, like, it's their core dynamic. But also, we have to talk about the Internet is not real life.

[Sarah Tan]

Yes.

[Kirby]

So will they actually stop buying elf?

[Sarah Tan]

True.

[Kirby]

Will in a month they be like, oh, actually, I wanted this thing, and I went and bought it. You know, like, hit them where it hurts. Right. Like, don't buy their stuff. I think the only thing we've really seen actually take effect that has started online is the target boycott, where it's hitting their bottom line, you know? So I'm curious to see how this affects elf. What they're Gonna say what they're gonna do. My hope would be that they're forward thinking and they have like a rebuttal video that is kind of like they.

[Sarah Tan]

Donate a bunch of money to domestic violence. Yes.

[Kirby]

Something I just do not understand this whatsoever from them.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

So weird.

[Sarah Tan]

And we're like ride or die elf always.

[Kirby]

Yeah. So this is very bizarre for us.

[Sarah Tan]

Off brand.

[Kirby]

Yes, 100%. Okay. Before we go, I wanted to talk about a brand that is getting me excited.

[Sarah Tan]

Ooh. Yes.

[Kirby]

So it's not officially launched yet, but it's called Lore. Lore.

[Sarah Tan]

Lore of it All.

[Kirby]

The Lore of it All. So this is a fragrance brand that is being launched by Melanie Bender, who worked with Versed. She was the former CEO of Rhode. Now she's partnered with, I believe, Is it the Youth to the People founders.

[Sarah Tan]

Yes. Okay. So on Lore and Mel, Melanie Bender's Instagram, she released a statement and it said about 18 months ago, together with two close friends, Jo and Greg, those are the founders of Youthoth People, she started working on this brand. Or maybe more like I laid back and let the world hold me. Because the brand is an echo of the truth of it all, an extension of soul. A wish for all of us shouted out loud. Building this one has become another little rebirth. It's my fourth early stage brand after Road Versed and Merit. It's the first that's my own. Although brands are never really our own, and maybe especially this one. This one is the stories we share. This one is a wardrobe of realities, both familiar and new. This one is the night sky and each galaxy it holds. This one is beautiful, big and a little bit broken. This one is everything possible. And then she goes on to say there's a lot more that she wants to tell us about this. So we feel very lucky that she reached out to us and sent us the samples.

[Kirby]

Yes. So these are the travel sizes. They're gorge gorgeous.

[Sarah Tan]

Of course they are. Melody has such incredible taste.

[Kirby]

She has amazing taste. I love that the bottle is curved and has curves to it.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. It already just like looks prestige and feels expensive.

[Kirby]

It does. The logo does remind me of Loewe a little bit. A little bit.

[Sarah Tan]

A little bit.

[Kirby]

But we'll see because these are not the full size.

[Sarah Tan]

Right.

[Kirby]

And I still haven't seen what the full size fragrance looks like.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah, same. I love also the little engraving in the cap.

[Kirby]

Oh, yeah.

[Sarah Tan]

I think that's really sweet.

[Kirby]

The logo is really cool. It feels really artful.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

I'm in her broadcast channel and she talked about how she Wanted to start fragrance because she was tired of talking about people's faces, which I love.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

I'm like, amen, sister.

[Sarah Tan]

Great.

[Kirby]

And when I wrote her, I was like, I cannot wait to find out the notes in these, because Sarah and I don't have a one sheet of, like, what any of these actually have in them.

[Sarah Tan]

We just have the scents.

[Kirby]

And it's been so fun because I've been writing down on a notepad every time I spritz a different one. Like, oh, this is a note that comes to mind. Or this is how I feel.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. And the names of the fragrances are so fun.

[Kirby]

Yes. Okay, let's go through them. So there's sublimity. This one smells fresh, like grass to me. Yes, right?

[Sarah Tan]

Yes, this is very fresh.

[Kirby]

But there's a sweetness to it.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah, I like the sweet. It reminds me of being sublime.

[Kirby]

If you are on. This is a very specific reference. If you are on Soarin over the world. Well, kind of.

[Sarah Tan]

That's the disruta.

[Kirby]

It reminds me. Yes. It reminds me of being on Soarin over the world. And you hit, I think, like, Africa, and there's, like, that.

[Sarah Tan]

So.

[Kirby]

Smell of grass. Oh, I don't think elephants are walking by.

[Sarah Tan]

It is. You're right. But there is the sweetness. There's like a. When you. Of, like, fresh cut grass. That sort of sweetness.

[Kirby]

Yeah. So I. And I wish I would have brought my notepad because I wrote down all my different thoughts.

[Sarah Tan]

It also is, like, kind of nostalgic for me. Like, it reminds me of. What was that? What was that brand? Used to be at the mall. It's not Evita. It's not Prescriptives, but it's like, ooh, I don't know. I can't remember. But it's giving, like, nostalgia to me.

[Kirby]

Okay, Then there's somewhere, but nowhere. And Melanie points out that she's like, you love copy, and you love copywriting. You're gonna very much love this brand, which, if you can't. But Sarah's description that she read out loud, it's like, very much like, words are important here. Okay. This one, I cannot put my finger on what this is. It smells so familiar to me.

[Sarah Tan]

Somewhere. Somewhere, but nowhere.

[Kirby]

Somewhere, but nowhere. I'm like, what is that smell?

[Sarah Tan]

This one has, like, a little bit of, like, spice to it.

[Kirby]

I don't know. I know it's hard. It's so hard. Obviously, we're not noses, and we're not experts in the fragrance. I'm not a fragrance expert, but the name of it, I think speaks to the fact that it is familiar. But then what are the notes?

[Sarah Tan]

Melanie's probably like yelling.

[Kirby]

Would you say that it's. And she has put her favorite notes in the broadcast channel. So I'm sure some of those are in here. It's a little. It's a little powdery, a little musky. Do you think is there powder there?

[Sarah Tan]

I don't know.

[Kirby]

I can't decide.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah, it just feels again, it's very light.

[Kirby]

It is.

[Sarah Tan]

It's not like. It's definitely not like, you know, a heavy, gourmand, sweet sort. It feels very fresh and light.

[Kirby]

Okay, this one is lovely and a little twisted. I fucking am obsessed with this. I really love this one. And your favorite as well.

[Sarah Tan]

Okay.

[Kirby]

I think these are gonna be my top two. Lovely and a little twisted. Immediately I get fruit. I get like cherry. Oh, yeah.

[Sarah Tan]

This is like their sweet. But it's not like.

[Kirby]

It's not gourmand.

[Sarah Tan]

It's not gourmand.

[Kirby]

It does not smell like vanilla.

[Sarah Tan]

It's not like Sol de Janeiro. Sweet.

[Kirby]

And I think this is one thing I wanna call out. These do not smell like any other fragrances.

[Sarah Tan]

It does smell like cherry. Did you say cherry? Yeah, yeah.

[Kirby]

There's like a cherry element to this.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh yeah, that's cherry.

[Kirby]

Lovely and a little twisted. I think that's why I gravitate towards it. Because of the cherry.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

But these do not smell like. Someone posted about this saying that all of these fragrances and mists coming out smell the same. The same.

[Sarah Tan]

Totally.

[Kirby]

And it's because people love the gourmands and the vanillas and all of that stuff. These are not gonna be the status quo.

[Sarah Tan]

No.

[Kirby]

These are very, very different in my opinion.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

Okay. And then the last one, Sarah's favorite.

[Sarah Tan]

Okay. This is disfruta. So I'm assuming there's citrusy to me.

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah Tan]

Oh, it smells lovely.

[Kirby]

I also like dysfruta. This was the one that I thought was gonna be my favorite upon first spritz.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. Again, fresh.

[Kirby]

There's a freshness to it. There's definitely the citrusy element.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah. Oh, they're all blending together now. Which actually it all smells really good.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah Tan]

But that one's my favorite. I've been wearing that one.

[Kirby]

We just. We know fragrance is so popular right now. And I think that this is gonna be the brand to watch. I am so. So they're launching in Sephora.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

I don't know when that. They were at the Sephora managers conference in Vegas.

[Sarah Tan]

I think it's interesting, the Joe and Greg and Used to the People of It all because Joe and Greg are still involved in Youth to the People, which is a skincare brand. But instead of them launching like fragrance under Used to the People, which they could have because, like, so many brands are extending. They, like, are then now launching another company with Melanie at the helm, which I wonder, just thinking, like. Cause who bought you? L'. Oreal.

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah Tan]

So then it's like, do you. They must have gotten their blessing to be able to, like, go out of the category. You know, it's really interesting.

[Kirby]

Yeah. I mean, that's actually something to consider. Like, will we see them exiting the company at some point soon because of this? I. I have not been this excited about a fragrance since Prada Paradox touched my body, which I still am loving and wearing.

[Sarah Tan]

And they're coming out with another one.

[Kirby]

Yeah, I know. The male men's. What is it? The masculine version.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah, the masculine.

[Kirby]

The Tom Holland. I love that.

[Sarah Tan]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

But yes. So keep an eye out. We have literally no other information. We were just told we can start talking about it after August 6th.

[Sarah Tan]

Based on what you just heard us, we are not sure what it smells like, but it smells really good.

[Kirby]

Yes. So get excited. I think that's it. There was something in the slack about a Made by Mitchell controversy. Honestly, we both did not have the time to actually look into this, so we don't feel comfortable speaking on it right now. We'll look into it if we think there's anything useful or important to discuss or add. But that's it for this week. We will see you on Friday.

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