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At a recent product launch event for a well known brand, I listened as a publicist told me about their newest offering. She rattled off various clinical stats and ingredients before turning to me, shrugging, and saying—or rather, admitting: “It’s just a moisturizer.” I couldn’t decide if I should thank her for her honesty or send her an invoice for the time I’d wasted.

Around the same time, a popular brand announced they were launching a . I rolled my eyes at the email. Why does this brand—again, not known for skin care—need a face wash? Who asked for this? Certainly not me.



These examples speak to a larger problem: The beauty industry has been churning out unnecessary, unexciting products for years. And with well over 100 skin-care launches so far in 2024, according to , it shows no signs of stopping. “During COVID, there was such an explosion in skin care that a lot of people decided to enter the market,” says , co-founder of skin-care start-up .

After years at larger companies, Hassan and her co-founder Daniel Kiyoi started Nocturnal earlier this year with just one hero product, . This allowed them to focus on the formula's quality, ingredients, and efficacy. It was night and day from the product development process from previous jobs.

“I was a part of a brand where we launched 400 new [products] every single year—a lot of times with the intent that they'd just be in and out,” she says. So why do brands have this constant push for new launches? Un.

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