The theme for this week and next on Mirror Mirror is GLP-1s + peptides, but in my opinion, the REAL theme is self-creation.
We live in a moment where we can be whoever we want to be and that’s a beautiful thing. There are options to look better, feel better, release the weight (literally) that’s been pressing on your shoulders and I don’t think there’s any shame in that. I spoke to a close girlfriend yesterday who recently started taking Wegovy, and she shared with me how much shame and embarrassment she was feeling about her decision. We discussed it further and by the end of the conversation she started saying things like, “Who gives a f! It’s my decision. I want to feel better, so why not!?” And to that I said — Amen.
If you’ve been thinking about exploring injectable peptides, either for weight loss or longevity/optimization, do yourself a favor and watch the expert Deep Dive conversation this week I had with top New York City triple board certified endocrinologist, Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen. She’s been in private practice on Park Avenue for over a decade and is an obesity and metabolic specialist at NYU Langone. She shed light on the right and wrong way to approach peptides and shared countless insights into what the science truly reveals.
And stay tuned for our Friend Of A Friend GLP-1 conversation coming next Tuesday where I’ll be sitting down with a total boss lady Bravo reality star…can you guess who it might be?
- Amy
Listen to this week’s episode of Mirror Mirror with Amy Chang →
Mood Board: This Week Visually
#TWDT — what made me do a double take.
Goop Launches NAD+ Cream: It’s been a while since I’ve given Goop Beauty much thought, having left it tucked away in my mind with the rest of the green beauty/clean beauty movement of 2016-yonder years, but their new NAD+ Peptide Rich Cream caught my eye and had me do a double take. And upon closer examination, I realized that since I first tried out the brand over ten years ago, they’ve almost completely phased out their bright orange logo and ushered in a new era of minimalist neutrals, replaced marketing fluff names with science forward ingredients and presentation. It’s clear they’ve decided to be the “Skinceuticals of Green Beauty,” and I’m not mad about it. In fact, it’s a smart move to follow what consumers want — efficacy and science. But are we trading in our SkinMedica, Plated, Allies, and AB for goop? For the most devoted science beauty lovers — most likely not — but for those who want to upgrade their HonestBeauty or Indie Lee for something science heavy, this new version of Goop Beauty is positioned to scoop up those consumers. For more…
Cardi-B Is Entering Beauty With Haircare: Just when I think we’ve hit our celebrity beauty brand max — one comes down the pipeline. Cardi-B announced on Instagram in a short promotional video that she’s launching this spring a haircare brand called Grow-Good. The rapper says the brand has been in the works for the past three years and helped her “grow out” her hair. With celebrity beauty brands dropping like flies, (Alicia Keyes brand Keys Soulcare and Scarlett Johansson’s The Outset being dropped from Sephora stores and Gwen Stefani’s brand shuttering) it will be interesting to see if Cardi-B’s brand will bring new innovation or be more of the same rinse and repeat with celebrity beauty brands. Read more at PopBase…
Another Celebrity Brand Shutters: Yet another celebrity beauty brand has shuttered. Gwen Stefani’s Gxve has gone dark on social media and been pulled from Sephora. The brand which launched in 2022 had early excitement around it, but wasn’t able to endure in the cutthroat beauty climate we are now in. It’s just another signal that a large platform isn’t enough for a brand to succeed these days. Cutting through the noise and enduring requires authentic differentiation and a reason for being that is additive to consumer’s lives, not just a pet-project for a celebrity. On the one hand, I’m empathetic to Gwen and her team, starting a brand I’m sure is not easy nor is watching it die, but on the other hand, the beauty space is overdue for some pruning. Read more at People…
America’s Next Top Model Docuseries And What It Says About The 2000s: The early aughts, whew, what a time to be alive — with low rise jeans, misogny, butterfly clips, fat-phobia and “shut-up and do your job” energy swirling around — it’s no wonder ANTM has not aged well. The documentary which released on Feb. 16th on Netflix peels back the curtain on the show that had us all glued to the TV and is simultaneously a time capsule of 2000s challenges. It’s a fun, cringe-worthy, can’t stop watching critique of Tyra, the messy on-screen and behind the scenes show, and the 2000 culture at large. Read more at The New York Times…
UGC Creators Should Be Very Concerned: GoogleLabs just announced their AI platform Pomelli that is making it easier for brands to scale online — and could easily put UGC creators, designers, photographers, videographers and marketing agencies out of a job. Pomelli asks brands to upload their website link, then it analyzes the brand DNA, colors, fonts, and tone before spitting out brand campaign suggestions, stylized product images, social content and more for seamless marketing. If you find yourself working in one of the aforementioned jobs, it’s time to learn how to use these AI tools to stay ahead of the game. For more…
Gap Makes A Move Into Entertainment: We are entering a new era where brands are shifting from partnering with culture to producing culture themselves. And it makes sense, just showing up where people already are in movies, TV shows or music moments with product placements or collabs isn’t enough these days. Impressions are out, engagement is in and stories, not billboards are what people engage with, which is why we’re seeing brands double down on entertainment as the future. Gap Inc just announced they’ve hired former Paramount executive, Pam Kaufman, to step in and lead their new “Fashiontainment” platform on entertainment and culture. While they’re not the first to do this (Nike Studios and Red Bull Media House came before them) this is moment to sit up and take notice because the trend is moving mainstream. Read more at Variety…
Korean Salmon DNA Skincare Is Coming To Sephora: If I were a skincare brand sitting at Sephora right now, I’d be very uncomfortable. Because K-beauty is about to suck all the air out of the room. We watched it happen when Rhode entered Sephora, and Korean beauty is about to do the same but with science as it’s weapon. Starting on with the viral, clinically legitimized, and backed by real pharmaceutical research Korean brand Rejuran — who will be launching online 3/2 and in stores 3/16. The brand’s main active ingredient, c-PDRN (is derived from salmon DNA.) Rejuran’s parent company, PharmaResearch, are the makers of the injectable skin booster that goes by the same name and utilizes the same salmon DNA technology. This is medical adjacency colliding with Sephora at prices that are hard to deny (SKUs range $25-$69.) The Sephora skincare games are about to begin — and I predict not everyone makes it out. For more…
OpenAI Has Just Poached Meta’s “Celebrity Whisperer”: Remember those early days of Instagram, when the platform was growing, trying to build credibility with the entertainment industry and celebrities alike — yah, well, the man who facilitated that bridge was non other than Charles Porch, Meta’s longtime VP of Global Partnerships. Porch’s list of accomplishments include: convincing Pope Francis to join Instagram (2016), coordinating the Instagram launch of Beyonce’s self-titled album (2013), and in 2025 led an initiative to lure Tiktok creators to Instagram Reels (2025). OpenAI is hoping to make inroads with the entertainment industry, which has up until this point been received with an icy-reception, utilizing Porch’s deep Hollywood connections bridging entertainment and tech. What does this mean for us in the beauty/creator space? It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing OpenAi ramp up influencers and celebrities on the platform a la the early days of Instagram. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter…
Journaling with my daughters: Positivity is an intellectual choice and strengthening the neural pathways to search for positivity is something I do every night with my two daughters by journaling together. We started this practice last year. I bought them each for Christmas a HappyMe journal, which is a kid friendly journal. Each day has the same main prompt: What is one good thing that happened today? We reflect on the day together and everyone writes down their happy memory from the day. It’s a nice way to remember all that’s good in our daily lives and the world.
Beyond the mirror…
To close things out I want to leave you with a quote I’ve been thinking a lot about, “To be happy is to forget a difficult past and to stop envisioning a difficult future,” which to me means — live in the moment. Forgive. Move on. Let go of past hurts and hope for a better, brighter tomorrow. That’s where happiness lives.
Thanks for looking a little closer with me. Until next time.
Amy Chang, Host of Mirror Mirror