September might be considered back-to-school season for fashion, but this month proved that the beauty brands know how to throw a party that leaves everyone talking too. Here’s Vogue’s close-up at the buzziest beauty bashes of the month.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Returned, with a Sartiano’s Takeover
Since his beloved beauty brand’s revival this summer, Marc Jacobs has been experiencing a full-circle renaissance that he celebrated with a party at Sartiano’s during New York Fashion Week. “I’m feeling good, excited, and very enthusiastic,” Jacobs told Vogue while celebrating the line’s comeback.
“It’s been a long time that we’ve been working on it, and I was just very, very happy that we were going to do it again. I was very excited—and a little bit nervous!—about this new take on it.”
The SoHo hotspot was festooned with silver balloons mimicking the design of Jacobs’s new products, as well as pops of its signature yellow on the tinted windows and neon signs. Top beauty creators including Erin Parsons, Manny Gutierrez, Ryan Bailey Potter, Emely Moreno, and Ivan Lam were all in the crowd, clinking dirty martinis and lavender spritzes while lounging in plush velvet couches—and even taking a twirl on the dance pole in the ground level bar.
Guests also posed for photos in front of a Jacobs-branded taxi outside, including Romy Mars, the daughter of his close friend Sofia Coppola. Around the room, vanity stations were stocked to the brim with the new lipsticks, liners, blushes, and star-shaped eyeshadows; ideal for glam touch ups post-burgers, fries, and dancing the night away.
It was a festive start to Fashion Month for Jacobs, whose upcoming plans include a cameo in Tom Sachs’s new Chanel boutique-like art installation and attending runway shows. As for what he’ll do next in beauty?
Fans are calling for his Decadence fragrance and Merry Cherry capsule to return, but he’s focused on its growth in the present. “I am always at my best and always feel proudest when I’m true to myself,” said Jacobs.
“I’m allowed to evolve, and I am always growing, but I can always feel proud when I am true to myself. Whatever ‘myself’ is in that moment, that’s always the best.” —Aaron Royce
Tom Ford Beauty Toasted Its Newest Fragrance with a Dark Western Soirée
When dressing for the launch of Tom Ford Beauty’s newest fragrance, Ombré Leather Reserve, guests went the dark and Western-inspired route. For the occasion, the Highline Stages in Chelsea was transformed into a jet-black club with a wooden bar serving juniper old-fashioneds and smoky palomas, as well as stations to carve sandalwood, emboss leather pouches, and smell the full Ombré Leather line.
“It makes me think of the American West,” singer Malcolm McRae told Vogue before performing several songs onstage. “I like that imagery because it was the final frontier. It’s almost like the American pirate, which I think is really cool.”
The same rustic feel was embraced by attendees including Alton Mason, Vivian Wilson, Kiel Tutin, Corrado Martini, Afiya Bennett, and Bách Buquen, who mingled through the space while snapping photos—and, of course, left with their own bottles of Ford’s latest scent.
“It was one of my first fragrances of Tom Ford,” Martini said. “As we speak, I am on the last spritz of the Ombré Leather right now. It’s a perfect event to be at, because I can get a new bottle!” —Aaron Royce
30 Years of Milk Studios. 10 Years of Milk Makeup. One Very Good Party
Milk Makeup celebrated a double milestone with a party that actually felt like a party in the middle of New York Fashion Week. To mark 30 years of Milk Studios and a decade of Milk Makeup, the beauty line’s founders Mazdack and Zanna Rassi revived the chaotic, creative energy of the Meatpacking-based studio’s formative era by throwing a bash at Marquee, co-hosted by Beyond Noise.
DJ sets from Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg and downtown’s favorite party starter The Dare kept the crowd—including Duckwrth, Ally Hilfiger, Elizabeth Sulcer, Sai De Silva, and the Atanga twins—dancing all night.
Lights flashed, Champagne flowed, and makeup was handed out like candy. The Chelsea rager also doubled as the reveal of Milk Makeup’s newest face: Teasdale, who stars in the brand’s first-ever campaign film, New York Found Me, which premiered this month.
Shot with an ensemble of real New Yorkers cast through an open call, the short film is the brand’s love letter to the city’s inimitable energy—that same spirit that pulsed through the party. —Tiahna Creo
A Star-Studded YSL Beauty Block Party in SoHo
When YSL Beauty began popping up in different cities around the world, it was only a matter of time before its block party concept touched down in New York. Just after NYFW wrapped up, the beauty brand took over downtown institution La Esquina and its SoHo corner on the first perfectly cool fall night of the year, bringing together international ambassadors and local legends for one night only.
It’s a fitting choice of location: The most famous block party of all time took place in the Bronx, birthing an entirely new genre of music in the summer of 1973. Fast forward to now, and New Yorkers are still wrapping their minds around yet another historic summer, which began with the Knicks winning the NBA championship for the first time in 53 years.
“I think about it and I’m just like, ‘Damn—I brought a Golden Globe back to New York. The Knicks brought a championship to New York. It’s just like…how do you top that?’” pondered Harlemite Teyana Taylor, while sitting inches away from Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and his wife, Jordyn Woods, who also came out to celebrate YSL Beauty’s new Black Opium Pink Glaze fragrance and Make Me Blush Cream.
Fashion-adoring Taylor shared that her three golden doodles are actually named Yves, Saint, and Laurent. “I love their names so much. I call them in order, Yves, Saint, and Laurent. I can’t say it any other way,” she laughed.
Also in attendance were Lauryn Hill and YSL Beauty US Ambassadors Laura Harrier and Amelia Gray, as well as Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns, and Furious star Emmy Rossum, who all stayed late for a DJ set by Mark Ronson, endless tacos, and espresso martinis. “I feel like the city has such an energy of its own, so every event is elevated automatically,” Harrier told Vogue. —Ariel Bielsky
A Saie Soirée at The Grill
While NYFW might be known for its hectic late-night bashes, the beauty brand Saie preferred to slow things down for a sophisticated evening as it toasted to its latest campaign.
Laney Crowell, the industry veteran and founder and CEO of the clean, skin-kind line, was joined on hosting duty by Helena Christensen for the elegant dinner party, which took place at The Grill’s beloved Salon space.
The Danish runway regular is leading the campaign for Saie’s new SuperSuede Baked Eyeshadow—so it’s unsurprising that both the ad imagery and the mood of the celebration took their cues from the easy-breezy 1990s energy that she personifies so well. Right down to the minimalist looks from the era worn by guests, on loan from a vintage archive for the night. Ditto the engraved silver cigarette cases that each received as a gift.
Those in attendance included Molly Ringwald, Georgia Fowler, Alexis Ren, Mara Hoffman, Batsheva Hay, and Tina Leung—all beautified by Saie artists ahead of time, of course. —Freya Drohan