Editor's letter

IT’S HARD NOT TO INDULGE in the nostalgia of the back-to-school season, but the timing of this particular issue has me reminiscing about more than just the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. My first day of Cosmetics was in 2008; since then, much has changed (we went digital!), yet in some cases, it has stayed the same (ahem, Jim Hicks!) The industry has witnessed too many milestones to count, but we did our best to squeeze as many as we could into our 50th-anniversary timeline (page 35).

We also marked this special occasion by catching up with a few former lifetime achievement COSA winners to indulge in our past and talk shop about what’s next (page 30).

As we step into our next 50 years, our editors give us the lowdown on how to put our best face forward. Find round-ups on the latest and greatest on shelves in makeup, skincare, and fragrance (page 11), a close-look feature on how to streamline your vanity (page 24) and the looks we can’t stop Insta-searching (page 18, page 21, and page 83).

In french, our Québec correspondent catches up with industry leaders, including Aerin Lauder, to discuss her latest fragrance (page 74), Thierry Wasser and Cécile Lochard of Guerlain, about marrying luxury with sustainability (page 72) and Philip Taylor about his anti-breakout skincare line Carbon Theory (page 77).

Whatever your next chapter—back-to-school, holiday prep, a new job, retirement (Jim Hicks, again!)—we hope you find plenty of inspiration in beauty’s past and present for the future ahead.

Heather Marrin, CREATIVE DIRECTOR @HEATHERMICH