Ariana Grande Already Told Us What's Next...

Ariana Grande, just do it already or explain it. I think Ariana Grande and R.E.M. Beauty quietly tested the future of their lip category and nobody noticed. Back in 2022, R.E.M. Beauty launched their original At the Borderline lip liners. They come in nine shades and this formula is super creamy and hydrating, but pigmented at the same time. At the time, they were designed for an entirely different lip lineup. The liners had the lipsticks, the liquid lipsticks, everything was just built to work together. But over the last two years, the brand has changed significantly. The lipsticks have all but disappeared. And now, R.E.M.'s lip category is really centered around the blur butter balms, the glossy balms, and the plumping lip gloss. So then Wicked came out and something caught my attention. Instead of using existing At the Borderline lip liner shades and formula, they designed a new lip liner formula for the Glinda and Elphaba sets. And if you've tried them or even just compared the formulas, these don't just appear to be new shades, but rather a new generation of lip liner for the brand. The original formula, this is EQ. It focused on a creamy glide to go with their lipstick formula. This lipstick really was good. Such a good formula. The Wicked liners on the other hand feel more smooth, wear differently, and pair perfectly with the glossy balms that came in each set. And so the question is, why spend the time and money developing a different lip liner formula? Only to hide it inside a limited edition movie collection? Unless that wasn't the point. What if Wicked wasn't just a collection? What if, like I've been saying, Wicked was proof of concept? Think about it. Today, R.E.M. Beauty's hero products are the glossy balms. So imagine if Ariana updated her At the Borderline lip liner shades with this new formula and paired each one with a matching glossy balm and then turned them into permanent lip duos. Like imagine Cosmo having an updated and curated Ariana Grande-approved lip liner shade pairing. Mm, obsessed. That makes a lot of business sense. You wouldn't have to reinvent the category. You just modernize it around products customers are already buying. Now, is that actually happening? We don't know. But if R.E.M. Beauty ever releases an updated lip liner formula or permanent lip sets around the glossy balm, I think we'll look back at the Wicked collection and realize it wasn't just a merchandise collection. It was the test. So what do you think, you guys? Am I reaching? Or was Wicked quietly showing us the future of R.E.M.'s lip category? Let me know below.