HSR ICYMI 🍁๋࣭ ⭑☕️⋆

Time for my favorite part of the week, ICYMI!!!

ICYMI ₊♡₊˚ 🍒・₊✧

♡ This Week’s Quote: “Your first podcast will be bad. Your first workout will be bad. Your first video will be bad. Your first ANYTHING will be bad. But you can’t make your 100th before you make your first. So put your ego aside and just start.”

♡ Listen: 2024 was a year of travel. Growing up, I was fortunate to travel a lot, but from 2018 to 2023, I didn’t explore other parts of the world as much as I would have liked. Between COVID, moving countries for work, and prioritizing my career, it had been a long time since I’d felt truly immersed in a completely different way of life. After a year filled with travel, I’m feeling more creative than ever after being in a creative rut. I think this episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to make travel a priority in 2025. Trust me—you’ll never regret investing in experiences over things.

♡ Read/Watch: Whatever your medium preference, BOF Voices 2024: “Global Culture and Creativity” is a must for your information diet. I watched the 2-hour video and read the highlights linked here, and I highly recommend you do the same. I’ve been saying that sports is the new “it girl” for over a year, but I love how Jens Grede, Co-Founder and CEO of Skims, framed it during his BOF Keynote: “We are so divided now. Sports is a great unifier.” I’m fortunate to know Jens in a professional capacity, as he was the sole investor in a former startup I worked at. I always lean into anything he’s involved in or highlighted in, as his public appearances are both limited and rare. His insights are abundant and always worth paying attention to.

♡ Buy: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I did not experience jet lag flying to and from India because of this $99 kit. Actually, the morning after my first sleep back, I scored a 93 on the readiness scale and an 89 optimal sleep score according to my Oura ring. This is the perfect gift for anyone in your life who loves to travel, and I will most definitely be getting the refills for Lucky #3 and my next adventure over the holidays—which I am fully in charge of planning (wish me luck).

♡ Get Hotter: I am in my full post-travel glow up (both mentally and physically). I’m on day 3 of teeth whitening and my face is currently bright red from microneedling. I booked at Le Jolie Spa via Upkeep (the classpass of medspas) for $350 and if it’s your first visit, you can take $50 off with code “HSR50” or “C28PP”.

♡ India Guide: Because Lucky #3 was in charge of planning this trip, it was a maximalist’s dream schedule. But when you visually see how much traveling we did and how much of India we saw in such a short period of time, I hope you feel confident and trust in my travel and packing hacks/tips. I slayed being organized and efficient this trip and have so many lessons to share, which will come back in the highly requested “HSR list format” on TikTok this week. I’m thinking about putting out an India-specific newsletter so that I can do a full review and guide if you’re thinking about visiting or want to add it to your bucket list—this way, it doesn’t take up the full ICYMI ritual. Let me know if you’re interested by responding to this poll! PS - I used NordVPN to access TikTok and it worked like a charm (highly recommend for a VPN if you travel a lot!)

This Week’s Mood Board

manifesting a glow up this week with a side of self-care

• Want to build a winning brand in 2025? Discover the seven game-changing trends from the BoF x McKinsey report that every founder and investor needs to know.

• Tariffs are back, and for consumer brands, that means one thing: prepare or pay the price. Discover the strategies to keep your margins strong and your supply chain secure.

The Secret To Building A Personal Brand

If 2025 is the year you want to build your personal brand, then what I discovered about Instagram might surprise you.

In 2023, I started building my personal brand somewhat unintentionally. But only a few months ago did I begin to adopt Instagram as a key platform alongside TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Why?

Instagram has always felt like a black box—tough to grow on after the first wave of creators established themselves on the platform. Everywhere I turned, people said that Reels were the answer for reach and visibility. You’d think I’d just repurpose videos across platforms, especially since I grew quickly on TikTok by being my authentic self in video format. But, call it the millennial in me, I still associate Instagram with photos, not videos, and didn’t want to simply copy and paste content from one platform to the next.

Then, Dash Hudson’s latest social benchmark report changed my perspective—and my strategy. Here’s what I found:

• Instagram is now prioritizing smaller creators with greater reach.

• Carousels and images actually lead in reach, delivering 57% more visibility than Reels. If visibility is your goal, static content is still the key.

• Stories, meanwhile, drive deeper engagement and meaningful connections that Reels just can’t match. They’re the sweet spot for building a genuine community.

And building community is what truly matters when you’re building a personal brand—not just follower counts. Instagram’s photo and carousel content foster loyalty and connection, creating the foundation for lasting brand growth.

So, if you’re like me and want to take Instagram growth seriously for your personal brand or your company’s brand, download Dash Hudson’s full Social Media Strategy report for free and start building a brand that truly stands out and connects with your community.

Consumer News

♡ the brands, people, places, things that have captured my attention ♡

♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡

• Emergency contraception sales leap more than 930% following election results - from Vogue 

• Millennial body care brand, Hanni, achieves national distribution through its partnership with Sephora - from Beauty Independent

• McKinsey’s eighth annual “The State of Fashion” report reveals over 50 percent of fashion executives are planning to raise prices - from Business of Fashion

♡ Media, Entertainment & Creator ♡

• SKIMS collabs with Dolce & Gabbana to launch limited-edition collection - on Instagram

• Influencer-turned-entrepreneur, Danielle Bernstein, new women’s fragrance is expected to land in Ulta in 2025 - from Women’s Wear Daily

♡ E-Commerce, Retail & Social ♡

• Gen Z’s obsession with “swicy” ingredients could signal a growing opportunity in consumer food - from NBC News

• Ulta Beauty cracks down on its return policy ahead of the holiday season - from Beauty Independent

• German luxury luggage brand maker, Rimowa’s focus on functionality continues to bolster its positioning - Business of Fashion

• Managing partner at True Beauty Ventures says fragrance is likely to be one of the fastest growing prestige beauty categories into 2025 - from Beauty Independent

♡ Tech, Business, & Investing ♡

• Forerunner Ventures announces a new $500M fund investing in early-stage businesses that are integrating AI into new products and services that will improve and simplify important parts of people’s lives - from Forerunner

• The $8.5 million merger between Tapestry and Capri has been terminated - from Business of Fashion

• OneSkin raises $7M in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Selva Ventures - from Women’s Wear Daily

• Athleisure brand, Vuori, reaches $5.5 billion valuation following $825 million investment - from Retail Dive

HSR Updates

♡ everything fun and exciting in the land of HSR ♡

• The Hot Smart Rich shop has been sold out for far too long so I think it’s about time we change that with new HSR merch… but this time, I figured we needed some sexy, elegant desk accessories to match HSR’s evolution. Available for pre-order in 2 weeks! More details coming soon.

• HSR’s first product collaboration is coming in less than 30 days and launches December 6th. Each newsletter from here until then is going to tease details about it during the weekly giveaway with a chance to win upon launch so stay tuned to the weekly giveaway to have your shot at it!

• Podcast Update: This week I’m recording the first 5 episodes of the HSR podcast, 2 solos and 3 with guests. Can you guess who guest #3 is going to be (freaking out!!)…but I need all the input and help. If you haven’t already, click Yes!! below to provide any feedback you have.

• HSR community event: Mark your calendars for the morning of December 14 in LA for a very special HSR walk. More details coming soon.

~ Holiday Newsletter Calendar ~

• December 29 (paid subscriber content only) - no newsletter due to the holidays  

• January 5 (paid subscriber content only)  - no newsletter due to the holidays  

TYSM, I♡U!!!!

To enter this week's giveaway, respond to the poll below! We’ll pick one winner who selects the right category and will ship them the product when it launches on December 6th!

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