On Wednesday evening, in the calm before the chaos of NYFW, sight, sound, and scent came together at the launch party of Estée Lauder’s new eau de parfum, Glimmer, hosted alongside its campaign star, Hailee Steinfeld.
The Oscar-nominated multi-hyphenate was all smiles when describing how she fell in love with the evocative fragrance. “It’s a feeling first, and then a memory, and future memories, and also what I wanted it to represent for me at this moment in my life,” she told Vogue.
Since becoming a first-time mom months ago, the Sinners actress added, “I now love the idea of putting emphasis on these small daily pockets of joy that we all experience: like getting into clean sheets at the end of the day, or seeing your baby smile. It reminds me that life is so beautiful and it moves so fast, and I just loved the thought that this is a scent that one day my little girl will associate me with and how that will become a cherished memory for her.”
To help Steinfeld celebrate, artists, tastemakers, and creatives arrived through a gilded Glimmer-branded arch, stepping straight into a world built for the senses. The amber-floral fragrance filled the air, while guests enjoyed a soundscape curated by DJs and models Isabella Massenet and Gilly Chan.
Around the space, warm light, soft interiors, and draped curtains made for a serene reprieve from the busy energy of the city. Upstairs, a color-coordinated dessert table was laden with macarons and raspberry accompaniments—a subtle wink to the gourmand notes that define the fragrance. Guests, including Imaan Hammam, Nara Smith, Valeria Lipovetsky, and Apple Martin, also lined up for monogrammed leather travel keychains, customized by Royce New York.
The beauty launch didn’t skimp on the fashion front, either. Charlotte Lawrence wore a fitted red two-piece as an homage to one of Lauder’s most famed beauty products. “It’s a lipstick,” exclaimed the model-turned-singer, who is currently on tour with Suki Waterhouse, of her outfit inspiration.
On the way out, attendees departed with their own bottle of Glimmer, tucked into gift bags waiting by the door—a full-size iteration of those small joys Steinfeld mentioned. As she put it: “I hope when people put Glimmer on, they find their way back to themselves.”