☆ The Gwyneth tax, a hot take on Bala x Spanx, Oura's new feature launch

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Hey lovely,

Jasmine here, Editor of Daily Rituals, back with your Wellness Dose.

Since it was a bank holiday for us UK girlies yesterday, I'm dropping into your inbox today instead of Monday noon UK time as usual. That said, if you’re in need of a Monday-vibe quick pep talk to get you in the mood for the week - this really did it for me in less than 10 seconds. And since so many of you were intrigued about the To Be Magnetic manifestation course I mentioned last week (ps, you can get 15% off with JASMINE3633), this is probably what you’ll need to get you going today.

Also, I’m so excited to let you know that our next community event is nearly ready to drop & the best news? Someone in our invite-only Girls Group Chat Whats App will win their ticket purchase back. If you want in, just refer 3 besties to The Wellness Dose (link below) to get your invite.

As always, thank you for being here. I'm so grateful for you.

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The best stories & updates that caught our eye this week → 

• 🧠 The secret ingredient: Founded by creators Chris Williamson & James Smith in 2023, their nootropic drink brand just raised £3m to expand into retail. Admittedly, their scary-looking cans have a decent lineup of ingredients too, if you can look past the two artificial sweeteners.. One notable ingredient? Cognizin - proven to increase brain activity for mental energy & focus, also found in these electrolytes or you can take it “pure” in these for a brain boost. One thing’s for sure - there’s still space to fill in the “productivity drinks” market, something without the artificial rubbish, less adaptogen-y than the likes of jAGA (but equally aesthetic) with a productivity focus. 

• 💪 Bend and snap: Not many convert quite like Taylor Swift. After being spotted wearing this $182 posture-correcting bra, this brand saw immediate sell-out and is apparently set to hit $100m this year. Naturally, we too considered purchasing, but reviewers say it’s not a pleasurable wear with the posture benefits only noticeable whilst wearing, sort of like shapewear for your back. The best posture hack? Strengthen your rear delts consistently with resistance training and of course, Pilates.

• 🤰 Tracking reality: Oura just launched pregnancy insights (turned on in settings) so now if you’re pregnant, the app will now give some context as to why your readiness scores are consistently terrible. Initial reviews suggest it's pretty generic so far, but baby steps and all. 

• 👟 Why so serious: Last week, On dropped their first co-created collab with Zendaya after previous successes since signing their multi-year deal. We're personally fans of the red accents, but comments suggest it hasn't quite landed with their "core following", with people questioning why they'd buy running trainers designed by someone who isn't an athlete. Ignoring the irony that many commenting likely aren’t training with Mo Farrah himself, our guess? On aren't trying to woo their original “athlete” demographic. They're betting on Zendaya's cultural relevance over athletic credibility (although, did you see her in Greatest Showman!), just like their Loewe collab, to catapult them further into the mainstream. One quick glance during rush hour confirms it too - you’ll spot the masses of people already sporting Clouds to powerwalk to their 9am meetings. 

• 💧 Dry spell: This new 3-step hydro system promises softer, shinier hair in 30 days through helping hair heal and renew with actives & skincare-like ingredients (instead of just a coating to make it feel better). Usually when brands launch multi-step anything, it screams “trying to increase your cart value”, but each product in the hydro line up is deserving of its place. FYI, If you're battling with oily roots, skip this entirely (& try this instead). For hair thinning, we’re excited already about this Derms first launch. 

• 🛍️ The beauty breakup: US girlies will know that since 2021, you could shop your Ulta favourites in Target stores, but that's all coming to an end in 2026. Why? Ulta realised that the similar demographics between stores were basically cannibalising their own growth, and the fact the Target counters didn’t have Ulta-trained associates was a miss. Let’s see if they learn from the experience ahead of the Soko Glam launch in (Ulta-owned) Space NK later this year. 

• 🐌 Poor snails: That viral gooey snail mucin? Turns out its sourcing involves electrocuting snails or spraying them with acid to boost production. Sketchy. Glow Recipe said not on our watch, and recreated their own version with prickly pear instead - same sticky texture, but vegan friendly. The formula is boosted with ectoin, an underrated ingredient perfect for soothing & supporting the skin barrier. The brand's launch strategy was a masterclass too - they leaned into the TikTok influencer leaks, seeding over 1,800 “lab samples” labelled MUCIN. After convincing Sephora to list the sample (a first), it meant that whenever an influencer raved about whatever it was, people could sign up immediately for the real launch. The result? The brand gained over $500k in earned media pre-launch. Kudos. 

• 💸 Gwyneth tax: Would you pay £530 for 1.5 hours of “deep rebuilding therapy” reflexology? That’s how much it’ll set you back to visit Gwyneth Paltrow's reflexologist (where pressure is applied to specific parts of the feet, ears and hands to promote relaxation) in her stunning new residency at the Guerlain Spa at Raffles London. We’re personally opting for 90 minutes here instead (it gets bonus points for being able to opt for a quiet session, with your essential oil of choice). 

• 🏖️ Genius: The minibar as you know it is over. Lux hotel rooms are now stocking beauty brands to give you that "free" dopamine hit, even though you've 100% paid for it in your bill. Ritz Carlton LA is providing $142 worth of customizable skincare per suite, and honestly, we're here for it. It makes sense from the brands' perspective too - you'll inevitably re-buy those products to recreate that luxury hotel feeling at home and you’ll justify it by saying something like, “I used this on our break in…”.

How not to collab: A hot take on Bala x Spanx

I'm admittedly a home fitness prop whore. I mostly blame lockdown & my desperate quest for any dopamine hit. My dreamy Yogi Bare mat, marble lululemon roller, various fabric resistance bands, and of course, my trusty Bala bangles (that I now take on basically every holiday even though they never make it out of my case, but that's beside the point).

^{THE BALA STORY}

Bala's story is nothing short of incredible - turning a $10k investment (and $40k Kickstarter) in 2018 into over $20m in revenue in less than three years with their playful & chic reinvention of ankle weights. At almost perfect timing, in 2020, the brand secured just under $1m from Shark Tank's Mark Cuban right before the pandemic, enabling their huge growth surge when we were all desperately searching for anything to stay sane at home.

Since then, as well as some popular new arrivals like their mats (that many have since copied..) & beam (less duped, I assume as no one knows WTF to do with it), Bala has become known for partnership collabs with brands like New Balance, Form, and (my favourite) Pucci. What makes a good collab? Co-founder Natalie Holloway says they "have to meet one of three criteria": 1. Iconic potential. 2. Seems unexpected. 3. Strong brand value alignment.

^{THE SPANX COLLAB}

On paper, their most recent limited edition collab with iconic shapewear brand Spanx ticks all three boxes. But surprisingly, over two weeks after the drop - complete with a flashy influencer event, gifting, and press mentions (even in WWD) - nothing has sold out yet.

Sure, selling out doesn't necessarily equal collab success in itself. Part of partnering with adjacent brands is introducing your audience to theirs and tapping into cultural narratives - in this case, "we're here for all the women who want to move, however & whenever they choose." But with both brands collectively having over 1.3 million followers and significant paid reach potential, I'd have expected more hype.

^{SO WHY THE SLOW START?}

The collection: It's nothing we haven't seen before, aside from purple shades most of us wouldn't naturally reach for. In 2025, we're building capsule athleisure wardrobes, and a purple set isn't doing enough work in our rotation. Considering Spanx has shaping in their DNA, none of the pieces look particularly flattering - they're largely reminiscent of many Girlfriend Collective styles that launched a good few years ago (& are sustainable too). My favourite piece is probably the trio-tone bangles, which I figured would look cute with my many black athleisure sets, until I realised they cost $4 more than every other colour on site. 

The creative: The collection needed a theme, a name (at a minimum!) - like the ultra successful Set x Parke: Low Tide drop. The theme shaped the creative, colours & mood, with the first full post telling us exactly the purpose: for "the quiet blur between seasons. The perfect misty, salty, low-light summer day, you can't forget." Since the collection is all about moving through your busy day your way, there was endless opportunity for lifestyle shots showing how a corporate girly switches between the pieces throughout her day. I'm talking cinematic, 24-hour-in-the-life of a cool city girl managing real life (corporate, workouts, seeing friends, love interests etc.). Instead we got one e-com shoot with plenty more purple.

The socials: Textbook execution. Blurry "coming soon" teaser → intro video with close-ups → collection stills carousel → influencer event content. The engagement on their posts (again, considering their following) is telling too. The collab teaser getting less than 800 likes, and their "meet the collab" post with less than 300. A post-launch giveaway of the full collection would have boosted engagement, as would have sharing snippets of all the initial meetings between Sarah Blakely and Natalie (even if entirely staged) conjuring up the collection. This is when I want to hear about what makes this standard-looking athleisure set different. What magic did they sprinkle in it to ensure it works wonders on our curves?

The missed opportunity: Depending on budgets, kitting out a NY Pilates studio in the collection's colours and launching a month-long community residency would have brought the collection to life, versus their highly-produced influencer event. Each class would allow for real people to use the new bangle colourway, and feel the pieces IRL, with attendees perhaps getting discount codes to buy there and then if they share a snap. This would have created more organic Instagram stories and TikTok "come with me to..." content, making the collection feel genuinely cool (I couldn’t find one TikTok about the pieces that wasn’t from an influencer at their event?!).

★ The DR Verdict ➔

Who knows, behind the scenes, it might be killing it, and perhaps they bought huge amounts of stock so no one would be disappointed - but from the outside, the response has been lukewarm at best, with probably their biggest win coming from their press mentions. Will it make other brands hesitant about future Bala partnerships? IMO, I think their next collab should lean into the whole beauty x food obsession that’s everywhere, say with a cult matcha brand, maybe even an Aperol launch (next summer) or a viral salad bar that’s killing it on social - something (anything!) that feels genuinely unexpected that would lead to some fun creative too. 

So, what do you think? Let me know below!

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