Daily Signals 12.11.2025

Signals

Luxury beauty brand Hyrular brings a surreal edge to make-up, a daily recap from Web Summit 2025 and why 73% of retail employees are planning to quit their jobs.

Hyrular launches surreal beauty that breaks the mould

Hyrular, UK
Hyrular, UK
Hyrular, UK

UK – Hyrular is a new luxury beauty brand bringing a surreal, sci-fi edge to make-up.

Inspired by avant-garde fashion and cinematic aesthetics, the brand aims to create products for those who want to break free from conventional beauty norms and embrace bold, unusual looks.

The debut offering, Nebubalm, is a vegan multi-chrome lip balm that comes in two striking shades. It features light-reflecting finishes with pearlescent and shimmer effects, capturing Hyrular’s mission to make beauty that is imaginative, expressive and visually striking.

‘Why is no one making beauty for us? The industry’s demand for sameness leaves no room for the strange, the cinematic or the surreal,’ Hyrular says in its launch statement. The brand is positioning itself for consumers who want imaginative, visually striking products rather than conventional beauty dictated by algorithms and elite ideals.

This approach aligns with LS:N Global’s upcoming macrotrend, The Great Beauty Blur, which explores how brands can embrace friction, complexity and cultural nuance to foster authentic engagement and spark consumer curiosity.

Join us for tomorrow’s webinar on The Great Beauty Blur by RSVPing here.

Strategic opportunity

By making strangeness and surrealism central to their creative language, brands can cultivate a beauty culture where complexity and curiosity outweigh uniformity

A daily recap from Web Summit 2025: Circular and creator economies take centre stage

Portugal – More than 70,000 attendees and 2,500 start-ups have gathered in Lisbon for Web Summit 2025, where circular innovation and the creator economy have taken centre stage.

On Monday 10 November 2025, opening speakers included TikTok star Khaby Lame, tennis champion Maria Sharapova and Lovable AI CEO Anton Osika, each exploring how technology is reshaping their industries.

Circularity led early discussions on Tuesday 11 November, as the full event kicked off with Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius announcing a multi-year partnership with Nike to integrate the company’s circular polyester into Nike’s performance lines – a major shift in its materials strategy. Nobelius pointed to the exclusivity and innovation of recycled products as a selling point for brands, reflecting insights from our Rebranding Sustainability series which detailed the need for a new approach that embeds sustainability in business models, rather than platforming it.

Meanwhile, Visa’s global head of product Mark Nelson unveiled the company’s strategy to develop financial tools for creators, recognising them as SMEs and accommodating their non-traditional revenue models. Gen Z influencers and entrepreneurs Grace Beverley and Josh Richards echoed this evolution, highlighting how creators are building sophisticated businesses rooted in audience insight, rather than merchandise sales. For more on how influencer culture is changing the world as we know it, head to our The New Creatorverse report.

Web Summit 2025. Photography by Paul Devlin, Lisbon, Portugal
Opening night of Web Summit 2025. Photography by Ramsey Card, Lisbon, Portugal
Grace Beverley at Web Summit 2025, photography by Carlos Rodrigues, Lisbon, Portugal

Strategic opportunity

Develop financial tools for a new generation of entrepreneurs – from saving guides for irregular income to AI agents that automatically chase invoices – as creators become fully fledged business operators shaping the future of business 

Stat: Retailers warned of festive staffing crisis as 73% of employees plan to quit  

Walmart, US Walmart, US

UK – UK retailers could face a staffing crisis ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas rush, as new research from sharetech platform Vestd reveals that nearly three-quarters (73%) of retail employees are looking to leave their jobs. 

Vestd’s Workplace Values Study found that almost one in four retail staff plan to quit within the next three months, citing heavy workloads and poor work/life balance as key pressures. The report also noted rising incidents of anti-social behaviour towards staff, with many being offered training to handle abuse from customers. 

Mental health emerged as a key concern, ranking third among workplace benefits. Yet almost a third of retail employees said they don’t feel comfortable discussing mental health issues at work, despite 94% experiencing stress. 

Financial rewards were ranked as employees’ top priority, with bonus and performance-based schemes seen as more motivating than traditional staff discounts. Nearly 60% also said share ownership would make them more loyal to their employer. 

Vestd founder and CEO Ifty Nasir warned: ‘Employers must address these issues to retain staff and avoid a huge walkout during the busiest shopping period of the year.’  

Explore our Retail Staff Futures and Work States Futures reports to uncover the key strategic opportunities shaping the future retail workforce and workplace. 

Strategic opportunity

Integrate mental health support, flexible scheduling and clear career paths into the employee value proposition, using technology and training to make wellbeing a core driver of retention and resilience 

Previous Daily Signals Articles
ITB Berlin 2026: New world order signals rising risk for global tourism

Daily Signals

ITB Berlin 2026: New world order signals rising risk for global tourism

Germany – ITB Berlin is the world’s leading travel trade show and at this year’s event former German politician Joseph Martin ‘Joschka’ Fischer del...
Travel : Itb Berlin : Global Events
How South Korea is defying Asia’s declining birth rate trend

Daily Signals

How South Korea is defying Asia’s declining birth rate trend

South Korea’s birth rate rose for a second consecutive year in 2025, with preliminary figures showing 254,000 births –the largest annual increase s...
Society : Birthrate : Population
Stat: UK Gen Z turn to trade work for security in the AI era

Daily Signals

Stat: UK Gen Z turn to trade work for security in the AI era

Younger workers are fuelling renewed job growth across the construction and trade sectors as Gen Z seek steadier pay and roles perceived to be more...
Work : Youth : Statistic
How Tressly Studios is redefining retail for textured hair

Daily Signals

How Tressly Studios is redefining retail for textured hair

London’s first dedicated textured hair concept store and salon is set to open at Lewisham Shopping Centre.
Beauty : Haircare : Retail
Japan’s working week shrinks as average hours fall below US

Daily Signals

Japan’s working week shrinks as average hours fall below US

Japan’s long-held reputation for punishing work schedules may be softening.
Workplace : Japan : Health
Stat: How wellness-minded flyers are reshaping the inflight menu

Daily Signals

Stat: How wellness-minded flyers are reshaping the inflight menu

Travellers are extending their focus on health and wellbeing into the air, prompting airlines to rethink what good inflight food looks like.
Health And Wellness : Travel : Statistic
How Koto made the machine economy legible

Daily Signals

How Koto made the machine economy legible

Creative studio Koto has unveiled a brand evolution for MachineX, a decentralised exchange built on blockchain that enables humans and machines to ...
Technology : AI : Design
Why the V&A is adding YouTube’s first upload to its collection

Daily Signals

Why the V&A is adding YouTube’s first upload to its collection

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has acquired the earliest available YouTube watch page. Posted by Jawed Karim showing him at San Diego Zoo, it ...
Media : Technology : YouTube
Stat: Economic anxiety outranks politics across sub-Saharan Africa

Daily Signals

Stat: Economic anxiety outranks politics across sub-Saharan Africa

Economic wellbeing is now the leading concern for people across sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly a quarter ranking it as their country’s biggest nat...
Society : Africa : Statistic
Snooz launches a night-time ice cream with sleep-friendly twist

Daily Signals

Snooz launches a night-time ice cream with sleep-friendly twist

Snooz, an ice cream brand formulated for evening indulgence, has launched with a suitably dreamy identity by How&How.
Food : Ice Cream : Functional Foods
You have 2 free Daily Signals remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN