The fog is lifting. I’m finally seeing what works in Marketing again….

Every month, the marketing girlies release their Trend Reports.

New audios.
New “what to post in November” slide decks.
New video edits to spend hours pondering only to post none of them. (just me??)

Listen… I love a good vibe shift.
I love an aesthetic seasonal vibe mood board.
I really do.

There’s something thrilling about watching the cultural current move.

But lately, I’ve noticed something:

Trend reports have stopped feeling inspiring.
They’ve started feeling… exhausting.

Not because we don’t understand them.
Not because we’re “behind.”
But because the unspoken message is:

“Here are 19 new things you should also be doing to stay relevant.”

Meanwhile, every founder I know already has:

• A business to run
• Clients to support
• Emotional labor to hold
• A team to manage
• A life to live
• And a nervous system to keep intact

So when another trend deck drops, we don’t think:
“Fun!”

We think:

“Oh god, another thing I’m not doing.”

And this is where I think we need to tell the truth:

Trend reports are adorable to save.

We love a little digital scrapbook of aspirational marketing genius.

But are we ACTUALLY implementing any of it?

Or does it just feel good to pretend Future Us has:

• 4 hours of quiet
• a stable mood
• and a fresh iced matcha
  to joyfully craft a cinematic POV reel with perfect natural lighting?

Because I’ll go first:
I save.
I nod.
I whisper, “Oh yes, I’ll totally use that sound.”

And then I forget it exists.

We’re not undisciplined.
We’re overstimulated.

And overstimulation doesn’t create creativity.
It shuts it down.

Which is why — for the first time in a long time — I want to talk about something other than trends.

Because something is shifting in the beauty & wellness landscape right now.

Not loudly.
Not as a “new tactic.”
Not as a platform trick.

Something quieter — but far more important:

There are patterns returning that are grounded, sustainable, and actually working.

Not trend-based.
Not algorithm-defined.
Not dependent on timing or luck.

Patterns rooted in:

• Psychology
• Presence
• Story
• Voice
• Meaning

And these patterns?
They are actually creating traction again.

So that’s what we’re going to get into next.

Because if the trends feel overwhelming…
This is the part that will feel like exhaling.

Okay.
Let’s talk about what’s actually working right now.

Not hypotheticals.
Not “in theory this should work.”
Not one-off success screenshots.

These are patterns I’m seeing across multiple brands, multiple audiences, and multiple price points.

And they all have one thing in common:

They do not require you to reinvent your aesthetic, personality, strategy, or personality every 6 days.

They require presence.
Which is simpler.
But also braver.

Here they are:

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1. The In-Process Narrative

(or: “Stop only showing the final answer.”)

We are officially out of the era of polished, finished, perfectly-packaged outcomes.

Final results are boring now.

People want:

• The decision moment
• The uncertainty
• The “here’s what we almost did, but didn’t”
• The messy draft
• The context behind the creation

Not vulnerability as performance.
But process as evidence of depth.

Why it works:
People don’t trust results anymore.
They trust the reasoning behind the results.

So instead of:
“Here’s the product / launch / brand / offer”

Try:
“Here’s the moment I almost did this differently and why I didn’t.”

This is intimacy.
Not overexposure.

---

2. The Return of I-Centric Storytelling

((Not “main character energy” — actual meaning.)

We spent two years saying:

“Make your content about your audience, not you.”

And sure — that had its place.

But the pendulum swung too far.

Now?

People are tired of being told what to do.
They’re tired of being improved.
They don’t want another checklist.

They want to feel.

Story requires nothing of your audience.
No effort.
No notes.
No “homework.”

Just:
Sit with me. Let me show you something true.

Not:
“Here’s my life.”

But:
“Here’s a moment from my life that might change how you see yours.”

Try this:

I used to believe ________.
Because of that, I ________.
Then ________ happened.
Now I see it differently: ________.

Write that with your real voice.
You’ll hear yourself again immediately.

---

3. Teaching That Shifts Perception (Not Teaching That Adds Tasks)

Your audience doesn’t need more instructions.
They are drowning in instructions.

They need meaning.
They need orientation.
They need perspective.

They need the why, not the how.

Your audience does not want more instructions.
They want orientation.

Not “here’s what to do.”
But “here’s why this feels hard — and what’s actually happening underneath.”

This is especially true in beauty & wellness.

Because your work isn’t technical.
It’s emotional.

Example shifts:

Hair / Beauty:

“Most women don’t need new products. They need permission to want to feel beautiful again.”

Skin:

“Skincare isn’t discipline. It’s a relationship. With yourself.”

Wellness:

“You don’t need to calm down. You need to feel safe inside your own body again.”

Product Brands:

“Beauty shouldn’t feel like effort. It should feel like returning to yourself.”

This is what people remember.
This is what converts.
This is brand.

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4. Founder Voice as the Differentiator (And How to Revive It)

Your audience is not choosing you because you’re:

• the most knowledgeable
• the most experienced
• the most aesthetic
• the most optimized
• the most “on trend”

They are choosing you because of how it feels to be in your world.

Your voice is not a brand asset — it’s the brand anchor.

If your marketing feels flat, it’s not because you don’t know what to say.

It’s because you stopped saying:

• the truth you actually believe
• the opinion that feels a little too honest
• the thing you “don’t want to sound rude, but…”
• the part of your story you wish someone had told you sooner

Your audience doesn’t want your professional tone.
They want your real tone.
The slightly undone, deeply precise, beautifully aware tone.

So here’s the re-entry point:

Say one true thing you’ve been avoiding saying.

Not the dramatic thing.
Not the traumatic thing.
Just the honest thing.

Example, depending on the founder archetype:

• Hair / Beauty: “You don’t need a new look. You need permission to stop trying to be the ‘low maintenance girl’ when you’re not.”
• Skin: “Skincare isn’t about discipline. It’s about self-relationship.”
• Wellness: “Peace is not a personality trait. It’s a practice of coming home to yourself.”
• Product Founder: “Your routine shouldn’t feel like work. Beauty should feel like a reunion.”

Voice returns instantly.

Not through effort.
Through honesty.

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And Here’s the Part Where We Close the Loop

The trend cycle is loud.
But you don’t have to run with all of it.

Inside SPF House, we don’t ignore trends.
We just refuse to let trends lead.

We filter.

We choose what aligns with:

• the founder’s identity
• the brand’s emotional world
• the customer’s lived reality
• the season the business is actually in

If it deepens the story, we use it.
If it distracts or dilutes, we let it pass.

Your brand doesn’t need more content.
It needs a signal.

Something alive.
Something textured.
Something you meant.

This is what we do inside SPF House.

Not louder marketing.
Truer marketing.

Brand built at the level of identity, not output.

The trend cycle can keep spinning.
We’re choosing what lasts.

xo,
Kylie