For U Beauty founder Tina Chen Craig’s first-ever brand dinner last Thursday night, she fittingly chose Casino, Aisa Shelley’s first-ever restaurant following nightlife success with Mr. Fong’s in Chinatown and Primo’s in Tribeca. Inside, the East Broadway space buzzed with an industry-spanning mix of personalities, including Oscar de la Renta and Monse co-creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, American Ballet Theater principal dancer James Whiteside, and Diet Prada’s Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler. “I’ve known Tina for so long—she’s an OG blogger,” said Liu. “We started testing her products way before launch.” Schuyler agreed. “Oh yeah, we were total lab humans.”
Guests like Tina Leung, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and Stacey Bendet were also part of Craig’s close friend group of “lab humans” testing samples of U Beauty’s products months before launch. The word of mouth about the brand’s skincare technology quickly built a cult following. “Nicky gave it to me,” said Olivia Palermo of Hilton Rothschild, passing along The Plasma Lip Compound (also a favorite of actor Emma Roberts) as the pair lounged on the veranda. “Overnight, my lips were fully revived — it’s amazing.” At the bar, a bowl filled with tubes of the bestseller was emptied (“My kids literally fight over the lip plasma,” said Bendet), and Craig, standing in a black caged Monse creation, encouraged guests to take samples from tables and the product-stocked bathroom.
“I’ve never hosted a dinner for myself and our brand, so I’m really nervous,” Craig admitted once Chef Kenny Addington served up courses of delicata squash treviso salad and crespelle. She credited Kim, (who buys bottles by the dozen and reportedly applies the Eye Concentrate to her entire face) as her original customer, and a conversation with Violet Grey founder Cassandra Grey for the “laser in a bottle” inspiration behind the new Resurfacing Body Compound (launching April 19th). “Tina is not so quietly building an empire,” Grey added. “She builds in a way that inspires others to build, and when she throws herself a party, we’re here for it.”
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