If Miami were a lip product, it would be the new YSL LOVESHINE Plumping Lip Oil Gloss — fiery, glossy, extra, and hotter than your ex’s new flame. Fortunately, that’s exactly what YSL Beauty dropped in the heart of the city’s Design District last weekend, turning up the heat with a two-day whirlwind of beauty, bass, and unapologetic self-expression.
The Lovegame pop-up — wrapped in a reflective fuchsia exterior, nestled between palm trees and luxury boutiques — was YSL Beauty’s answer to what happens when French-girl cool collides with Miami heat — complete with glossy lips, glass skin, and camera-ready chaos. The result? A fully immersive, gamified experience with makeup hacks, product prizes, and the kind of selfie lighting that would make even your 3 a.m. face look editorial.
But the ultimate power move came courtesy of YSL Beauty’s Global Makeup Ambassador Sam Visser, whose masterclass turned blush into a full-body philosophy — equal parts pigment and poetry. “Confidence and makeup go hand-in-hand,” he told GRAZIA USA after sketching looks like a couture architect in front of a room of editors and influencers. “When I do my concealer, bronzer, and blush in the morning, I feel like I can take on the day — not hiding, just elevated.” And Sam knows firsthand how makeup can transform someone. “I did a cover shoot with Kendall Jenner, and the way she looked in the mirror after I did her full beat, she said, ‘OMG, my face looks insane.’ Makeup can transform someone’s personality so vastly.”
That philosophy echoed through the whole Lovegame universe: beauty not as armor, but as art. And Sam? He’s painting outside the lines. “To be creating product for YSL Beauty and designing looks for the brand is my biggest dream,” he said, wide-eyed but grounded. “It’s about play, passion, and individuality — makeup should make you feel sexy and powerful.”
Enter: Omar Rudberg — singer, actor, and the night’s unofficial heartthrob-in-residence. I met him in his suite at the swanky 1 Hotel South Beach ahead of the Lovegame festivities, where he opened the door wearing perfect skin, glossed lips, and a fragrance that lingered like a plot twist. “I rarely leave the house without smelling good,” he laughed, pulling YSL’s 6 Place Saint Sulpice out of his bag like a mic drop. “It’s sweet, smoky, a little vanilla — definitely sexy.”
For Rudberg, beauty is a daily act of self-creation. “The older I’ve gotten, the more comfortable I’ve become using beauty to feel stronger, cooler — like I can express myself the way I want to,” he said. “It changes how I feel from the inside out.” His Miami night-out look? “Light, natural, bronzed, and glowy,” he grinned. “Smelling really good, of course.”
The idea that beauty should be genderless isn’t new, but in Omar’s world, it’s non-negotiable. “Growing up, I loved makeup, but I felt shame walking into stores because I was a guy,” he recalled. “It shouldn’t be a big deal. I love that now we’re seeing more guys in campaigns, more kinds of people using beauty in public. It’s not dramatic — it’s just reality.”
Reality, though, got a cinematic twist at the YSL Beauty Love Club, an after-dark affair where the energy pulsed as hard as the beats. The space glowed under hypnotic lighting and surreal digital projections that crawled across the walls like neon brushstrokes. Three DJs set the tempo before Rüfüs Du Sol hit the decks for a surprise set that sent stilettos flying. Nicole Richie arrived in a skin-tight black dress carved with razor-sharp cutouts, all confidence and glossed cheekbones. Lila Moss floated through the crowd in a sleek pencil skirt and halter from Anthony Vaccarello’s latest for Saint Laurent — equal parts ingénue and icon. Precious Lee brought the drama and looked like the final boss in a beauty video game — sharp liner, and even sharper aura. With a black dress code and a room full of smoky eyes and high-shine lips, the night felt part club, part art installation, part glossy fever dream — with one clear message: beauty is a game, and everyone’s invited to play.
Between the fig-infused plumping gloss (juicy, mango-scented, spiked with just enough ginger oil to make lips tingle) and the swipe-anywhere blush, this wasn’t your standard beauty launch — it was a cultural drop. YSL Beauty isn’t riding the wave; it’s the one setting it in motion. Of course, the buzz didn’t stop at the Miami pop-up. Remember the Dua Lipa campaign? A perfect harmony of sex appeal and self-expression — it was clear then, and it’s clear now: YSL Beauty is always ahead of the curve.
As for Omar? He’s off to Los Angeles, London, Stockholm, and the studio, finishing his next album. But before heading out, he left me with a truth bomb: “My lip product? I carry four at all times. And curl cream. I can’t live without those.” (The fourth lip? Probably another LOVESHINE, if I had to guess.)
The whole weekend proved what YSL Beauty has long understood: that beauty isn’t just about looking good — it’s about feeling in control. Feeling like yourself. Feeling like you could walk into any room — glossed, bronzed, and unapologetically you — and take up space. I even had my own moment experimenting with a smoky-eye look for the Love Club, channeling a bit of that fierce confidence.
Because in 2025, the glow is personal. And if you’re not playing the game on your own terms, what’s the point?
