Retail | Global Cosmetic Industry

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LOOKFANTASTIC Takes Beauty Discovery Poolside at Mondrian Ibiza

The Studio will feature more than 80 global, prestige and emerging brands, including more than 60 that are new to Target shoppers, spanning skin care, hair care, fragrance and cosmetics. The assortment will also include exclusive launches available only at Target.

Target’s Beauty Bet Gains Momentum as Beauty Studio Nears Rollout

The Studio will feature more than 80 global, prestige and emerging brands, including more than 60 that are new to Target shoppers.

Delicates Campaign Deck 7126 10126

Inside Ardell's DUO Underlash Glue & Remover Launch

Ardell's Brand Director, Jennifer Johnson, talks about the features and the differentiating factor that set the new DUO Underlash Glue & Remover apart.

July/August 2026

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July/August 2026

The launch is expected later this year, with Proya joining Ulta Beauty’s existing portfolio of prestige skin care brands.

China's Proya Targets U.S. Prestige Beauty With Ulta Beauty Expansion

“We are thrilled to welcome Brie to our Board of Directors,” said Kecia Steelman, president and CEO of Ulta Beauty.

Ulta Beauty Taps PacSun CEO Brieane Olson for Board

Selective retail continues to outperform many traditional luxury categories, with Sephora serving as a critical gateway for premium beauty brands and increasingly acting as a stabilizing force within LVMH's portfolio.

LVMH Beauty Holds Firm as Sephora Outpaces Luxury Slowdown, Fueling Confidence for Second Half

The retailer's new 2,691-square-foot Carnaby Street store in London departs from Sephora's larger destination formats by prioritizing convenience, localized merchandising and technology-enabled services for shoppers visiting during lunch breaks, meeting friends or exploring the city's retail districts.

Sephora Shrinks the Store, Expands the Experience with New Boutique Format

This year's cohort reflects several of beauty's fastest-growing trends, including hair longevity, scalp health, performance beauty, science-backed body care, textured hair innovation and founder-led fine fragrance.

Sephora's 2026 Accelerate Cohort Signals What's Next in Prestige Beauty

K-beauty's impact is firmly rooted in international markets, as shown by Olive Young's U.S. expansion.

Why K-Beauty's 53% Growth Is Forcing Beauty Brands to Rethink Innovation

Ingredients such as snail mucin, Centella asiatica and PDRN demonstrate how science-backed actives can quickly transition from regional specialties to global demand.

While skin care rewards multi-SKU routine building, the hair care surface heavily rewards single-hero product positioning.

The Top 15 Brands & Retailers Dominating Beauty AI Citations

PLUS: 4 Actionable Takeaways for Product R&D & Marketing

Bluemercury Names Kering Beauté Veteran Alex Choueiri CEO as Prestige Beauty Growth Accelerates

The appointment comes as Bluemercury builds on strong momentum within Macy's Inc.'s portfolio.

Garcia, who has served on Ulta Beauty's board of directors since 2022, will step down from the board upon assuming the CTO role. He brings more than 25 years of technology leadership experience, most recently serving as executive vice president and CTO at Domino's Pizza, where he led the company's global technology strategy spanning e-commerce, customer experience, cybersecurity and digital innovation.

Ulta Beauty Taps Domino's Tech Veteran Kelly Garcia as CTO to Accelerate AI Strategy

Ulta recently launched its Ulta AI shopping assistant and integrated with Google Gemini to enhance product discovery and personalization.

While influencers drive consumer excitement and feed AI recommendations, online sources that lead include Reddit, Who What Wear, Wikipedia, Sephora and Allure.

The Top Sites ChatGPT is Using for Beauty Recommendations

Reddit dominates as editorial and retail sites shape AI visibility. But that's not the whole story.

TikTok Shop is not simply drawing consumers away from traditional retailers; it is moving the traditional workings of retail itself—discovery, demonstration and community validation—onto a new and faster-moving platform.

The TikTok Takeover: How an App Ate the Lunch of Beauty Retail’s Elite

Generating $1.58B in sales, TikTok Shop is a competitive threat forcing Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta to completely rewrite the rules of commerce.

“What stands out in these findings is the clear convergence of digital and physical behaviors,” said Jacqueline Flam, managing director, beauty and health at NIQ. “Gen Alpha is highly fluent in AI and personalization, but they are using these tools to enhance discovery and build confidence, not to replace in-store experiences. For brands and retailers, this means creating connected journeys that link digital influence with real-world engagement.”

The Hybrid Generation: Why Gen Alpha Refuses to Choose Between AI and Stores

The future is interdependent by design, where AI, social discovery and physical retail form a single decision loop.

'The smartest beauty brands are no longer briefing creators only for engagement,' says Kristen Wiley, founder and CEO at Statusphere. 'They are briefing them for discoverability.' (Image, not coincidentally, generated by ChatGPT.)

AI Search Is Rewriting Influencer Marketing. Beauty Brands Are Racing to Feed the Machines.

"[H]undreds of highly relevant creators can create repeated, specific associations around a product across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and search-indexed content."

TikTok has cemented its role as a discovery channel, and its influence on Amazon search rankings means that virality on one platform now directly monetizes on another.

Beauty’s Digital Reordering: TikTok Shop Surges as Amazon Holds, But No Longer Dominates Growth

The retailer also demonstrated improving profitability, with gross margin expanding to 40.1% from 39.1% a year ago, reflecting stronger merchandise margins and lower inventory shrink.

9 Drivers of Ulta’s Q1 Growth (and a Times Square Flagship Teaser)

Growth was broad-based across channels and categories, with gains driven by both higher spending per visit and increased shopper traffic.

'Cyber liability insurance provides coverage for data breaches—hacking incidents, payment info exposure,' says Kenneth Hegel of Epic Insurance Brokers & Consultants. 'Especially important of you are storing any customer data or you sell DTC alongside retail.'

The Retail Insurance Rules Beauty Brands Can’t Ignore

"Rising insurance costs are changing how beauty brands operate in a pretty fundamental way."