Retail > Digital/E-commerce | Global Cosmetic Industry

In Ha Mood, the first-ever fragrance from Ice Spice, was launched nationwide at Ulta Beauty.

Ulta’s Next Growth Wave: Fragrance, Hair Care and Global Expansion

Ulta is signaling confidence, raising its full-year comparable-sales growth forecast to 3.2%-3.7%.

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

Behind every cosmetic dropper lies a complex engineering process. Discover Lumson's approach to designing dispensing systems that combine precision, aesthetics, manufacturing expertise and consistent, reliable performance.

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LOOKFANTASTIC Takes Beauty Discovery Poolside at Mondrian Ibiza

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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 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

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

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

Customers can shop "Only at Sephora" brands—including rhode, Haus Labs, Makeup by Mario, Merit Beauty, Tower 28 and Yepoda—alongside a dedicated "Hot on Social" merchandising table highlighting viral brands.

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

Cosmetic Droppers: inside Lumson's engineering approach

Behind every cosmetic dropper lies a complex engineering process. Discover Lumson's approach to designing dispensing systems that combine precision, aesthetics, manufacturing expertise and consistent, reliable performance.

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.