The Glossy Beauty Podcast

• Summer recap: The investments, strategies and revenue tumbles that defined the beauty industry

  The beauty industry had an eventful summer marked by changing retailer strategies, stark revenue tumbles and a flurry of pricey acquisitions.  In this special episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, reporters Lexy Lebsack, Emily Jensen and Sara Spruch-Feiner walk through the stories that defined the season.  This includes strategy shifts within retailers like Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Target, plus a look at disappointing revenue at conglomerates Shiseido and Estée Lauder Companies. The team also discusses the biggest acquisitions of the season — including Rhode, Dr. Squatch, Space NK and Touchland — and the tariff-related topics we’re watching as fall approaches.  To start (0:53), Glossy’s beauty team digs into the industry’s biggest summer investments, led by E.l.f. Beauty’s May purchase of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode for $1 billion. The team also walks through CPG company Church & Dwight’s $700 million purchase of trendy hand sanitizer brand Touchland in May and Unilever’s June purchase of digitally-native men’s care brand Dr. Squatch for $1.5 billion.   Beauty’s top specialty retailers also had big summers. Sephora (8:37) is leaning deeper into a tried-and-true brand launch playbook: the celebrity artist. In the past few weeks, the retailer has rolled out new lines from celebrity makeup artists Hung Vanngo and Mary Phillips, plus hairstylist Chris McMillian.  Meanwhile, Ulta Beauty (18:17) had a whirlwind summer as new CEO Kecia Steelman executed her “Ulta Unleashed” comeback plan. Steelman, who was appointed CEO in January after more than a decade with the company, announced her plan in March as a response to the company’s 1.9% year-over-year holiday sales tumble. Glossy’s team unpacks all the changes, including the acquisition of U.K. retailer Space NK, international expansion into Mexico and the Middle East, and the end of Ulta’s shop-in-shop with Target.  Finally (25:37), Glossy’s team walks through can’t-miss beauty conglomerate news: LVMH’s splashy Louis Vuitton Beauté launch and Shiseido’s sales tumble caused by Drunk Elephant’s poor performance, plus turbulence at Waldencast and Estée Lauder Companies. Finally (36:27), team Glossy ends with a few autumn tariff predictions.

  --------  

  45:17

  --------

  45:17
• Target and Ultra break up, foam sunscreen is recalled —  plus, what makes a successful pop-up?

  Host Lexy Lebsack is joined by reporter Melissa Daniels from Glossy’s sister publication Modern Retail and co-host of the Modern Retail Podcast, to walk through this week’s biggest beauty news stories.  This includes a brief analysis of E.l.f. Beauty’s response to consumer outcry over casting controversial comedian Matt Rife in its latest campaign, a topic Lebsack and Glossy reporter Emily Jensen discussed in last week’s episode.  Next, Lebsack and Daniels discuss the likely voluntary recall of mousse sunscreens, which includes offerings from Vacation and Supergoop sold through Sephora, Target, Nordstrom and more retailers. Its part of the FDA’s crackdown on the unapproved sunscreen format. Finally, the two hosts break down the announcement that Target and Ulta Beauty will dissolve their shop-in-shop partnership, which was launched in 2021 but has been far less successful than similar partnerships between Sephora and Kohl's.  Then (23:30), to discuss what makes a successful retail pop-up, Glossy is joined by three powerhouse executives in today’s roundtable episode: Jacquelin Barrett, Patrick Ta Beauty svp of marketing; Matte Projects president Neda Whitney; and Michelle Lee, chief brand officer at Front Row Group, fractional CMO of Landing International and former editor-in-chief of Allure magazine.

  --------  

  1:09:09

  --------

  1:09:09
• What's new in beauty brick-and-mortar, why E.l.f. is getting backlash — Dr. Thomas Sterry on plastic surgery trends

  co-hosts Lexy Lebsack and Emily Jensen discuss industry news of the week, including changes to beauty brick-and-mortar retail, from Nordstrom's NYC flagship's approach to Mecca's new 40,000-square-foot flagship in Melbourne. They also discuss the controversy immediately surrounding E.l.f. Cosmetics' new ad featuring drag queen Heidi N Closet and comedian Matt Rife, who, in 2023, sparked outrage after he made jokes about domestic violence in his Netflix special. Commenters have flooded the brand's TikTok and Instagram pages, and have also created their own content condemning Rife's casting. Later, co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner sits down with New York City-based plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Sterry to break down pop culture-plastic surgery moments and how they've impacted his day-to-day work.

  --------  

  47:06

  --------

  47:06
• An insider’s guide to K-beauty’s US renaissance, plus industry news

  On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, co-host Lexy Lebsack interviews co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner about her recent reporting on the topic, diving into what’s fueling K-beauty’s renewed popularity, what trending ingredients are capturing attention and how affordability continues to play a key role in the category’s appeal. But first, Lebsack and co-host Emily Jensen discuss Martha Stewart’s incoming new beauty brand, Elm Biosciences, which was developed with past Glossy Beauty Podcast guest Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali. They also talk about Bath & Body Works’s push into college bookstores and Dyson’s new styling collection, designed to work alongside its heat styling tools.

  --------  

  44:19

  --------

  44:19
• Rare Beauty's fragrance, C-suite hires, L'Oréal earnings — and K-beauty brand Krave Beauty’s Liah Yoo

  Krave Beauty isn’t your average K-Beauty brand. “[Our mission] resonates with a lot of people who are really tired of the beauty industry's narrative of ‘more is more,’” CEO and co-founder Liah Yoo told Glossy.  After getting her start working for Amorepacific in Seoul, South Korea, Yoo joined YouTube to share her own skin challenges. “I was documenting my acne skin struggles in my mid 20s, and I literally tried everything,” she said. “Nothing worked until I pressed reset and simplified my routine, going from a 14-step skin-care routine to a super minimal three-step skin-care routine [with] super gentle, minimal, hydrating ingredients.” In today’s episode, Yoo walks us through the process of sourcing tamanu oil, a main ingredient in Krave’s best-selling $28 Great Barrier Relief Serum. But first, Lexy Lebsack is joined by senior reporter Emily Jensen to discuss the news of the week. This includes Rare Beauty’s foray into fragrance with Rare Eau de Parfum, a $75 fragrance created with famous nose Jerome Epinette. It launches at Sephora on August 7. Lebsack and Jensen also discuss a lineup of new C-suite appointments, including new execs at Herbivore and Saltair. Finally, they discuss L’Oréal’s latest earnings and a shift happening within the in-office injectable marketplace.

  --------  

  55:21

  --------

  55:21

Altri podcast di Arte

Podcast di tendenza in Arte

Su The Glossy Beauty Podcast

The Glossy Beauty Podcast: Podcast correlati