THE LATEST ARTICLES
NEWSLETTERS
wonderskin lip peel-off
Rachel Strugatz January 7, 2026
Sacheu’s viral “peel-off” lip liner has been a rare category success at Ulta: Billie Eilish is posting about the product, the brand is profitable, and bankers are circling. But for an exit to actually happen, does the brand need to evolve beyond its made-for-TikTok vibe?
Trish Goff Carolyn Murphy whisper
Rachel Strugatz December 17, 2025
A roundup of pressing reader questions about the beauty industry’s biggest players, strategic gambits, talent turnover, M&A fantasies, potential exits, and more.
John Demsey
Rachel Strugatz December 10, 2025
In 2022, the legendary Estée Lauder Companies executive got himself canceled—and temporarily exiled from the industry’s polite society. With a new appointment at Gap Inc. and multiple consulting gigs, he’s back on the scene.
Mazdack Rassi
Rachel Strugatz December 3, 2025
Milk Makeup, the once very cool and extremely fashion-adjacent beauty line, has suffered the slings and arrows of the post-wunderkind blues at Sephora and the Ulta rebound that wasn’t. Now, one of the cool-guy founders is back involved, but is it already too late?


Chiara Ferragni
Rachel Strugatz November 26, 2025
Chiara Ferragni, the founder of the seminal fashion blog The Blonde Salad, is facing a potential 20-month prison sentence over her alleged involvement in an Italian charity scandal. Is there a Martha Stewart–esque redemption arc in her future?
Estee Lauder Paulina fragrance
Rachel Strugatz November 19, 2025
The Estée Lauder Companies’s latest niche fragrance investment has all the trappings of a potential next big thing, but the deal begs the question: Why does the company keep ignoring the frothy middle market?
Victoria Beckham beauty
Rachel Strugatz November 14, 2025
With its beauty business booming, the brand has engaged a banker to facilitate a deal.
Victoria Beckham netflix documentary
Rachel Strugatz November 12, 2025
Victoria Beckham Beauty is winning discerning customers and finding new channels to grow into the luxury brand it has long aspired to be. It’s increasingly clear that if Beckham cashes out, it’s going to be thanks to makeup—not apparel.


Stephane de la Faverie
Rachel Strugatz November 5, 2025
Estée Lauder boss Stéphane de La Faverie seems to have ushered in a new era of common-sense leadership and fiscal responsibility. But what if he took a page from Kering’s Luca de Meo and did something radical, like sell off the brands diverting attention from the priority businesses?
hailey bieber rhode
Rachel Strugatz October 29, 2025
A recent S.E.C. filing from Rhode’s new parentco revealed surprising new financial details about Hailey Bieber’s lip gloss juggernaut. But the more salient takeaway was what it seemed to signal about E.l.f.’s anxieties regarding the growth trajectory of its new portfolio company.
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