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The Vanilla Sex Scandal

The worst-named beauty product in history has become a metaphor for the demise of Tom Ford Beauty.

tom ford beauty ad
Tom Ford’s makeup business is facing serious headwinds at Sephora, with sales of its products down almost 50 percent at the chain year to date. Photo: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott/Tom Ford Beauty
Rachel Strugatz
July 24, 2024

Earlier this week, a source sent me a depressing photo of a Tom Ford Beauty makeup display—a gondola, in industry parlance—at a Sephora in Union Square. In the image, the shelves were sparsely filled, and not a single Tom Ford “face” or “liquid lip” tester was in sight. It reminded me of the time I saw JLo Beauty stashed away at the back of the store, covered in a literal film of dust. Alas, in beauty retailing, an empty Sephora gondola usually means one thing…