Nars Cosmetics

Despite the fast pace of makeup, skin care and haircare launches, it’s the brands with iconic, best-in-class products that dominate categories season after season. Executives from Nars, Too Faced and Tarte deconstruct how their brands’ best-sellers became heroes that scaled into volume- and revenue-driving franchises.

A slew of new entrants, from indies to LVMH-owned giants, are jumping from makeup into skin and “hybrid” concepts. But the road to skin care equity is harder than it looks.

Across the industry, brands are experimenting in the metaverse by launching NFTs, digital storefronts and virtual products for avatars in worlds like Decentraland and Roblox.

Many of the largest cosmetics brands are seeing US sales drop as new rivals enter the market even as consumers spend less on makeup.

Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Drunk Elephant, Charlotte Tilbury and others are using a variety of tactics to bypass a Chinese law that mandates animal testing for foreign brands.