Beauty Briefing: How Beauty’s Beleaguered Makeup Brands Can Turn It Around

Why It Matters

The divestitures highlight consolidation pressure, yet the sales rebound shows makeup remains a growth engine if brands can reconnect with younger consumers. Success will depend on innovative storytelling and AI‑driven commerce.

Key Takeaways

• Too Faced, Smashbox, Pat McGrath up for sale.
• Makeup sales rebounding 9% YoY, NielsenIQ data.
• Brands must pivot to playful, founder‑driven storytelling.
• AI‑shopping ads launch; L’Oréal opens NY content hub.
• Milk Makeup reinstates co‑founder as president.

Pulse Analysis

The past decade saw artistry‑focused makeup houses dominate shelves, but the rise of the "clean girl" aesthetic and dupe‑centric brands eroded their relevance. NielsenIQ’s recent data, showing a 9 % year‑over‑year rise in colour cosmetics, suggests the market is correcting, driven by consumer fatigue with minimalist looks and a renewed appetite for bold, expressive products. This rebound creates a window for legacy brands to re‑enter the conversation, provided they can translate their heritage into language that resonates with TikTok‑savvy shoppers.

Strategic pivots are already underway. Milk Makeup has reinstated co‑founder Mazdack Rassi as president and hired a new CMO to double down on its original, irreverent DNA. Too Faced and Smashbox, now under potential new ownership, are expected to lean into founder‑centric storytelling and limited‑edition collaborations that spark social media buzz. Simultaneously, the broader industry is embracing AI‑enabled commerce; Google’s new advertising capabilities on its AI‑shopping platform allow brands to deliver personalized offers at the moment of intent, while L’Oréal’s 46,000‑square‑foot hub in Hudson Yards provides a physical lab for content creation and influencer training, bridging digital and experiential touchpoints.

For investors and executives, the key takeaway is that makeup is not dying—it is normalizing and becoming more desire‑driven. Brands that combine authentic heritage with agile digital marketing, leverage AI to enhance purchase confidence, and invest in creator ecosystems are positioned to capture the next wave of growth. As the category continues to outpace skin‑care in velocity, capital allocation toward innovation, founder involvement, and omnichannel experiences will likely deliver outsized returns.