Cristina Montemayor

BeautyMatter's recent Q2 2024 Investment and M&A Report revealed significant shifts in the industry.

Because we know how intimidating at-home waxing can be

In the beauty industry, the newly patented “Skin Atlas” system from Haut.AI is paving the way for a new era of efficiency and innovation in skin analysis, all while safeguarding consumer privacy—an ever-present challenge in AI development.

the United Nations (UN) took the first step in putting a price on that wisdom. Countries at the UN COP16 agreed on a deal requiring companies in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and beauty to pay for the use of genetic information derived from biodiversity in their research and development efforts. The initiative has the potential to generate billions of dollars for nature conservation, with funds directed to support Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Substack is often an extension of the writer's online persona, blending the nostalgia of the blogging boom from the early to mid-2000s with a forward-looking vision for the future of magazines and print publishing. Under the subscription model, writers create their own communities, and readers choose which communities to participate in, sometimes paying pricy annual subscription fees. These passionate communities are literally invested in the writers they follow, which creates a more engaged and loyal audience base. Recently, beauty brands have been exploring how to tap into these audiences through ad sponsorships. As the newsletter platform continues to grow, it presents a new opportunity for brands to connect with readers in a more authentic, targeted way. Brand sponsorships on Substack are still in the early stages for both brands and authors, but a few brands have been brave enough to test the Substack waters. BeautyMatter spoke to Medik8, Malin+Goetz, and Versed to find out the key to cracking the Substack code and learn how beauty brands can best leverage this powerful channel.

With wellness and beauty growing more intertwined, beauty retailers are only beginning to crack the complex code of wellness consumers: what they want, how they buy, and how to keep them coming back.

Every year, BeautyMatter honors one person who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty business and has been a catalyst for the industry's advancement.

Established in 2023 and managed by ChemFORWARD, the KBDB Collaborative is a group of beauty industry leaders across the supply chain, including the retailers Sephora, Ulta , and Credo Beauty; companies Beautycounter and The Honest Company; ingredient suppliers Inolex and Dow; and the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. By coming together, the KBDB Collaborative aims to address chemical safety as an industry-wide problem and prove that “while the number of chemicals to be assessed might be daunting for a single company, the task [is], in fact, manageable if it was shared.” The group seeks to establish a clear standard for safer chemistry for improved consumer health and environmental sustainability in the $100 billion personal care sector.

Hopping on a viral social trend can bring short-term visibility, but it's the innovations that tap into customer behavior and address emerging needs that have staying power. The rise of livestream shopping and social commerce has transformed online shopping from a transactional experience to a more interactive and personalized journey. These shifts, driven by the demand for convenience, connection, and tailored recommendations, highlight how certain trends become embedded in customer expectations, ultimately shaping the future of e-commerce and influencing how brands must operate to remain relevant in an evolving digital landscape.

In 2024, Gen Alpha dominated the beauty industry. They entered the year with a bang, fresh off the “Sephora kids” scandal that took place during