The Glossy Beauty Podcast

Despite a new, 90-day pause on President Trump’s sky-high tariffs on goods imported from China, near-shoring and multi-shoring are leading topics on the minds of business insiders now.  But the idea of near-shoring, or moving a supply chain closer to the brand’s home country, as well as multi-shoring, or diversifying your supply chain to additional regions, comes with many pros and cons.  On today’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, host Lexy Lebsack is joined by Melissa Daniels, senior reporter at Glossy’s sister publication Modern Retail and co-host of the Modern Retail Podcast, to unpack the nuances in supply chain pivots today (23:24).  “I'm hearing a lot of brands talk about this supply chain risk assessment that they're trying to make now,” Daniels said. “Even if it's not tariffs [prompting this], it might be something else: There was Covid that messed up supply chains, [and] certain weather events can have a huge impact on shipping and delivery, so if you are a company that has the resources to re-shore, you are looking into that much more seriously than you were a year ago.”  The two hosts share their latest reporting, including insights from brands actively looking to move their supply chains to places like Mexico, foreign manufacturers looking for U.S.-based brands to work with and the companies connecting them.  “If you're insulated by having products in multiple places, that prevents that really scary situation where you have no inventory [because of an unexpected global event],” Daniels said.  As previously reported by Glossy, many experts believe that “every purchase order is up for grabs” right now as brands rethink their suppliers. However, a future-proofed supply chain can take decades to build, so it’s important to think through changes.  “This is such a relational business,” Daniels said. “Brands have a really close relationship with their suppliers and their manufacturers; they've worked together for a very long time, in some cases, and there's trust there.” What’s more, there is a question over whether or not big supply chain shifts can be investigated fast enough, let alone implemented, to avoid tariffs this year. Ahead, Lebsack and Daniels discuss expected timelines, which can range from weeks to years, as well as the unexpected environmental and marketing benefits of near-shoring. But first, Lebsack is joined by co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner to unpack this week’s industry news.  This includes one of the biggest brand exits of the year: Announced Monday, consumer goods company Church & Dwight is set to acquire hand sanitizer company Touchland for $700 million in cash and stock, plus a potential 2025 earnout of over $100 million. The team also dives into a new study out of the U.K. from watchdog group Advertising Standards Authority that found around a third of influencers fail to disclose their ties to brands.  And finally, a look at Drunk Elephant’s sales tumble. Japanese beauty conglomerate Shiseido, which owns brands like Nars and Drunk Elephant, reported an 8.5% decline in sales on Monday. This is partially due to a 65% year-over-year drop in Drunk Elephant sales, the once golden child of the beauty industry. 

Few beauty brands have had an evolution quite like Southern California-based ColourPop cosmetics (20:50).  Launched in 2014 at the height of the DTC era, the brand once released around 40 collections per year. “That's how consumers were shopping,” Vivian Weng, ColourPop brand president, told Glossy. “For a number of years, consumers were looking for the latest launch … and looking to get their hands on limited quantities of something that was very, very specific and timely.”  Flash forward to its eleventh birthday this month and things look very different. “[Beauty shoppers] are looking for newness, but in a different way,” Weng said. “The consumer has evolved, and we're trying to evolve with that community.”  So far, ColourPop’s omnichannel evolution has become a case study for formerly-DTC brands: The brand launched into Ulta Beauty in 2018, then every Target store in 2023, and has cut its annual launches in half. “Especially post-Covid, consumers were starting to get fatigued with so many launches,” Weng said. “It felt very cluttered and noisy, and they were looking for more core, hero products.”  But hero need not mean boring: ColourPop’s top seller in Target is a $9 body glitter gel ,and its super-pigmented $7 Super Shock pressed eyeshadow is the retail’s No. 6 top eyeshadow, Weng told Glossy. The latter is also the first product the company ever made and continues to be its bestseller.  “We like to say that ColourPop is an overnight success story 70 years in the making,” Weng said. That is, the brand was born in Spatz Labs, a family-owned contract manufacturer in Oxnard, California.  ColourPop co-founders Laura and John Nelson, whose father started Spatz Labs decades before, grew up watching the top cosmetics in the country being quietly made in their family’s factory. Seed Beauty, the parent company of ColourPop, is also well-known for being the original manufacturer of Kylie Cosmetics’ first Lip Kit. However, due to the demand of ColourPop, Weng told Glossy that Spatz Labs no longer contracts for the industry. Weng joined the company in 2022. Previously, she held executive roles at Anastasia Beverly Hills and L’Oréal; she got her start at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Co. In today’s episode, Weng discusses the brand’s strategic evolution, the challenges along the way and the future of the prolific beauty brand. But first in today’s episode, hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner discuss the top headlines of the week. This includes Walmart’s plan to test new high-touch beauty bars in 40 stores, the growing marketing opportunity at Formula 1 events, the rise in clinical testing among leading supplement brands and MET Gala highlights. 

About four years ago, Glossy profiled Muneeb Shah. At the time, he was a resident who had accumulated an impressive 6 million TikTok followers. He had started posting during quarantine. Now, that number has skyrocketed to 17.9 million — plus an additional 1.1 million followers on Instagram. Recent content reveals partnerships with brands including Timeless Skin Care, No. 7 Skin Care and TirTir, to name a few. Last March, Dr. Shah debuted Remedy, his own brand, which currently offers three serums, a lip balm, a moisturizer, a dandruff shampoo, a body cream for keratosis pilaris and pimple patches. In addition, Dr. Shah serves — along with Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali — as one of Neutrogena's two Global Innovation Partners. The multi-year contract saw him co-star alongside Tate McRae in Neutrogena's recent TV commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl. In this week's Glossy Beauty Podcast episode, Sara Spruch-Feiner speaks with Dr. Shah (20:12) about his TikTok growth and the content that resonates with his following, the trials and tribulations of his first year running a brand, and the work he's doing with Neutrogena. But first, co-hosts Sara Spruch-Feiner and Lexy Lebsack chat about Ulta's consumer-facing Ulta Beauty World event in San Antonio, the retailer's partnership with Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour, and the recent layoffs at Coty and UPS.

Gabby Shacknai and Zoe Weiner were already veteran beauty editors when they debuted their nonprofit, Beautyfor, in June 2024. Like many people who work in the beauty industry, they'd long been surrounded by a surplus of products and felt there had to be a way to do some good with the excess.Initially, they planned a sale with excess from their friends in the industry. But then, brands got wind and asked to donate products. "All of a sudden, Gabby's apartment was filled with hundreds and hundreds of serums and moisturizers and things, and we were just kind of like, 'Where is this stuff coming from? It's great that brands want to donate this, but why do they have all of this stuff?'" Weiner recalled.Now, the organization has formalized its processes. It hosts quarterly sales, which have become — a pleasant surprise to its founders — like community events. It just held its first online sale at the start of April.Weiner and Shacknai joined Glossy Beauty Podcast hosts Sara Spruch-Feiner and Lexy Lebsack to talk about the organization's founding, its process of redirecting products from landfill to shoppers' shelves, its philanthropic work — donating the proceeds from beauty product sales to other nonprofits — and its dedication to maintaining a curatorial viewpoint with the products it takes on.

Pact Collective isn’t the first company to try to solve the beauty industry’s waste problem. But in four short years, it’s already become the most successful. “It feels like a really exciting time for the industry, but we've still got a lot of work to do,” Carly Snider, executive director of Pact Collective, told Glossy. “We [as an industry] are creating 120 billion units of beauty packaging globally and only a fraction of those are recycled or reused.” This widely-shared statistic was one catalyst for Pact’s launch in 2021 as a nonprofit industry collective founded by retailer Credo Beauty and clean cosmetics brand MOB Beauty. Today, Pact has many pillars. First, it serves as a recycling alternative to city-run curbside bins and private recycling initiatives. The concept is simple: Educate consumers about their products’ end-of-life while creating a data-driven, closed-loop system that reduces waste through in-store collection bins and consumer-friendly mail-back programs. Pact has been embraced by the industry and actively has 3,300 collection bins across the U.S. and Canada in retailers like Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Credo Beauty, Nordstrom and many more. It also works with brands like L’Oréal USA, Fenty Beauty and Summer Fridays. Growth across its packaging collection program has helped the company meet volume collection requirements for its biggest program of 2024: a closed-loop manufacturing initiative called New Matter. The initiative debuted in September with pumps made from recovered plastic.“I didn't imagine this level of growth so soon,” Snider said. “Right now we have 150 members across the entire supply chain [including] brands, retailers, packaging suppliers, media, you name it. … If you're working within this space, we want you to have a seat at the table. We want to have your voice heard, because it's an all-hands-on-deck situation.”In today’s episode, Snider discusses Pact’s growth, including its plans to get recycle bins into non-retail locations like colleges and libraries and exactly what happens to the empty packaging it collects. Snider also addresses how brands and retailers can lessen their environmental footprint and educate consumers on recycling nuances.But first in today’s episode, Glossy senior reporter Emily Jensen joins host Lexy Lebsack to address the industry’s top headlines. This includes backlash over buzzy fragrance brand Boy Smells' new rebrand; Sephora as a bright spot in LVMH’s disappointing earnings; and Amorepacific’s plans to reshore manufacturing to the U.S. amid mounting tariffs. 

Esteemed beauty marketer Michelle Miller knows a thing or two about a successful TikTok strategy.Miller served as CMO of K-18 during its gangbuster rise and 2023 strategic acquisition by Unilever. Her CV also includes Kosas, Too Faced and, as of January, CMO of Vegamour hair care. “[TikTok has] an algorithm that is able to democratize beauty in a way that makes it a lot more accessible [to the average consumer],” Miller said. “With the platform being so uncertain, it's emotionally hard for brands that have invested so much time into creator communities, into content on Tiktok. And most of all, it's really, really hard for creators that have built their entire living and livelihoods on the platform.” Miller joined Glossy podcast hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner (23:21), plus Glossy managing editor Tatiana Pile, to discuss the latest movement in TikTok’s ongoing sell-or-be-banned legal predicament and what it means for the beauty industry. As previously reported by Glossy, concern over TikTok’s algorithm and its ability to influence Americans through disinformation campaigns, as well as the large amount of data being collected by ByteDance about Americans, are the top concerns of those behind the ban.This conversation goes back to 2020 when President Trump said he planned to ban the app, but it wasn’t until TikTok added commerce with TikTok Shop in September of 2023 that momentum rebuilt. Then-President Biden signed a law into effect in April of 2024 that gave TikTok owner Bytedance a window to sell the majority of the business to an American owner or be banned from being downloaded in the U.S. Despite numerous legal challenges, including one heard by the Supreme Court, Bytedance unsuccessfully fought the legislation, and the app briefly went dark in January before garnering an extension by President Trump. On April 4, TikTok received a second extension to find a buyer until June 19. Until then, the app is safe. However, alongside a developing trade war with China, TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance with a meaningful impact on the beauty and wellness industries. “It really puts into place — not only for big brands in beauty, but also for smaller brands that are just getting started — [the questions] of: ‘How do you future-proof your brand? How do you work virality today, and what's next if TikTok does go away in 75 days?” Miller said. Also included in this episode is a news rundown on the top stories of the week. The team discusses President Trump’s escalating global tariffs, Beyoncé-founded Cécred’s splashy launch into Ulta Beauty and the latest celebrity beauty brand to hire bankers to explore an exit, ahead. 

Sephora has launched numerous new brands in recent months, many of them buzzy and beloved — but perhaps none has been as hotly anticipated as Ultra Violette (that's pronounced "violet"), the Aussie sunscreen brand first launched in 2018.Sephora marks the brand's official debut into the U.S. market — a landmark occasion, because, as co-founder Bec Jefferd said on this week's episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, "You can't be a serious global beauty brand if you aren't in the U.S."That's in spite of the fact that the brand has already launched in 29 other markets. Jefferd and co-founder Ava Matthews met as coworkers at Mecca, the premier Australian beauty retailer. Growing up in Australia, sun protection is a focus, even in childhood, given the country's climate and high skin cancer rates, Matthews said. Still, in 2016, when they began ideation for the brand, the duo saw the opportunity for a brand that approached the category differently. "[Sunscreen] wasn't at the center of a skin-care routine. We were talking about it as a skin cancer preventative or something to wear in summer, even in Australia," Matthews said. "There were a lot of people talking about sun care in a serious way, in terms of [skin] cancer, but no one talking about sun care as a kind of prestige skin-care product." For reference, Supergoop launched in 2007, as did Coola; while Vacation launched in 2021, as did fellow Aussie sunscreen brand Naked Sundays.Ultra Violette, with its brightly colored packaging and elegant formulas, quickly became one of the hottest sunscreen brands on the market — its unavailability in the States only added to its cool factor. In-the-know editors got it overseas or had friends bring it back when they traveled — it became ubiquitous in chic poolside pics.As recently as 2021, Matthews and Jefferd had no plans to launch in the States, but now, with formulas they've deemed just as good as their Aussie counterparts and the promise of a new broad-spectrum filter likely soon to be approved in the U.S., the time was right. And though the U.S. has not approved a new filter since 1999, 2026 might change that. As of March 28, the brand is on Sephora.com and in-store at all doors.As for the marketing for the Sephora launch, influencer partnerships are about to kick off, mailers have gone out, and a New York City breakfast, co-hosted by Tinx has been held. As Matthews put it, "We're really not prepared to fuck this up." The U.S. range features five products, to start, four sunscreens and one lip product — with SPF, of course — in two shades. Prices range from $22-$40. In 2024, the brand closed a 15 million Australian-dollar minority investment from equity firm Aria Growth Partners.In this episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, the co-founders discuss why it finally made sense to launch stateside, why there's promise in the long-awaited new sunscreen filters in the U.S. and who the Ultra Violette customer is, especially as the sunscreen market has become more crowded.

Act+Acre’s husband-and-wife founders were early to the growth of the scalp-care market when they launched their brand in 2019 with one product: a $48 prewash treatment called Scalp Detox Oil. “[Scalp care] was definitely an afterthought for people [a few years ago],” brand founder and hairstylist Helen Reavey told Glossy. “Launching it in 2019, we were one of the first to solely think about scalp care the way skin care had come up and was so personalized, and we took that approach. It's not a one-size-fits-all for the scalp.”Reavey has seen the effects of poor scalp care throughout her 15-year career as a celebrity and editorial hairstylist — most notably during fashion month, when models’ hair is routinely overworked backstage until their scalps become sensitive to the touch. “I had that moment where I was like, ‘I wish I could give them something to remove everything and to really start with a fresh canvas,'" she said. “It was that moment [where we said], ‘OK, we should do this; we should launch a brand.'” Reavey is also a certified trichologist, a specialization focused on the treatment and health of the hair and scalp. She launched Act+Acre with husband and business partner Colm Mackin, who now serves as CEO. Now an award-winning hero product for the brand, Scalp Detox is one of 25 products sold individually and through 10 curated systems made up of individual SKUs. From oil control to hydration to hair growth, they’re each designed for a specific concern. To help consumers navigate the offerings, Act+Acre publishes blog posts and educational content on social media, and offers a 10-plus question quiz on its site to match a consumer with the right products. Top selling systems include its Stem Cell System, Thick + Full System and Essential Hydration System. Meanwhile, individual bestsellers include Stem Cell Serum for $86 and Daily Hydro Scalp Serum for $24. The line is sold DTC and through Sephora, Revolve, Bluemercury, Amazon, Dermstore, Anthropologie and TikTok Shop, among other channels. The brand does 60% of its business DTC and has a 50% subscription rate within that cohort, Mackin told Glossy. Several products are also recognized by the National Psoriasis Foundation for being safe for those with psoriasis. “People are definitely starting to understand that the scalp is a foundation for healthy hair, and that comes across in all of our messaging,” Reavey told Glossy. Act+Acre's latest launch, a two-step shampoo and treatment, is focused on hard water buildup, which impacts the majority of U.S. consumers. High levels of minerals like calcium and magnesium in tap water can build up in the hair and cause brittleness and discoloration, especially on color-treated hair. “I don't think people were really understanding that hard water was this silent destructor,” Reavey told Glossy. The brand's Clarifying Hard Water Shampoo sells for $32, while the Clarifying Hard Water Scalp Treatment goes for $38. In this week’s episode of The Glossy Beauty Podcast, Reavey and Mackin share insider details on these topics. The duo also discusses the ways they stand out in the market, including through community building, education and customer service.

Very few beauty entrepreneurs have had more success than Carolyn Aronson.In 2006, the longtime hairstylist and salon owner launched professional hair-care brand It’s a 10 with one hero product: Miracle Leave-In spray. The $21 formula was an immediate success for its ability to hydrate, smooth, condition, defrizz and protect hair with one formula. The brand had immediate success by seeding the product to professional hairstylists before entering Ulta Beauty, Target, Sally’s Beauty, Cosmoprof, SalonCentric and Amazon, and selling DTC. Using Miracle Leave-In as the anchor for expansion, the company added formulations through the years for various hair types and preferences. This includes new Miracle Leave-Ins for coily, blonde and men’s hair; keratin- or color-treated hair; and lite, fragrance-free and dye-free variations. Each new collection includes shampoo, conditioner, masks and a variety of other offerings. The brand also sells body care.  In 2017, Aronson bought out her co-founder to become the sole owner of It’s a 10. She’s taken on no investors. The brand currently brings in around $500 million in gross annual sales and is distributed in more than 125 countries. On a personal level, Aronson has also provided inspiration for women in the beauty industry. She entered the foster care system at two weeks old, began working in salons as a teenager and is currently one of the beauty industry’s few self-made billionaires. She’s also known for her philanthropy. For example, It’s a 10 donated $250,000 worth of products to the Los Angeles Dream Center in January to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. This year, Aronson is expanding her empire with Cloud Haircare, a new, Gen Z-focused line of shampoo, conditioner and styling products sold in two collections: nourishing and volumizing. Each SKU sells for $11.99 in CVS, Walmart and DTC. The line features colorful, flat lay-friendly packaging and Gen Z-focused values: vegan, Leaping Bunny-approved formulas free of parabens and SLS, and sold in bottles made from post-consumer plastic resins. Aronson’s expansion into mass comes at a time when the sector has experienced a renaissance, of sorts. New, fresh brands are currently flooding the market, many of which are priced at $11.99 — like Odele, Saltair, Being Frenshe, Laura Polko and Function of Beauty —  while bargain formulas like Suave are back with new branding. Beyond Cloud Haircare, Aronson entered the home hair-color space in 2023 with Rewind it 10, a line of men’s home hair and beard dyes. She partnered with friend and rapper Fat Joe on the collection, as well as her husband Jeff Aronson. It sells for $15 per box DTC and through Sally’s Beauty, CVS, Walmart, Amazon and more retailers. To entice shoppers, each shade of hair dye is modeled by an influential figure like model Tyson Beckford, football star Travis Kelce, DJ Khaled and celebrity face Brody Jenner, among many others. On this week's episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Aronson provides Glossy listeners an inside view of her move into mass hair care with Cloud and insights into navigating the men’s marketplace with Rewind it 10. She also gives listeners a teaser on her entry into women’s hair color and her hopes for Cloud Haircare.

Kathryn Winokur, Founder and CEO of Hally Hair, dives into the Gen Z beauty landscape with her innovative haircare brand. She shares insights on the creative processes behind products like Lady H, an alcohol-free hair perfume that enhances both scent and shine. With a focus on youth culture, she outlines her unique marketing strategies, including collaborations with college teams and TikTok engagement, all aimed at fostering self-expression and meeting evolving beauty aspirations. Hally is truly reshaping the hair and fragrance game for a dynamic generation.