Last week in beauty, Ulta grew double digits in H1 26 while Proya reported flat sales.
ULTA BEAUTY H1 NET SALES RISE 10% TO $6.2BN
Ulta Beauty reported first-half net sales of $6.2 billion, up 10.0% year-on-year, with fragrance leading high-teen comp growth in Q2 followed by high-single-digit haircare, as the company raised its full-year guidance to 6.7%-7.2% net sales growth and $28.70-$29.00 diluted EPS. The retailer expanded its store base to 1,534 U.S. locations and 88 Space NK stores, with loyalty members reaching 47 million and marketplace brands surpassing 450.
PROYA H1 26 SALES WERE FLAT WHILE RECURRING PROFIT FELL 13.8%
Proya reported first-half 2026 revenue of 5.375 billion yuan (€702 million), up just 0.24% year-on-year, while net profit surged 46.26% to 1.168 billion yuan (€153 million) driven by a one-time 445 million yuan (€58 million) investment gain from acquiring a 51% stake in cosmetics brand Flower Knows. However, recurring net profit fell 13.8% to 664 million yuan (€87 million), as flagship Proya brand revenue declined 7.19% and Timage fell 21.93%, while hair-care brands Off&Relax and IORE grew 70.81% and 222.23% respectively. The company faces core challenges around flagship brand recovery and multi-brand succession, despite plans to enter Ulta Beauty in the US and distribute cash dividends totaling 50.6% of net profit.
BATH & BODY WORKS H1 2026 SALES FALL 2.7% TO $2.89BN
Bath & Body Works reported first-half sales of $2.892 billion, down 2.7% year-on-year, with US and Canada stores falling 4.9% while online sales grew 0.8% and international sales rose 18.1%. Q2 sales declined 2.3%, improving on Q1, with adjusted EPS of $0.62 including approximately $80 million in tariff refunds, as management narrowed full-year sales guidance to a decline of 4% to 2.5% and expects Q3 sales down 5% to 2.5%.
ESTÉE LAUDER LAUNCHES REGIONAL HAIRCARE HUB IN LONDON
Estée Lauder Companies has established a new Hair Care Hub in London led by newly appointed VP and GM Kathleen Mitchell, formerly Commercial Director at John Lewis, to serve as a “regional centre of excellence” for its global hair care portfolio including Aveda and Bumble & bumble. The hub will cover strategy across the UK, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and India as ELC advances its hair care category performance in these regions.
SOUTH KOREA PASSES LANDMARK LAW TO ACCELERATE K-BEAUTY GROWTH
South Korea’s National Assembly has passed the Act on the Fostering and Support of the Cosmetics Industry, establishing the country’s first dedicated legal framework to develop cosmetics as a strategic national industry with five-year development plans and “innovative cosmetics company” certification for priority access to grants and investment. The legislation shifts government policy beyond safety regulation towards active industrial development, following record Korean cosmetics exports of US$11.4 billion in 2025.
INDIA OPENS SECOND ANTITRUST PROBE INTO FRAGRANCE GIANTS
India’s Competition Commission is investigating Givaudan, dsm-firmenich and IFF over alleged price collusion dating from 2024, marking the second Indian probe into the fragrance suppliers following an ongoing investigation into alleged anti-poaching agreements. The case has been delayed after a report was recalled to redact commercially sensitive information, as India’s flavors and fragrances sector is forecast to double from US$2.5 billion in 2024 to US$5 billion by 2033.
EPICUTIS SECURES $25M INVESTMENT FROM GROUNDFORCE CAPITAL
Biotechnology skincare brand Epicutis has received a $25 million minority investment from GroundForce Capital to support brand awareness and develop new innovations in the professional dermocosmetics channel. The brand, which has scaled revenue at nearly 100% CAGR over the past two years, will see GroundForce join its board as it enters its next phase of growth.
KKR ACQUIRES JAPANESE PLATFORM CI FLAVOURS FROM L CATTERTON
KKR has agreed to acquire Japanese beauty and lifestyle platform Ci Flavours from existing shareholders including L Catterton, with founder Yusaku Horiuchi and CEO Yoshiaki Okura reinvesting alongside KKR. Ci Flavours, which owns brands including &Honey, Unlabel and Theratis, has a strong presence in Japan’s haircare market and has expanded across Asia and North America, with KKR planning to support further international growth and strategic M&A.
REGENT REUNITES AVON BUSINESSES WITH NORTH AMERICA ACQUISITION
Regent has agreed to acquire Avon North America from LG H&H, reuniting the business with Avon’s international operations for the first time since their 2016 separation. The deal, expected to close September 1, allows LG H&H to focus on its core K-beauty and wellness priorities while Regent unifies the global Avon brand under common ownership and strategy.
OLD NAVY LAUNCHES BEAUTY LINE WITH OLD NAVY BEAUTY CO.
Old Navy, an American fashion brand part of Gap Inc., has launched Old Navy Beauty Co., a new beauty experience featuring an exclusive body care collection developed with perfumer Jérôme Epinette across seven custom scents, alongside a curated assortment of fan-favorite beauty brands, now available nationwide and online. The collection, priced from $7.99 to $14.99, marks the retailer’s entry into the beauty space as it aims to become a more complete omnichannel shopping destination for everyday essentials.
TARGET UNVEILS TARGET BEAUTY STUDIO AFTER ITS SPLIT WITH ULTA
Target is launching Target Beauty Studio on September 10 in over 600 stores nationwide and online, featuring more than 1,600 products from 90 prestige, global and emerging brands, over two-thirds of which are new to Target. The curated assortment includes K-beauty brands like Eqqualberry and Rom&nd, Mexican brand Sarelly, and French nail care Manucurist, with trained beauty advisors on-site and a dedicated minis assortment, as the retailer goes it alone following the end of its Ulta Beauty shop-in-shop partnership.
LG H&H EXPANDS DR.GROOT ACROSS 424 SEPHORA STORES IN US
LG Household & Health Care has expanded its premium scalp care brand Dr.Groot into 424 Sephora stores across the US, following its Sephora.com debut in March and a trial in 90 stores in May, with 14 products featured on end-caps and K-Hair sections. The rollout builds on the brand’s presence in over 600 Costco stores and 153% Amazon sales growth in H1 2026, as LG H&H strengthens Dr.Groot’s position in the North American hair and scalp care market.
KOREAN HAIRCARE BRAND DR.FORHAIR ENTERS US MARKET WITH SEPHORA
K-beauty hair care brand Dr.Forhair has launched in the US through a partnership with Sephora, debuting its hero Folligen Thickening Shampoo as part of the retailer’s increased investment in scalp care. The South Korean brand, founded in 2014, aims to capture attention around the continued global rise of K-hair care, one of beauty’s fastest-growing categories this year.
KIKO MILANO ENTERS URUGUAY WITH €8.55 MILLION EXPANSION PLAN
Kiko Milano is expanding into Uruguay with an €8.55 million investment over five years, opening its first store in Montevideo in late October through a partnership with Grupo Antelo. The Italian cosmetics brand plans to establish four stores and e-commerce in its first year, creating 100 jobs, with potential expansion into Argentina depending on market performance.
KAO TARGETS EUROPEAN GROWTH WITH CURÉL NORDICS LAUNCH
Kao Corporation is expanding its science-backed skincare brand Curél into the Nordics from September, launching in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland at retailers including Kicks and Mata. The move follows Curél’s introduction in the UK in 2019, where retail sales are up 24% year-on-year, and subsequent entries into Germany, France and the Netherlands, as Kao aims to raise overseas sales to around 50% of its business by 2030.
LADY GAGA UNVEILS SKIN HEALTH RESEARCH FIRM OUTER BIO
Lady Gaga has publicly announced her involvement in Outer Bio, a skin bioactives discovery platform she co-founded with fiancé Michael Polansky, serving on the board of directors alongside backing from investors including Wing and Lightspeed. The company has unveiled Yuna, an ex vivo human-skin platform that keeps living skin tissue alive and measurable for four weeks, combining tissue testing, AI and automated screening to discover new molecules for advanced skin health.
FORMER WEIGHTWATCHERS CEO LAUNCHES NICHE FRAGRANCE BRAND
Former WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani has launched Liberation of Flowers, a niche fragrance brand inspired by her Persian roots, debuting with three scents created with master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel. The $210 fragrances, named Plot Twist, Divine Intervention and Peace Offering, are available direct-to-consumer and at select niche fragrance retailers including Scent Bar and The Conservatory NYC.
AMOREPACIFIC FUNDS YONSEI UNIVERSITY FOR ‘INNER BEAUTY’ INDEX
Amorepacific is donating KRW1 billion (US$720,000) to Yonsei University to support research into “inner beauty” among young people, with half the funds dedicated to developing a Korean Inner Beauty Index (IBI) and the remainder to studying societal changes driven by AI and demographics. The initiative aims to provide a research-based framework for measuring the effectiveness of Amorepacific’s youth programmes and broaden the concept of beauty beyond physical appearance.
LVMH NAMES ALEXANDRE OULÈS BEAUTY DIVISION COO
LVMH has appointed Alexandre Oulès as chief operating officer of its beauty division in a newly created role, reporting to Véronique Courtois to oversee manufacturing, supply chain and purchasing across the group’s fragrance and cosmetics brands. Oulès, who previously served as COO at Balenciaga and spent most of his career at LVMH including at Guerlain and Celine, will drive operational efficiency and sustainable growth across the division’s maisons.
LANCÔME TAPS MARTHA STEWART FOR LA VIE EST BELLE VERY CHERRY
Lancôme has partnered with American TV personality Martha Stewart to front the launch of its new La Vie est Belle Very Cherry fragrance, the brand’s first woody cherry scent created by master perfumers Antoine Maisondieu and Christophe Raynaud. The campaign, directed by Damien Chazelle and featuring Julia Roberts alongside Stewart, follows a similar collaboration for La Vie est Belle Vanille Nude last year.
CLARINS NAMES ZHANG ZIYI GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON FOR PRECIOUS LINE
Clarins has appointed Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi as global spokesperson for its premium anti-aging skincare line Clarins Precious, with campaign and creative assets rolling out globally from September 2026. The partnership frames the collaboration around craftsmanship and authentic beauty, with the Precious range featuring face and eye creams, a brightening serum and essence built around moonlight flower cryoextract and biomimetic peptides.
MOROCCANOIL NAMES ARYNA SABALENKA GLOBAL AMBASSADOR
Moroccanoil has appointed multiple Grand Slam tennis champion Aryna Sabalenka as its Global Brand Ambassador, with the 28-year-old set to front a new campaign as part of the brand’s “strategic evolution” at the intersection of beauty and sport. The partnership builds on Moroccanoil’s longstanding relationship with tennis as the Official Haircare Sponsor of the Miami Open, aiming to celebrate confidence and authenticity both on and off the court.
