Beauty Independent

1 day ago | beautyindependent.com | Emma Sandler

Two years after Morphe owner Forma Brands emerged from bankruptcy, the brand is returning to form. Available at Ulta Beauty and in direct-to-consumer distribution, its year-to-date sales have increased 33% and comparable-store sales are up a double-digit percentage, according to Morphe CEO Simon Cowell.

1 day ago | beautyindependent.com | Taylor Bryant

Sephora likes to get “in the kitchen” with brands, guiding their products, messages, prices and design grounded in its understanding of customers, but rarely does the public catch a glimpse of that process—at least until now.

3 days ago | beautyindependent.com | Taylor Bryant

Six years after failing to secure a “Shark Tank” deal for app and sleep tape seller Koko Face Yoga, founder Koko Hayashi was back on the ABC pitch contest television program Friday with another business, Mirai Clinical, but achieved the same outcome. The five small-screen investor judges or “sharks”—Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec—rebuffed the brand’s ask of $500,000 in exchange for 5% equity at a $10 million valuation.

3 days ago | beautyindependent.com | Rachel Brown |Claire McCormack

Touchland, the brand that made hand sanitizer cool, has reeled in a cool $700 million in a sale to Church & Dwight, demonstrating that, even in a trepidatious climate for beauty deals, A-level assets can fetch top dollar. The price is nearly 5.4X the brand’s $130 million in sales for the 12 months ended March 31 and 12.7X its $55 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)—and it could go up to $880 million if it achieves sales goals for 2025.

4 days ago | beautyindependent.com | Claire McCormack

With body care continuing to boom, specialty retailer Ulta Beauty is leaning further into the category with a mother and baby assortment featuring maternity skincare range Hatch Mama as its centerpiece. The assortment, which also contains body care from Clarins, Bio-Oil and SweetSpot Labs and baby products from Kiehl’s, The Good Patch and CeraVe, has a dedicated landing page on Ulta’s website. It’s slated to roll out to nearly 400 Ulta stores this summer.