Cosmetics News In Brief: Unilever Moves Into Makeup; L'Oreal Divests The Body Shop; More

The owner of Dove, Axe and Dermalogica will enter the makeup segment with its acquisition of Venice, Calif.-based luxury brand Hourglass, announced June 19. Firms including L'Oreal S.A. and The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. have been riding the color cosmetics surge for the past year and snapping up new makeup brands along the way, and it seems that the opportunity has proven too great for Unilever to resist. (Also see "L’Oreal ‘Surfing’ Makeup Wave To Projected Strong Finish For FY 2016" - HBW Insight, 17 November, 2016.) "The color cosmetics category has been showing high growth rates, driven by social media content, channel diversity and democratization of professional makeup techniques," notes the firm's Personal Care President Alan Jope. Unilever touts the brand's "breakthrough formulations and technological innovation, including the use of active ingredients in complexion products," as well as its loyal consumer following. Highlighted products on Hourglass's website include Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation ($56), available in 22 shades, and new Ambient Lighting Bronzer ($50). The company also markets the Equilibrium skin-care line, which features a plant-derived version of phosphatidylglycerol, "the youth lipid" found in amniotic fluid that is "responsible for cell regeneration in the human body." The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in the fiscal 2017 third quarter.

Natura Cosméticos S.A., Brazil's largest cosmetics company, will acquire The Body Shop from L'Oreal S.A. in a transaction expected to close this year, according to a June 27 release. As a firm that emphasizes sustainable, eco-friendly and socially responsible business practices, Natura "is the best new owner we could imagine to nurture the brand DNA around naturality and ethics," says L'Oreal Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon. The French beauty giant told investors in February that it was exploring strategic options for the brand, which no longer dominates the natural, cruelty-free and fair-trade space it is known for pioneering and doesn't square neatly with L'Oreal's current makeup (and millennial) focus. (Also see "L’Oreal May Prune Body Shop While Lauder ‘Pivots’ In New Beauty Climate" - HBW Insight, 14 February, 2017