R.I.P. OCC? Thoughts on failed makeup brands, how brands make a comeback, & predicting who's next

photo from makeup artist Kevin James Bennett

OCC, maker of the OG liquid lipstick Lip Tars and cult classic John Doe creme color concentrate, appears to be out of business. They recently shut down their website and social media after deeply discounting their online merchandise. The company has not confirmed the news, but it isn't a surprise to anyone in the makeup news sphere that OCC has been in trouble.

New updates to my "Who Owns Who" post

It's that time again! Every 6 - 9 months, I like to pop back into my blog's most popular Who Owns Who post for updates. 2017 has been a slower year so far for corporate makeup M&A, but we have had some big news. I have also added some brands from comment requests.

Updates to the post include corporate ownership details for: 

• Hourglass
• Burberry
• Milk
• Younique
• Clarins
• Seed (ColourPop, Kylie)

I'm also thinking about a separate post for influencer / instagram / online brand ownership. I've been wondering lately where all of these brands come from and how they get their funding for quick product launches and huge marketing spending - looking at you Juvia's Place, Smith Cosmetics brushes, Storybook Cosmetics, Morphe... If this would be interesting to you or you have any brand suggestions, please leave a comment!

xoxo

Update: Who owns who? Corporate ownership of global makeup brands

My mega post on the corporate ownership of cosmetics brands is one of the most popular ever on my blog, so with all of the new news lately I thought it was time for an update.


Unsurprisingly, L'Oreal and Estee Lauder have continued with substantial M&A activity, notably with L'Oreal's purchase of It Cosmetics and Estee Lauder's purchase of Too Faced and Becca. Shiseido has also been busy, creating a new prestige makeup division and purchasing Laura Mercier. E.l.f. has gone public under the leadership of TPG Growth.

The post update includes:

• Updated 2016 information
• New graphics accounting for 2016 news
• New information on which makeup brands are not owned by a conglomerate or private equity company
• Reader requests to include new brands

Click here to read the updated post! If you have any questions or requests for info on a brand you are curious about, please leave me a comment. 

Book review - Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge

I was so excited when Lisa Eldridge announced her new book I pre-ordered in on Amazon right away. Face Paint: The Story of Makeup shipped to me a few weeks ago and I took my time reading it (as you do with books as beautiful as this one). Note: This is a spoiler free review to help you decide if this book is for you (it is!), not a summary.

As Lisa explained in this video on her YouTube channel, the concept of this book is to tell the story of makeup, from a historical, color story, and business perspective. This is consciously not a how to artistry book or an academic history, which I appreciate.

Longtime blog readers know that my day job is in finance, but you may not know that I earned my BA in History, not business or finance as you might expect. I already knew a little bit about cosmetics history and some of the trends touched upon in the book, but I was pleasantly surprised how many people and stories introduced in the book were new to me. I can't tell you how many times I had to stop reading and tell my (eternally patient) husband "did you know that..." or show him a stunning photograph from the book. The back of the book claims "read this book and you will never look at makeup the same way again" and that is not meaningless dust jacket crap, it is the absolute truth.

Who owns who? Corporate ownership of global makeup brands

Welcome to my research into corporate ownership of global makeup brands! I have been working on this post for quite awhile - I became interested tracing the corporate ownership chains of color cosmetics brands by researching similar formulas of brands owned by the same corporate umbrella and it snowballed into a huge project.

Why does it matter? My philosophy is that customers and consumers deserve to be informed and that being more informed leads to better decision making. If you have been curious about why certain brands have formulas similar to other brands or how brands change over time, this list will hopefully add some illumination to your buying decisions.

A few notes: 

1. This post is focused on cosmetics brands, but many corporate owners also hold skincare, haircare, and fragrance brands in their portfolios. Feel free to click through the links I posted and see what other brands a company has in its portfolio!
2. Most major fashion houses who have cosmetics lines have separated corporate ownership of their cosmetics line, fashion/accessories lines, and their fragrance licenses. Confusing, I know. 
3. If I left out a brand you are curious about, please leave me a comment and I will do my best to add it!

This list is (to the best of my research) a demonstration of who owns well known global makeup brands. I think a few of them will surprise you! Get a cup of coffee and a snack, this is a long one.

News: Cover Girl, Max Factor, and Dolce & Gabbana sold to Coty

Big news in the business world today - Coty Inc is buying Proctor & Gamble's beauty business for $12.5 billion. Coty Inc. is buying Cover Girl, Max Factor, and Dolce & Gabbana makeup and fragrance from P&G, as well as other hair care and color, fragrance, and hair styling brands.

All in, Coty Inc. is buying 43 brands from Proctor & Gamble: 

Wella Professionals (and its sub-brands), Sebastian Professional, Clairol Professional, Sassoon Professional, Nioxin, SP (System Professional), Koleston, Soft Color, Color Charm, Wellaton, Natural Instincts, Nice & Easy, VS Salonist, VS ProSeries Color, Londa/Kadus, Miss Clairol, L’image, Bellady, Blondor, Welloxon, Shockwaves, New Wave, Design, Silvikrin, Wellaflex, Forte, Wella Styling, Wella Trend, Balsam Color, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lacoste, bruno banani, Christina Aguilera, Escada, Gabriela Sabatini, James Bond 007, Mexx, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Max Factor and Covergirl. (List from Market Watch)

Coty already owns many beauty & makeup brands, including designer fragrances like Marc Jacobs and Chloe, nail brands OPI and Sally Hansen, skincare brand Philosophy and makeup brands Rimmel, New York Color (NYC), and Bourjois. Coty also has an eponymous house brand, well known for their Airspun Loose Powder. For a full list of the brands owned by Coty, check out their website.

After this transaction, Coty will be the #1 largest global perfume maker and the #3 largest global cosmetics maker (behind L'Oreal at #1 and Estee Lauder at #2). If you are curious about the transaction details, you can read more at Reuters, the Houston Chronicle, and the Wall Street Journal.

I'm interested to see what happens to Cover Girl and Max Factor products, especially if we will start seeing similar releases and formulations between Cover Girl and Rimmel. It is interesting that Cover Girl's best products (IMO) are their mascaras and foundations, while Rimmel's best products (IMO) are lipsticks, bronzer, and eyeliner. I guess we will see what happens!

What I look for in YouTube beauty channels

I was originally going to make this one super long post, but I decided to break it up. Part one, my top 5 current favorite YouTube beauty channels is here. In this post, I am going to share what I look for when I find a new channel to watch.

So what do I look for in a YouTube beauty channel?

1. Smarts.  I want to listen to a well informed articulate voice that has a grasp on ingredient knowledge, the nuance of finishes and textures, and a command of the English language beyond the trite "you guyssss, I'm like obsessed! It's so finely milled!"

2. Sponsorship & Gift Disclosure. Am I really supposed to believe you bought yourself a NuMe hair wand, Whitening Lightning glosses, and a set of Sigma brushes this week? I don't mind vloggers making money from their work, but honest disclosure is everything.

3. Channel Focus. I love makeup channels, and I am okay with the occasional slip into nails or skincare. If I subscribe to your makeup channel, I want to see makeup, not candles, tooth brushing routines, or how to pack shoes in a suitcase.

I am always looking for more interesting beauty channels to subscribe to, but I have found that I am impatient with norm of the beauty "guru" personality. I don't want to listen to someone who blindly follows the zeitgeist and wastes the first three minutes of every video on an empty narrative. I watch vloggers to learn and fine tune application techniques, decide if I want to buy a product, or know if a product performs as promised.

In the Bachelor terminology (shhh I watch bad TV), I want a vlogger who creates content for the right reasons.

TL;DR: Smart, honest, focused ladies & gents rock my world