Henkel Closes $1.4B Olaplex Deal, Delisting the Hair Brand
Henkel closed its $1.4 billion Olaplex takeover at $2.06 a share, delisting the brand and becoming global No. 2 in professional hair care.
Beauty
Skincare that holds up, honest product notes, and routines worth keeping — minus the marketing.
L’Oréal Wins a 50-Year Gucci Beauty License, Ending Coty’s Era
L’Oréal won a 50-year exclusive worldwide license for Gucci beauty from Kering, effective July 2027 — a year early — with Coty paid ~$400M to exit.
Waldencast Sells Obagi Medical to Bridgepoint, Betting on Milk Makeup
Waldencast agreed to sell Obagi Medical to Bridgepoint for up to $460M, refocusing on Milk Makeup and repaying ~$178M in debt.
Rhode Lands in Latin America With Mexico, Plus 7 New European Markets
Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s e.l.f.-owned brand, entered Latin America via Mexico and added seven European markets, extending its push after e.l.f.’s $1B acquisition.
Boots Could Fetch ~$10B as Its Owner Weighs a Sale Over an IPO
Boots’ owner Sycamore is exploring a ~$10B sale of the UK chain over a London IPO; Australia’s Sigma Healthcare confirmed talks and the Weston family is also circling.
Glossier Lands $45M Credit Line in a Leaner New Chapter
Glossier secured a $45M credit facility from Tiger Finance — its first outside capital since 2021 — as CEO Colin Walsh runs a leaner turnaround, cutting stores from 12 to three.
EU Strikes ‘Omnibus VI’ Deal to Simplify Cosmetics Rules
EU negotiators agreed on the "Omnibus VI" package to simplify cosmetics and chemicals rules — saving the sector an estimated €363 million a year — while keeping key safeguards.
Givaudan Buys Majority of Spain’s Eurofragance in Fragrance-House Consolidation
Givaudan agreed to buy a majority stake in Spain’s Eurofragance, a pure-play fragrance house with 2025 sales above €200 million, expanding in high-growth markets.
FDA Approves Bemotrizinol — the First New Sunscreen Filter in 20 Years
The FDA approved bemotrizinol, the first new sunscreen active ingredient in the U.S. in about 20 years — a broad-spectrum UVA/UVB filter usable from August 9, 2026.
Bath & Body Works Breaks Out of the Mall — Into 600+ Ulta Stores
Bath & Body Works will sell in 600+ Ulta Beauty stores and Ulta.com from July 12, 2026 — its first major wholesale deal; BBWI shares rose ~6%.
e.l.f. Beauty Jumps Into Haircare With a $6–$10 Line
e.l.f. Beauty launched its first haircare line, “e.l.f. Hair” — six products priced $6–$10 — rolling out via TikTok Shop and Target, after 25% net-sales growth in fiscal 2026.
L’Oréal Buys Into India’s Innovist as Global Beauty Races for the Subcontinent
On June 18, 2026, L’Oréal agreed to take a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal-care house of brands (Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play).
L’Oréal Teams Up With OpenAI to Put Beauty Inside ChatGPT
At VivaTech on June 17, 2026, L’Oréal and OpenAI announced a partnership to bring verified product data, Maybelline virtual try-on, and ad pilots into ChatGPT.
Your Pinterest Board Now Picks Your Perfume: Estée Lauder's "Scent Scanner"
The Estée Lauder Companies, Jo Malone London and Pinterest launched "Scent Scanner," an AI tool that reads the imagery on your Pinterest boards and translates your visual taste into personalized Jo Malone fragrance recommendations.
A Korean Fund Is Buying a French Cosmetics Maker — a First for K-Beauty
South Korean PE firm PTA Partners has been named preferred bidder for a 70% stake in COSBELLE, a Provence organic-cosmetics maker — reportedly the first time a Korean fund has bought a French cosmetics manufacturer, as K-beauty shifts from exporting to owning Western production.
A Five-Minute Skin Readout: L'Oréal's Cell BioPrint Rolls Out Under Lancôme
L'Oréal's Cell BioPrint — a tabletop "lab-on-a-chip" co-developed with NanoEntek — reads skin protein biomarkers from a tape strip in about five minutes. It debuted at CES 2025 and is now rolling out at scale under Lancôme in 2026.
L'Oréal Buys a Majority Stake in India's Innovist — Its First India Deal in 13 Years
L'Oréal is acquiring a majority stake in Innovist, the Bengaluru digital-first house behind Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play — its first Indian acquisition since 2013, reportedly valuing the firm at around $350–450 million.
You'll Soon Try On Maybelline Inside ChatGPT: L'Oréal and OpenAI Strike a Beauty-AI Deal
At VivaTech 2026, L'Oréal and OpenAI announced a sweeping partnership: Maybelline virtual try-on inside ChatGPT, AI-native ads for CeraVe and Garnier, and an OpenAI science model to study skin's microbiome for La Roche-Posay.
Why Korean Sunscreen Is Suddenly Back in the U.S. Beauty Conversation
Reddit beauty fans are reacting to the FDA first new sunscreen active ingredient since the late 1990s. The change matters, but it does not instantly clear every Korean SPF formula for U.S. shelves.