<![CDATA[Beauty in Five]]>e7fb181d-46c7-52f5-9782-9155d493e5c2Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:28:45 +0000Captivate.fminfo@getfivewire.com (Fivewire)https://artwork.captivate.fm/9a7a64b6-edff-4e16-9c27-025c11299f73/beauty-cover-b2.pngBeauty in FiveFivewireinfo@getfivewire.comFivewireBeauty in Five is the daily five-minute brief on the beauty business: the five stories that matter, every weekday. Launches, M&A, retail and the shifts moving skincare, colour, fragrance and hair, across prestige and mass. Curated daily, sourced and straight. For brand, retail and indie, and everyone building the category. Walk in already caught up. In the know. In five.https://beautyinfive.comfalseepisodicyespodcastEstée Lauder Keeps Three, Bluemercury's New CEOEstée Lauder Keeps Three, Bluemercury's New CEOEstée Lauder to Retain Too Faced, Smashbox, Dr. Jart+. WWD reports the three brands are no longer on the block, a signal of how Estée Lauder is weighing divestiture against turnaround. (WWD Beauty)

Bluemercury Names Alex Choueiri Chief Executive Officer. The Macy's-owned beauty retailer hands its top job to a prestige-brand operator, per WWD, as it competes with Sephora and Ulta. (WWD Beauty)

Valentino Beauty Launches Vendetta Fragrance Franchise. Cosmetics Business reports Valentino Beauty's first prestige fragrance franchise in six years arrives as two scents, not a single flanker. (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News)

Also moving today:

Which Beauty Brands and Products Won Prime Week? (WWD Beauty)

Luxury Beauty in the Backpack: How Brands Are Attracting Gen Alpha and More (WWD Beauty)

Sephora's Global Operations Chief Steps Down After 14 Years - Modaes Global (modaes.com)

Jones Road Beauty CEO Cody Plofker is stepping down (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News, WWD Beauty)

Superdrug sales rise 5.2% despite subdued footfall on UK high streets (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News)

]]>Estée Lauder to Retain Too Faced, Smashbox, Dr. Jart+. WWD reports the three brands are no longer on the block, a signal of how Estée Lauder is weighing divestiture against turnaround. (WWD Beauty)

Bluemercury Names Alex Choueiri Chief Executive Officer. The Macy's-owned beauty retailer hands its top job to a prestige-brand operator, per WWD, as it competes with Sephora and Ulta. (WWD Beauty)

Valentino Beauty Launches Vendetta Fragrance Franchise. Cosmetics Business reports Valentino Beauty's first prestige fragrance franchise in six years arrives as two scents, not a single flanker. (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News)

Also moving today:

Which Beauty Brands and Products Won Prime Week? (WWD Beauty)

Luxury Beauty in the Backpack: How Brands Are Attracting Gen Alpha and More (WWD Beauty)

Sephora's Global Operations Chief Steps Down After 14 Years - Modaes Global (modaes.com)

Jones Road Beauty CEO Cody Plofker is stepping down (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News, WWD Beauty)

Superdrug sales rise 5.2% despite subdued footfall on UK high streets (Cosmetics Business, Global Cosmetics News)

]]>68311f1b-d8d5-4345-9ec2-0907794cec3dWed, 15 Jul 2026 14:28:45 +000004:55falsefullWWD's sources say Estée Lauder will hold on to Smashbox, Too Faced and Dr. Jart+, three brands that had quietly been shopped, opting for a turnaround inside the house rather than a sale. Bluemercury names Alex Choueiri, formerly of Kering Beauté and L'Oréal, as chief executive, and Valentino Beauty unveils Vendetta, its first new prestige fragrance franchise in six years, launching as a two-pillar duo. Also today: Prime Day beauty winners spread across skin care, hair and fragrance; prestige brands test lower price points for Gen Alpha and Gen Z; exits at Sephora and Jones Road Beauty; and a 5.2 percent sales rise at Superdrug.Gucci Beauty's Early ExitGucci Beauty's Early ExitL'Oréal takes Gucci Beauty license a year early. L'Oréal has secured the Gucci Beauty license ahead of schedule as Coty reportedly exits for US$400M, a move sources frame as consolidation in prestige fragrance. (https://www.personalcareinsights.com, The Sacramento Bee, TheStreet)

Rituals to refit 1,500 boutiques for €40 million. The Dutch retailer reportedly plans its largest European store upgrade yet, refurbishing 1,500 boutiques across 30 countries in about 30 working days. (Cosmetics Business, WWD Beauty)

Index ranks beauty brands by AI-chatbot citation share. 5W AI Communications' Beauty AI Visibility Index 2026 ranks the top 25 U.S. beauty brands by how often they are cited inside AI assistants, framing generative AI as an emerging discovery channel. (CNHI News, Cosmetics Business, pressportal.co.za)

Also moving today:

L'Oreal, Mondelez Use AI to Accelerate Product Innovation, Cut Costs - CNBC TV18 (cnbctv18.com, Global Banking & Finance Review, Market Screener)

PPWR: The new european regulation requiring cosmetic packaging compliance (Cosmetics Business)

Versed has been acquired by Belle Brands to ‘maximise its potential’ (Cosmetics Business, Premium Beauty News, WWD Beauty)

BASF and Bota Biosciences launch first AI-designed bio-identical collagen III (Premium Beauty News)

How Olive Young’s debut US stores have performed in numbers (Cosmetics Business)

]]>L'Oréal takes Gucci Beauty license a year early. L'Oréal has secured the Gucci Beauty license ahead of schedule as Coty reportedly exits for US$400M, a move sources frame as consolidation in prestige fragrance. (https://www.personalcareinsights.com, The Sacramento Bee, TheStreet)

Rituals to refit 1,500 boutiques for €40 million. The Dutch retailer reportedly plans its largest European store upgrade yet, refurbishing 1,500 boutiques across 30 countries in about 30 working days. (Cosmetics Business, WWD Beauty)

Index ranks beauty brands by AI-chatbot citation share. 5W AI Communications' Beauty AI Visibility Index 2026 ranks the top 25 U.S. beauty brands by how often they are cited inside AI assistants, framing generative AI as an emerging discovery channel. (CNHI News, Cosmetics Business, pressportal.co.za)

Also moving today:

L'Oreal, Mondelez Use AI to Accelerate Product Innovation, Cut Costs - CNBC TV18 (cnbctv18.com, Global Banking & Finance Review, Market Screener)

PPWR: The new european regulation requiring cosmetic packaging compliance (Cosmetics Business)

Versed has been acquired by Belle Brands to ‘maximise its potential’ (Cosmetics Business, Premium Beauty News, WWD Beauty)

BASF and Bota Biosciences launch first AI-designed bio-identical collagen III (Premium Beauty News)

How Olive Young’s debut US stores have performed in numbers (Cosmetics Business)

]]>3e6e6f5d-ec10-4791-a5ca-ee54c6503cfaTue, 14 Jul 2026 00:31:59 +000005:00falsefullKering says it has signed the deal moving Gucci Beauty's license to L'Oreal a year ahead of schedule, with Coty set to receive around 400 million dollars for the early exit and both sides agreeing to settle pending litigation. Dutch retailer Rituals plans to spend about 40 million euros refurbishing 1,500 boutiques across 30 countries, its largest European store upgrade, as some rivals trim their store estates. And a new 5W AI Communications index ranks the top 25 US beauty brands by citation share in AI assistant answers, with The Ordinary on top and ingredient-led independents drawing about a third of all beauty citations.