After joining Coty as CEO in 2020, Sue Nabi set her sights on turning around CoverGirl. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the brand experienced positive market gains, driving Coty’s consumer business to net revenues of $505.5 million.

Kim Kardashian has decidedly been successful at charting her own course: When launching Skims, the designs were entirely based on her own preferences. Less than three years later, Skims was valued at $3.2 billion.

In the last year, Carol Hamilton helped L'Oréal acquire Youth To The People and Skinbetter Science. She also took the reins of the company's second, California-based U.S. headquarters, poising it for more West Coast transactions.

In September, Tata Harper's namesake brand, Tata Harper Skincare, was purchased by South Korean beauty giant The Amorepacific Group. The acquisition indicated to beauty insiders that the Group was eager for modernization.

In the last year, ELC's New Incubation Ventures has made four investments in emerging brands with an eye on international markets. That's included Toronto-based grooming brand Faculty Men and Haeckels, based in the U.K.

Since debuting the line this summer, Ffrench has leaned into the drop model, launching the Industrial collection, a BDSM-inspired offering, this past summer. Wild Star, a rhinestone cowgirl-esque drop, debuted on Thursday with L.A. pop-ups supporting the collection.

When Harry's launched in 2012, co-founders Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield were trying to connect the dots between quality razors, affordable prices and a brand that could connect with consumers.

While the call to action may not be as loud as it was in 2020, some beauty companies continue to charge ahead with their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

As the barrier to founding a beauty brand is lower than ever, there is also more opportunity to spot the next big thing earlier in a brand's life cycle. Private equity firm True Beauty Ventures "was really born out of a frustration ... and being restricted on the types of businesses...