Luxury Fashion Houses: Can Their Beauty Brands Stay Relevant?
It’s the start of Fashion Month—the pinnacle of luxury, where fashion houses invest millions into runway shows to reinforce their brand identity. But how does this impact their beauty divisions?This episode explores the role of beauty within luxury fashion houses. Why do these brands expand into beauty? How does the business model differ from fashion, and how do they compete in an increasingly saturated beauty market? From shifting ownership structures to evolving retail strategies, we break down how luxury fashion brands can compete in beauty in 2025.This episode is supported by a series of graphs and visual aids to help narrate this story. You can access those resources at barefaced.substack.com/You can find Barefaced everywhere else here–https://beacons.ai/barefacedRecommended reading - https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/beauty/luxury-brands-buying-back-their-beauty-lines/ Get full access to barefaced at barefaced.substack.com/subscribe
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39:44
Class, Culture, and Contouring: The UK’s Distinct Beauty Trends
Thanks to social media, beauty trends often go global—but not in the UK.While interest in makeup in Canada, Australia, and the US has slowed down since the pandemic, the "baddie makeup" continues to trend in the UK. Why does this trend stand strong, and what does it reveal about Britain’s beauty scene?In this episode of The Barefaced Podcast, we dive into the cultural, economic, and social factors that set the UK apart, from local beauty brands taking over to the rise of TikTok Shop.This episode is supported by a series of graphs and visual aids to help narrate this story. You can access those resources at barefaced.substack.com/You can find Barefaced everywhere else here–https://beacons.ai/barefaced Get full access to barefaced at barefaced.substack.com/subscribe
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40:33
The British Beauty Battle: Why Are There So Many Retailers?
Beauty shopping in the UK is anything but intuitive. You can find luxury brands at Boots, a pharmacy, or Harrods, a luxury department store, or shop them online at Look Fantastic, an e-commerce retailer. But why is the market so fragmented?Over the last five years, online beauty retail boomed but has faced rising customer acquisition costs. Companies like Walgreens Boots Alliance (owner of Boots) have struggled, while luxury department stores have doubled down on beauty. To top it off, after a 17-year hiatus, Sephora re-entered the market by acquiring Feelunique to expand their physical presence.In this episode, we break down these complexities and offer insights on how to navigate this competitive and ever-evolving beauty retail market.This episode is supported by a series of graphs and visual aids to help narrate this complex story. You can access those resources at barefaced.substack.com.You can find Barefaced everywhere else here—beacons.ai/barefaced Get full access to barefaced at barefaced.substack.com/subscribe
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50:13
The Glossier Effect: The Blueprint for Building a Cult Beauty Brand
The rise of Glossier wasn’t just a success story; it became the blueprint for modern beauty branding. While much of the conversation surrounding Glossier today focuses on the brand’s current state, this episode dives into the marketing firsts that made Glossier a cultural phenomenon and shaped the beauty industry as we know it.From pioneering the shelfie, founder-driven content, and user-generated campaigns to transforming social media engagement and popularising beauty pop-ups, Glossier created a playbook that countless brands—Merit, Saie, Kosas, Tower 28, Summer Fridays, Rhode, and more—have drawn from.In today's episode, we unpack how Glossier redefined what it means to be a beauty brand, evolving it into something that feels more like a social club than a business, and explore the enduring impact of The Glossier Effect.You can find barefaced everywhere here — beacons.ai/barefaced Get full access to barefaced at barefaced.substack.com/subscribe
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35:39
Celebrity Beauty Brands: How Do Consumers Objectively Feel?
It has been well established that consumers are fed up with celebrity beauty brands. So, why do some of these brands still go on to achieve huge success?In this week’s episode, we first dive into the business of celebrity beauty brands, examining how they differ from regular startups, beyond just the access they have to personal fame. We then explore Reddit sentiment data to understand how consumers feel about beauty brands in 2024 and how these opinions have shifted over the past decade. We also look into the reputations of individual brands to uncover why some soar while others fail.Finally, we answer the question: What’s next for celebrity beauty brands?You can find Barefaced everywhere here—beacons.ai/barefaced Get full access to barefaced at barefaced.substack.com/subscribe
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