A fresh wave of independent beauty brands broke into the mainstream like never before in the 2010s.
Fueled by YouTube beauty vloggers and new direct-to-consumer (DTC) business models, the barrier to entry for a new business had never been lower – and the potential audience never bigger.
“The 2010s marked a wave of founder-driven rebellion in beauty – anti-corporate, personality-led and powered by social media,” says Amy Kapolnek Growth Strategist at consultancy the fwrd group.
"Brands like Glossier, Milk Makeup and Drunk Elephant resonated because they spoke to individuality and transparency at a time when beauty felt impersonal and stale.”
However, many of the names that came to prominence in the decade are now struggling, or have fallen from favour as more buzzy brands like Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty take centre stage.
Drunk Elephant continues to underperform for Shiseido, the Japanese beauty conglomerate which acquired the brand in 2019, and a turnaround is planned for 2026.
Make-up brand Too Faced rose to fame in the decade with must-have products such as Better Than Sex mascara and Born This Way foundation.
They lost the intimacy, resonance and edge that made them matter in the first place
Estée Lauder Companies, which snapped up the make-up brand for 2016, is now reportedly exploring a sale.
Make-up palette favourite Morphe’s parent company Forma Brands went bust, although it is now in the midst of a comeback.
Herbivore, known for its focus on skin care botanicals, is also plotting a comeback under recently appointed CEO Britany LeBlanc.
Not all brands are struggling, says Alexis Androulakis, a product developer and educator who is one half of viral social media beauty experts The Lipstick Lesbians.
“They [2010’s brands] are winning in different categories, and they are utilising different arenas, but maybe they are not winning in the way they once were.”
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