The chosen early-stage beauty and wellness brands will have access to funding, mentorship and retail-readiness resources as part of the ten-week programme.
Now in its fifth year, the programme has become a proven incubator, supporting 32 early-stage brands and launching many of these into Ulta Beauty, including Octavia Morgan Los Angeles, Scarlet by RedDrop, and Ocoa.
“For five years, MUSE has elevated emerging voices with the potential to shape the future of beauty, providing founders with greater access to the resources, mentorship and support that can help them succeed,” said Lauren Brindley, Chief Merchandising and Digital Officer at Ulta Beauty.
Tickets are now available for the 25th anniversary of the Pure Beauty Awards, taking place on 15 October 2026 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, UK. Join the beauty industry for an evening of recognition and celebration as this year’s winners are revealed. Click here to secure your place.
“We are proud to have supported 32 brands and counting and look forward to seeing the impact this next cohort will have on our industry.”
This year’s selected brands span fragrances, hair and scalp care, colour cosmetics and a skin care line skewed towards Gen Alpha.
Which brands have been selected for Ulta Beauty’s 2026 MUSE Accelerator programme?
The eight brands selected for Ulta Beauty’s 2026 MUSE Accelerator programme are:
AWARE Hair
Founded by Jade Mui-Wong and Tina Mui, Aware Hair was created to redefine proactive care at the root, supporting holistic scalp health while delivering salon-worthy results.
Blue Water Girls
Inspired by the Caribbean, Blue Water Girls – founded by Osaremi Sade Parham – offers a range of island-inspired sun and body care products.
Dos Mundos
This Latin-owned luxury fragrance house, founded by Alexis Flores, aims to translate Latin stories into elevated fragrances, rooted in culture and memory.
MIA Outdoor Hair
Jordan Polk’s hair care brand focuses on outdoor life, using high-performance formulas to work against the unique stressors the hair and scalp face outside.
Mochiglow
Inspired by the scents of Asian desserts and drinks, Jenny Ching Lien Farelli’s Mochiglow creates fine fragrances around flavours such as mochi, matcha and rice.
MoKnowsHair
This curl-focused product range, created for all curl types and textures, was formulated and created by master cosmetologist Monica Stevens.
Prados Beauty
Setting out to create representation and visibility for Indigenous communities in beauty, Ernestine Cecelia Meadows – better known as Cece Meadows – launched Prados Beauty, a brand centred on culturally inspired cosmetics and meaningful collaborations with Indigenous artists.
Prereq Care
Designed for Gen Alpha, Prereq Care was built by Sana Mithani and Lizna Kabani and co-founded with 50 preteens and teens to create a line on microbiome-friendly formulas to support your people through the shifts of puberty.
What is the Ulta Beauty MUSE Accelerator programme?
Ulta Beauty’s MUSE Accelerator was launched in 2022 to support the retailer’s efforts to magnify, uplift, support and empower underrepresented voices in the beauty industry.
The accelerator programme has awarded more than $1.5m in funding and provided over 150 coaching hours.
Each brand in this year’s cohort will receive $50,000 in financial support to “help accelerate their business and valuable resources to establish a foundation for long-term success”, according to the retailer.
In addition, Ulta Beauty and its long-time partner, Fifteen Percent Pledge, a non-profit organisation that encourages retailers to pledge at least 15% of shelf-space to Black-owned businesses, will select one brand from the cohort to receive an additional $10,000 award.
Alongside financial support, the MUSE Accelerator offers a ten-week curriculum designed to “equip participants with real-life skills to succeed in retail, including brand strategy and positioning, fundamentals for retail success, and supply chain logistics, as well as the opportunity to pitch Ulta Beauty retail merchants and network with investors”, said Ulta Beauty.
Participating brands will also hear from influential voices in beauty and wellness through a series of fireside chats.
These voices include Deepica Mutyala, CEO and founder of Live Tinted; Grace Ray, CEO of Cécred; Nancy Twine, founder of Briogeo; Jessica Cruel, editor in chief at Allure Magazine; Chelsea Riggs, founder of Amika; Dianna Ruth, founder of Milk Makeup; and Cristina Nuñez, founder of True Beauty Ventures, among others.
This year, CEOs and founders from nine brands step into mentor roles.
These are: Shontay Lundy, Creator and founder of Black Girl Sunscreen; Priscilla Tsai, founder and CEO of Cocokind; Gina Woods, CEO and co-founder of Donna’s Recipe; Nils Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Good Molecules; Alicia Grande, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Grande Cosmetics; Ju Rhyu, co-founder of Hero Cosmetics; Malena Higuera, CEO of NOYZ; Julissa Prado, CEO of Rizos Curls; and Tony Prado, co-founder and COO of Rizos Curls.
“We are honoured to return as mentors in Ulta Beauty’s 2026 MUSE Accelerator Program,” said Julissa Prado and Tony Prado, co-founders of Rizos Curls.
“Rizos Curls lives by the three C’s of Curls, Community and Culture, and we are deeply connected to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs with the insights and resources that have been instrumental in our own journey as founders.
“Having experienced firsthand the wide scope of building and scaling a brand, we know how meaningful it can be to have access to mentorship, community and the right resources to succeed at retail.
“We are proud to play a role in MUSE to help the next generation turn their visions into lasting and impactful brands.”
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