A Tale of Two Makeup Artist-Led Brands; Where Is Harry Styles’ Pleasing?

Hello, and welcome back to Full Coverage, your weekly read on everything happening in beauty now.

How is everyone faring in the cold? I can’t believe how frigid it’s been in New York. I have to admit that I missed the snowstorm. I was in the Caribbean without kids and a laptop (don’t hate me!). I am sunburnt though; can someone suggest an SPF 50 that actually works?

Back in the beauty world, the news of the week is Pat McGrath Labs’ bankruptcy filing. Brennan Kilbane on our team had a great story breaking down what happened. But I have some additional thoughts, particularly why the trajectory of Pat McGrath’s beauty label was so different than another very famous makeup artist line that started around the same time.

Also in this edition, you’ll get:

• An update on one of my favourite male celebrity beauty brands
• A note on LVMH’s beauty earnings

Give Me More Harry Styles!

Just days after announcing his latest tour and a 30-date residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Harry Styles told the world about his newest song “Aperture” sipping a 7-Eleven Big Gulp and donning a pair of black 111Skin eye masks in a promotional image, shot by Stella Blackmon. It could have been the perfect opportunity to plug any number of brands, including his very own beauty line, Pleasing. But it wasn’t… why?

Since launching Pleasing roughly five years ago, Styles has taken a backseat in typical founder-facing fare like campaigns or Get Ready With Mes. Yet, the brand is supposed to be an embodiment of the singer, which is why it launched with nail polishes, his onetime signature.

It’s obvious to me that Styles should have launched branded Pleasing eye masks, like just about every label in the market — Dior, Summer Fridays, Rhode — as they would have been the ultimate tour GRWM accessory but it seems like the superstar is much more inspired by (or busy with) his other projects. Then again, Styles doesn’t seem to tie his beauty projects to his musical fare — maybe it’s just too try-hard — he launched sexual wellness products that sold out last summer well after his debut of “Watermelon Sugar” in 2019.

The line still sells the aforementioned products alongside a selection of fragrance and merch, but it has spent its time doing pop-ups. Maybe because touring is what the singer knows, but the line could afford to launch more products and with more retailers especially as Styles’ new tour kicks off. (Here at The Business of Beauty, we loved last year’s JW Anderson collab.) The fans are begging for more.

What LVMH Results Tell Us About the State of Beauty

On Tuesday, LVMH reported results, eking out 1 percent sales growth in the holiday quarter.

While fashion and leather goods sales fell, so did its perfumes and cosmetics division in the fourth quarter, and were flat for the full year, especially surprising when this holiday promo season seemed extra long and extra hyped. LVMH credited new launches like Miss Dior Essence and Dior Homme, alongside the ever-popular Sauvage and Guerlain as bright spots. But perfumes alone can’t make up the difference from some of LVMH’s less relevant entities like Fresh, Benefit Cosmetics and Make Up For Ever. Even Fenty, once a house darling, is reportedly up for sale to cut costs and to make room in its portfolio. As chairman Bernard Arnault said, “2026 will not be easy.”

Selective Retailing, which includes Sephora and its duty free business, enjoyed more success, with sales up by 7 percent in the fourth quarter and 4 percent for the full year. Growth at Sephora can be credited to its diversified mix, which makes sense given the pressure that the luxury segment is under overall. Still, as the perfumes and cosmetics segment proves, it’s the right mix of products that performs. Not all brands are created equal.

Down Pat

Since news broke that Pat McGrath Labs’ assets were up for sale, lovers of the brand have been beside themselves. In fact, it was social media account Pop Base that was one of the first to break the news of its bankruptcy filing, proving founder Pat McGrath’s larger-than-life cultural appeal.

Yes, McGrath may not be Hailey Bieber-famous, but her longstanding relationship with fashion and its icons — Naomi Campbell, John Galliano and Giorgio Armani — makes her as recognisable as any other makeup artist founder today, if not more.

As makeup artists left and right launch their own lines — Mary Phillips, Patrick Ta and Gucci Westman, to name just a handful — why did Pat McGrath Labs stumble where others have seemingly succeeded? It’s hard to compare the latter to the current slate of artist-led brands, but we can compare Pat McGrath Labs to Charlotte Tilbury, which launched just two years prior in 2013.

From the get-go, the two brands had similar origin stories and high glamour approaches to beauty, but one has proved more lasting than the other. Charlotte Tilbury was known for her backstage runway work too, but blended it with good old-fashioned Hollywood glamour to sell it to the masses — it’s why its Pillow Talk franchise had so many adaptable shades. Moreover, the brand also had archetypes that made it easy for regular shoppers to achieve the looks Charlotte Tilbury, the founder, was presenting. Pat McGrath Labs had a much more specific look, one that featured big glittery eyes and jaw dropping lips; in a lot of ways it wasn’t a brand for the novice beauty lover.

Beyond aesthetics, Charlotte Tilbury didn’t have the capital structure that Pat McGrath Labs did. The billion-dollar valuation that the latter received from private equity group Eurazeo was so early in its life cycle (less than three years after its founding), and mirrored the kind of valuations that tech companies were getting at that time. It wasn’t until Puig took its majority stake in 2020 that Charlotte Tilbury received its billion-dollar status. (The conglomerate is set to assume full ownership of the brand in 2031.)

Then there is the issue of executive checks and balances. Leaders came and went at Pat McGrath Labs, including Alicia Valencia, who went on to be the global president of beauty juggernaut Makeup by Mario. Stability was a core tenet of Charlotte Tilbury. Demetra Pinsent, Tilbury’s chief executive, has been with the brand for more than 13 years and is credited with supporting Tilbury to deliver her success

My last point is that Charlotte Tilbury and Pat McGrath Labs were both born in the polished, pre-Instagram age, but only Charlotte Tilbury was able to adjust to TikTok. The line was able to be rough and ready with launches and collaborations, and even showcased part of its founder’s world. Pat McGrath Labs never allowed itself to do that, making it a relic of a different beauty era.

As the label enters its next phase, it’s a wonder if any of these errors can be fixed. But for a brand to last, transformation is part of the game.

What I’m Reading

Peptide fanatics are seeking cheaper imports from China, creating a thriving grey market. [Intelligencer]

Social media is yearning for the beauty brands of 2016. The Business of Beauty team found out where they are now. [The Business of Beauty]

Yup, GLP-1s, corsets and bustles have killed body positivity. [The New York Times]

Zero-sugar soda is the new diet soda for wellness-obsessed Gen Z. [Bloomberg]

Dubai has become the unlikely source of bestselling fragrance dupes. [The Business of Beauty]

TikTokers are debating if undereye patches are “performative.” But for the new crop of logoed offerings from the likes of Rhode and Chanel: Isn’t that the point? [TikTok]

Thanks, all!

Priya

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