Behind the Scenes at LVMH Beauty

Welcome back to Full Coverage. Thanks so much for reading today.

I know this may feel like old news already but since I wrote about the Super Bowl last week, here goes: A lot of people thought that Bad Bunny made a mistake wearing Zara, but to my friends Mike Sykes and Sheena Butler-Young’s point, his look was all about accessibility. I was pleasantly surprised that the makeup team used culturally relevant cosmetics, including Aora Mexico, the fantastic and colourful makeup line that makes the best spicy lip serum, complete with a red jalapeño key chain. Congratulations to its co-founder Nour Tayara!

In sad news, I got word that Bumble & Bumble will close its flagship 56th Street salon in New York this summer, leaving just its Meatpacking location. While Estée Lauder is almost certainly holding onto its hair division, closing one of its last locations is a blow to any brand, especially for a salon business. No word on how many stylists were affected yet or how this closure will affect Lauder’s standalone properties from the likes of Aveda and MAC Cosmetics.

Also, how hysterical were new Coty chief executive Markus Strobel’s prepared remarks to analysts and investors last week: “As they say, if you are so smart, why aren’t you rich?”

This week, I’m back on the luxury beat. In this edition you’ll get:

• My take on the changes at LVMH Beauty
• A look at how Valentino’s Born in Roma is winning

What’s Going On at LVMH Beauty?

Somewhat buried in a press release on Monday appointing Antoine Arnault to the LVMH executive committee, Véronique Courtois, formerly of Parfums Christian Dior and Guerlain, was named head of LVMH Beauty… replacing Stéphane Rinderknech.

It makes sense Courtois took the top beauty job, having been with the company since 2000 and having worked on the firm’s most prized cosmetic property, Dior. According to my sources, she is highly rated by LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault and is tough. But what’s confusing here is how quickly Rinderknech, reportedly once touted as the next CEO of L’Oréal, was ousted. Yes, rumours of his departure have been swirling since Christmas, but he held the appointment for less than three years.

Rinderknech first joined LVMH as head of its hospitality division in 2022, largely a ruse for him to eventually take over beauty; or so L’Oréal thought. Almost immediately, the latter filed suit in French court claiming the executive breached the terms of his non-compete clause. First, the courts sided with L’Oréal, then LVMH won on appeal. L’Oréal then appealed in 2023, around the time Rinderknech was tapped as the chairman and CEO of LVMH Beauty.

There has been some churn in LVMH’s upper ranks on the beauty side, but it’s typically been in the selective retailing division (where Sephora and duty-free stores sit). Chris de Lapuente, who was previously CEO of Sephora starting in 2011, rose up the company’s ranks to retire last year; Martin Brok only held the Sephora CEO position for two years.

According to my sources, Rinderknech was far too corporate to seamlessly integrate into LVMH’s culture, and was quite critical in his style. His experience, while venerable, was largely in Asia. That could have gone a long way if Louis Vuitton’s lipsticks sell well in the region, but now I guess we won’t find out.

Beyond Dior and Guerlain, Courtois has her work cut out for her. Rinderknech’s mandate was to create synergies across its brands, while its fashion maisons operated autonomously. This newish structure created conflict for designer beauty brands, while smaller brands still didn’t get as much attention because of their lack of volume. Sales for perfumes and cosmetics were flat for the full year.

Many of LVMH’s non-designer beauty labels are lagging behind. Benefit Cosmetics is barely talked about; Make Up For Ever is going to have to go head-to-head with MAC in Sephora later this year; Fresh is a case study in why you don’t make your whole business about lip and Fenty is up for sale. And while I could watch Rihanna say “J’adore” over and over, tapping her as the face of one of Dior’s most prized scents in 2024 was still late. Acquisitions are likely off the table, but Sauvage can’t save the whole division.

Perhaps it’s time for LVMH to divest more of its brands, or license the beauty arms of Kenzo and Givenchy out to a L’Oréal or a Puig. It might be a radical move, but crazier things have happened. Remember, Kering sold its entire beauty portfolio just months ago.

How L’Oréal Remade Valentino Beauty

The team at Valentino Beauty is in a celebratory mood. In the most recent Circana results, the brand’s female scent Born in Roma Donna became the US’ top fragrance in 2025, besting competitors like Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl, Dior’s Miss Dior and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. Its male counterpart, Uomo, clocked in second, making the entire Born in Roma franchise the number four best-selling pillar in the US. According to Yipit data, Valentino Beauty hit $600 million sales in 2025 — the vast majority of which was fragrance, though it also sells a range of colour cosmetics — surely making it a $1 billion business globally.

This wasn’t easy, considering that Born in Roma was only born in 2019, and the Valentino Beauty franchise had a spotty past: The licence was first owned by Procter & Gamble, then Puig, before landing at L’Oréal in 2018.

I’ve been wondering about Born In Roma since last New York Fashion Week, when its launch Rendezvous Ivory, celebrated in Studio 54, sold out in one day in the Sephora app preview. Sources close to the retailer said that the scent became the number two best-selling fragrance in stores immediately. That interest was further piqued after designer Valentino Garavani passed last month.

“Mr. Garavani used to say, ‘I love beauty, it’s not my fault,’ and that’s a part of everything we do,” Claudia Marcocci, global president of Valentino Beauty told me over Zoom this month.

While other fragrance houses have several franchises — Chanel has Chanel No. 5, Chance and Coco Mademoiselle, for example — Valentino Beauty has only one, which means the brand and L’Oréal have a lot riding on its success. Marcocci noted that the line was ranked 66th in Circana data when L’Oréal took over the licence. (The only other L’Oréal entity in the top five fragrance set is YSL’s Libre.)

Born in Roma has developed six flankers and three special editions for men and women in its short lifecycle, at the pace of once a year, with a seventh, Purple Melancholia, set to launch at a house party in London with actor Colman Domingo later this month. It reflects the “feed the beast” fragrance strategy working nearly everywhere for brands like YSL’s Libre to Dior Sauvage, where brands choose to max out a particular scent with flankers versus creating independent franchises.

“The success of Born in Roma is the fact that we surprise the client,” Marcocci said, “through moods, through colours and of course through very different olfactives.”

This strategy has worked to Valentino’s advantage. In a Sephora- or Macy’s-like environment, shoppers are drawn to the Rockstud-inspired bottle, which is instantly recognisable, and navigated by colour and various olfactory codes (gourmands have been a hit for the brand). It also offers the bold and joyful “la dolce vita” lifestyle — once co-opted by Dolce & Gabbana — with a sharp, entry-level designer price point for the early 20s set. The Gen Z fragrance fans who crowd PerfumeTok have been particularly drawn to the scents because Donna and Uomo can be used interchangeably, said Rachel Green, a fragrance consultant and founder of the perfume brand L’Epoque.

While Valentino’s makeup ambitions have yet to be fully realised — Marcocci said the brand’s colour cosmetics business is growing in China — Born in Roma’s ultra-fast trajectory means the line can focus solely on fragrance. For now, it’s a sure thing.

What I’m Reading

Indie beauty brands must remain scrappy if they want to survive. [The Business of Beauty]

By swapping scents at global ‘perfume clubs,’ fragrance fans are sparking a new wave of in-person communities. [Dazed]

Gen Z wants more fibre. Brands are struggling to figure out how to sell it to them. [The Business of Beauty]

“Boy kibble,” the latest diet fad, is depressingly utilitarian. [The New York Times]

This week, Shiseido posted its first loss in decades. From skincare to suncare, the company is facing struggles across its portfolio. [The Business of Beauty]

In the era of “forever 35 face,” are wrinkles scarier than ever? [Financial Times]

Thanks, y’all,

Priya