L'Oréal to Acquire Urban Decay

A product from Urban Decay's Build Your Own Palette.

Photo By Courtesy of Urban Decay

L’Oréal Paris said Monday it has signed an agreement with private equity firm Castanea Partners to acquire Urban Decay. 

Based in Newport Beach, Calif., Urban Decay executives will report to Carol Hamilton, president of L’Oréal Luxe USA in New York. Hamilton praised Urban Decay as “experts in being able to appeal to younger consumers with the right presentation and the right products.”

She also cited the makeup-driven company’s expertise in navigating what she described as “the newest form of luxury distribution” — specialty chains like Sephora and Ulta. 

Wende Zomnir, the makeup expert who created the brand in 1996, said the core consumer is aged 28 to 29 years old, but the audience ranges up to age 40, running the gamut from “edgy girls to people who have kids and jobs and are looking for formulas.”

Zomnir will continue as general manager of worldwide strategic brand development and creative director. Her current title is chief creative officer. 

Nicolas Hieronimus, president of L’Oréal Luxe in Paris, said, “Urban Decay will beautifully complement L’Oréal Luxe’s portfolio of iconic brands. It is the makeup specialist we needed to fully satisfy young women in search of playful colors and inspiration in selective distribution, at an accessible price point. It is totally additional to our existing propositions and as such it will contribute significantly to the growth of the division in the years to come,” he added.

Urban Decay recorded net sales of $130 million in the fiscal year ended in June. L’Oréal did not disclose the sales price. However, industry sources estimate that the price climbed as high as $350 million. 

The brand is known for its vibrant shadows and pencils in the brand-leading eye category and has been branching out into complexion and primer products. This fall, the company transformed its Naked color cosmetics franchise into a new line, called Naked Skin, focusing on complexion and providing an entrée into foundation. Chief executive officer Tim Warner said the sell-through was above expectation. Instead of achieving a penetration of 8 to 9 percent, Naked Skin surged to a penetration of 15 to 16 percent. L’Oréal noted that specialist brands account for 44 percent of the luxury makeup market in the United States. In addition to chains like Ulta and Sephora, Urban Decay also distributes through Web sites like urbandecay.com and sephora.com.

“L’Oréal’s strong innovation capabilities and presence in every channel of distribution will enable Urban Decay to reach its full potential in the marketplace,” stated Warner. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected by the end of the year.

By PETE BORN and JOELLE DIDERICH for WWD

Liz Goldwyn and MAC Cosmetics Team Up for Holiday

Products from MAC's Fabulousness holiday collection.

Photo By Courtesy of MAC

Los Angeles-based artist, filmmaker and fashion muse Liz Goldwyn has teamed with MAC Cosmetics to create makeup bags as part of its holiday collection, Fabulousness. On sale in MAC stores Oct. 25 to Dec. 20, the three-piece range includes a brush bag, an evening-style clutch and a hanging bag packaged with various MAC products and palettes inspired by Goldwyn’s trademark vintage style. 

Liz Goldwyn

Photo By Donato Sardella

For Goldwyn, the granddaughter of movie-studio founder Samuel L. Goldwyn and actress Frances Howard, Hollywood glamour runs in her blood. She is also a lingerie expert, having created a book and an HBO documentary on burlesque, both called “Pretty Things.” 

For MAC, which supported “Pretty Things” in 2005 by creating the makeup look for Goldwyn and the other performers in the film’s finale, she was a natural choice to create lingerie-inspired accessories — the company’s first foray into bags. 

“I was looking for the perfect makeup bag with a classic boudoir look when I saw John Demsey [group president of MAC’s parent, the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.] during Oscar week in 2011. I asked him why they weren’t making any, and he said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’” recalled Goldwyn.

She used a pair of vintage leopard-print panties, plus laces and nets from her own collection, as the inspiration for the bags, which feature pastel satin exteriors covered in leopard-print plastic and matching interiors lined with lace-print plastic. “I like that good-bad duality, and they’re both pretty and durable. I travel constantly and have been road-testing them for nine months,” said Goldwyn, whose signature adorns the “L Goldwyn for MAC” labels. 

Goldwyn, who once worked for Shiseido, has several high-end fashion projects under her belt, including a jewelry line bearing her name that sold at Barneys New York, Collette and Joyce, and one for a high jeweler whose name she can’t divulge. 

“What I love about this project is that it allows me to design something that’s beautiful and accessible,” she said of the bags, which range from $39.50 to $49.50 at retail, including the brushes, eye and lip products that come in the smaller bags.

Goldwyn is also designing screen printed T-shirts and hoodies for skate brand Altamont that hit stores next month. The graphics are inspired by pin-up girl art, although Goldwyn said she doesn’t mind “if some teenage guys just think it’s old and cool-looking.” 

Looking ahead, Goldwyn is also adapting “Pretty Things” into a musical, beginning preproduction of a biographical documentary filmed abroad, and hoping to design her own line of fashion stockings and tights with a vintage flair, of course. 

She noted, “I like the idea that you can infiltrate the masses but put a piece of education or history on it.”

By MARCY MEDINA for WWD

BareMinerals to Launch Solid Foundation

BareMinerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation line and the Precision Face Brush.

Photo By Kyle Ericksen

Armed with a new tag line, “We Don’t Like Using the F-Word,” Bare Escentuals is looking to get consumers on solid ground with the introduction of its first pressed foundation. 

Launching in September, BareMinerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation is a solid sea mineral-enriched formula designed to provide natural coverage and antiaging benefits. 

“Leslie [Blodgett, Bare Escentuals founder and executive chairman] has always been frustrated by using the word ‘foundation,’” said Elizabeth Lamont, vice president of marketing. “It can be cakey and clog pores. This doesn’t look or act like foundation. It’s makeup that acts like skin care.”

At play in the formula is a cold-pressed oil technology, which binds the powder without the aid of talc or fillers. The brand’s proprietary SeaNutrive Mineral Complex, a concentrated blend of algae and seaweed, as well as vitamins A, C and E, are included to enhance cell turnover and provide a healthy looking complexion. “Solid mineral [powders] are different than what [our consumer] is seeing in the marketplace,” said Lamont. “It looks like a powder but feels like a cream.”

In addition, a time-released moisturizing technology delivers mineral-encapsulated glycerin and humic acid throughout the day to hydrate skin. The product is “clinically proven to firm skin,” noted Lamont. 

BareMinerals’ full breadth of 20 classic loose shades — from fair to warm deep — in original and matte variations, will be offered in the new Ready format, which has a “natural” finish. (Original imparts a “naturally luminous” effect, while Matte’s is “naturally matte.”)

“We listen to our customer first and foremost and she is very vocal,” said Lamont. “She asked for products that are convenient. She wants her product wherever she goes and solid form is preferred for portability.” 

Although the company declined to share sales figures, industry sources believe the collection could generate $50 to $100 million at retail in its first year.

Coinciding with the launch will be the introduction of the Precision Face Brush, which will be offered in classic and retractable iterations ($28 and $22, respectively). 

“The formula gives as much coverage as you like depending on which brush as you use,” said Lamont. 

With a history of loose powder formulas, BareMinerals entered pressed-powder territory with the launch of Ready Eyeshadow in September 2011. The company followed up with solid-form bronzers and blushes in March. 

In order to market Ready Foundation, BareMinerals will launch a new ad campaign featuring its most recent catchphrase in October and November magazines. The brand has also partnered with Ulta to promote Ready, which will be featured in the retailer’s monthly “prestige magazine,” marking the first color cosmetics sample offered in its pages. Ready will also be highlighted in a Macy’s direct mailer (with a sample) as well as during Sephora’s October Hot Now promotion. “We plan to distribute four million samples throughout September to November,” said Lamont. 

Also in October, Bare Escentuals boutiques will provide 50,000 customers “foundation fittings,” where they can be shade-matched and given a makeup application. 

The product’s official debut will be on QVC on Aug. 15, with a follow-up show on Aug. 25, featuring Blodgett and a QVC-exclusive silver compact with matching brush.

“There is a certain energy and buzz that travels through the airwaves when Leslie comes on to explain her products,” said Lamont. 

Come Sept. 1, Ready SPF 20 Foundation, $29, will be available at retailers like Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Nordstrom, Bare Escentuals boutiques and bareminerals.com.

“This is our biggest launch ever and our partners are as [pleased] as we are,” said Lamont.





By BELISA SILVA WWD Copyright © 2012 Fairchild Fashion Media. All rights reserved.

Miss Piggy Gets MAC'd Out

Miss Piggy hogs the spotlight once again as the newest spokes-piggy for MAC.  The muppet and make-up connoisseur is showcasing a new line of cosmetics, which includes blush, eyeliner and false eyelashes. The limited-edition collection will be sold exclusively at maccosmetics.com and comes just in time as she returns to the big screen for Disney‘s new movie, The Muppets. In the movie, the Sesame Street diva plays the role of H.P.I.C. (Head Piggy In Charge), as the plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris. The movie debuts November 23, but you can get a hold of her collection Nov.  14 -Dec. 5.  

This isn’t the first quirky pairing of beauty and pop culture for MAC. In 2010, MAC created a collection inspired by Disney’s most famous Venomous Villians, like Cruella De Vil of 101 Dalmatians.  The brand also has launched collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Wonder Woman.

Launch Date: November 14th, 2011 (North America), Online Only; November 14, 2011 (International) in select countries online only

Icon. Actress. Supermodel. Chanteuse. Muse. Frog-o-phile. Cinema and television superstar nonpareil. Generous glamour goddess that she is, Miss Piggy is sharing her beauty with the world via a limited-edition, online-exclusive, M·A·C collection for the eyes in celebration of her much anticipated return to the silver screen in Disney’s The Muppets, in theatres November 23. Say “oui” to Miss Piggy for M·A·C today!

Q&A WITH MISS PIGGY

Tell us about what it was like collaborating with M·A·C on a collection that captures your iconic beauty look.

Oh I adore collaboration—especially when everyone is there to listen to what I have to say and do exactly what I tell them to. And those fabulously talented people at M·A·C did just that. They were more than willing to listen, learn and be inspired by moi, so they could get the pink eye shadow just right, the flutter of the lashes just perfect, the texture of the eye liner just so. Best of all, they did all the work while I did all the talking! Très fantastique!

What was it like working with James Gager, Senior Vice President and Creative Director, and Jennifer Balbier, Senior Vice President for Global Product Development?

Ah yes, James and Jennifer…..Uh, what were those names again? Gager and Balbier? Sorry, not ringing a bell. But if I met them and they were important, I love them and can’t wait to see them again. You see, Jimmy and Jennie as I called them, seemed to understand moi’s very soul. And best of all, they understood moi’s desire to make the collection worthy of comparison with other iconic M·A·C “diva” collections (Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper’s Viva Glam campaigns and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday) while inevitably surpassing all of them.

Tell us about your typical beauty routine when you’re on set. Does it differ from your every day beauty routine?

At home and on the set, my beauty routine is the same. I sit in a chair while a squadron of stylists, manicurists, cosmetologists, hairologists and so forth hover around and make magic. Then, I open my eyes, look in the mirror and voila…perfection! The advantage of doing this on set is that someone else pays for it. How would you describe your style in your upcoming film, “The Muppets”? I play an editor at Vogue Paris, so naturally I had to wear the most au courant couture and meet all the top designers in the world. (Naturally, we hit it off like gangbusters. Trust moi, you haven’t partied til you’ve ridden in a cab down the Champs-Élysées singing show tunes with a passel of Parisian designers!) So, I would have to say that moi inspired designers who, in turn, designed clothes that captured the essense of moi. It’s a win-win all the around, n’est ce-pas?

Any style advice for your fans? Can anyone wear the products from the Miss Piggy inspired M·A·C collection?

You can’t be moi, but this is the next best thing. This collection is perfect for any skin tone, goes with any wardrobe choices…and will help vous find your personal style. To moi, style is all about having fun! You are you! Go for it! Get glam! Have fun! Laugh in the face of critics! Scoff at cynics! Chortle in front of rude people! You got it sister, so make the most of it! That is what this collection is all about – celebrating the absolute joy of being vous, embellished and enhanced by the magic of moi! (Ooh, that’s good. I should trademark that!) And remember, true beauty comes from loving yourself. So go ahead: love yourself. And if that proves a problem, might I suggest loving moi?

Eyeshadow ($15.00 U.S. / $18.00 CDN)

• Miss Piggy Pink Mid-tone blue-pink (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Penultimate Liner ($17.50 U.S. / $21.00 CDN)

• Rapidblack Black

Lash ($15.00 U.S. / $18.00 CDN)

• #36 Lash Full lash, creates a naturally dramatic look

I NUOVI Cosmetics, What a Find!

I recently had the good fortune of receiving full size samples of I Nuovi Cosmetics,  courtesy of my dear friend Margaret Kimura. Margaret is a well-respected Hollywood Makeup Artist, author of Asian Beauty, and founder of the MKC Academy of Fashion, Beauty and Print. 

Margaret Kimura in action. 

I Nuovi Cosmetics originates out of Singapore and boasts development and production out of France and Italy. I was impressed to learn about the exclusive retail stores I Nuovi operates overseas as well as the breadth of its portfolio, which includes professional airbrush equipment and a whole array of false eyelashes. 

I Nuovi Store Displays

Check Out This Lash Assortment! 

I immediately fell in love with the Metallogy eye shadow in Pewter, Megalips VelvetShine in Harajuku Chic, and Illumina Skin Illuminating Pre-Makeup Base, which can actually be used as a gorgeous highlighter.

Metallogy Eye Shadow

Megalips VelvetShine

Illumina Pre-Makeup Base

Give me a shout if you've tried I Nuovi before and what you think. 

Consumers may stick with cheaper cosmetics, survey suggests

The trading down to cheaper cosmetic and toiletry products that has characterized the economic downturn may be here to stay, a new survey suggests.

A survey carried out by US-based McKinsey & Company into the consumer habits of Americans shows that cosmetics companies targeting the prestige market may be disappointed if they think consumers will return to them with the end of the recession.

It has been well documented over the past 18 months that the economic downturn has impacted companies marketing more expensive products, but confidence that consumers will switch back to more expensive spending patterns may be short lived.

Historically previous recessions have seen consumers quickly switch back to their previous spending patterns, but, according to the McKinsey survey, satisfaction with lower-priced goods could win consumer loyalty.

Lower-prices have proved a recession winner

The McKinsey survey showed that in all consumer goods categories an average of 18 percent of consumers had switched to buying lower-priced products during the course of the past two years.

More interestingly the survey revealed that 46 per cent of respondents reported that they felt the lower-priced goods they purchased performed better than expected, while a majority reported that the performance was much better than expected.

As a consequence of their experiences with lower-priced goods, 34 per cent of those surveyed said they no longer preferred more expensive goods, while 41 percent said they still preferred the prestige brands but did not think it was worth paying the extra money.

Clear switch to lower-priced cosmetics

Backing up the survey results the personal care market in the US has seen a clear switch to lower-priced products, which has particularly benefited private label players that supply major mass market outlets such as Wal-Mart and CVS.

This trade down has impacted some of the world’s biggest personal care players, including L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble, both of which recorded falling sales during the course of 2009 for the first time in many years.

Both players target the mass prestige category, an area of the market that has most suffered from consumer trading down to products that can be more than half the price of prestige brands, and, as the survey suggests, do the job just as effectively.

Prestige players fight back

To counter the threat from private label and lower-priced brands, L’Oreal focused on marketing smaller-sized versions of its leading brands, while P&G concentrated on discounting, but both of these measures have impacted profits.

Industry experts such as Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner with Milan-based Bain & Company, which monitors global prestige cosmetic and fragrance brands, believe that although the category will continue to struggle in 2010, it should show signs of a recovery by 2011.

However, if the McKinsey survey is anything to go by, the extent of such a recovery is likely to depend on how long consumers remain satisfied with trading down to lower-priced personal care products.

Source: Cosmetics Design

Hard Candy Pops into Wal-Mart

It's official. Hard Candy has found a new cozy home at Wal-Mart. You may recall that the uber-edgy brand was originally launched in 1995 as a line of car-paint inspired nail polishes by young USC pre-med student-turned-entrepreneur Dineh Mohajer, who decided to mix her own polish to match her platform sandals. Hard Candy reached mega stardom when Alicia Silverstone donned 'Sky' (light blue) during her guest appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. The brand was sold to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 1999 and was sold again to Falic Fashion Group three years later.

More recently, Falic inked a deal with NuWorld Beauty, marketers of the mary-kateandashley beauty line at Wal-Mart. From there, steps toward entry into Wal-Mart began. The new line encompasses 261 items including shimmer lip glosses, baked eye shadow duos, glitter liquid eyeliner, volumizing mascara and eyeliner pencils that double as hair sticks. Pricing is about $7 an item. The line will debut in 3,000 Wal-Mart doors come September.