Beauty M&A in 2023 is already off to a hot start.

A flurry of deals kickstarted the 12 months despite concerns the U.S. could tip into recession. Procter & Gamble signed a deal to acquire Mielle, a Black-founded textured hair care brand, for an undisclosed sum, while L’Oréal’s enterprise capital fund BOLD has been energetic, making minority investments in French metaverse developer Digital Village and temporary tattoo-maker Prinker Korea Inc.

Here is an inventory of all the sweetness acquisitions and investments thus far in 2023:

December

Unilever is about to accumulate buzzy biotech hair care brand K18, as a part of a wider strategy to speculate in high-growth premium categories, construct up its “power brands,” and spend money on research and development.

After successfully betting on sunscreen brand Supergoop, Cult Capital has its eyes on stackable beauty. The buyer-facing investment firm has made a $5 million Series A investment in Subtl Beauty, a convenience-focused makeup brand founded by Rachel Reid in 2018. Two existing investors, Grouse Ridge Capital and Innovation Works, pushed the whole as much as $5.5 million.

True Beauty Ventures has invested in Iris&Romeo, which was founded in 2019 and is currently sold in Credo Beauty.

Estée Lauder Cos., the American beauty conglomerate, has agreed to take a minority stake in Chinese fragrance label Melt Season. The deal was made through the corporate’s early investment and incubation arm, Latest Incubation Ventures, or NIV.

More of bankrupt Amyris’ brands have found latest homes at auction, with a minimum of one celebrity investor getting their brand back. Stripes, the menopausal brand founded in partnership with Naomi Watts, has been sold for $500,000 to Sakana LLC, with the “Mulholland Drive” and “King Kong” actress listed as managing member. AA Investments (HK) Ltd. will buy Rose Inc, the makeup brand that was a three way partnership with supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, for $2.5 million. Hair care brand JVN Hair founded with “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness was sold to investment firm Windsong Global for $1.25 million. Windsong also won the bid for clean baby care brand Pipette. Biossance, regarded as its most successful creation, was sold to online beauty retailer THG Beauty, formerly often called The Hut Group, for $20 million. 4U by Tia and Menolabs also found buyers.

Sara Happ Inc. has a latest investor. The brand sold a minority stake within the business to BGM Ventures, helmed by Greg Cooper and industry veteran Robert Mihin. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, though Cooper will join the corporate as chief executive officer.

L’Oréal is increase its microbiome research know-how with the acquisition of Lactobio, a Danish probiotic and microbiome research company. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

November

Beauty brand Yepoda closed a series A funding round led by JamJar Investments and involving former Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. executive Chris Good, who will join the label not only as investor but in addition as adviser. Additional funding for the round got here from V3 Ventures, led by Treatwell founder Lopo Champalimaud, and Slingshot Ventures. 

Lalique Group signed a worldwide fragrance license with Japanese jeweler Mikimoto, famed for its pearl creations. The license, which pertains to a group of perfumes and crystal editions, will initially run through 2035.

Innerskin aesthetic clinic raised 5 million euros to assist speed up its growth. The fundraising was led by Label Capital — which was founded by Véronique Morali, Eléonore Oudea and Gaspard de Sarnez — alongside strategic co-investors, including CF Partners, the Carle family office, and existing investors.

After its partners made an early investment in Drybar, Stride is getting deeper into hair with Minneapolis-based hair care brand Odele. The private equity firm just made a minority investment in Odele — a phonetic riff off of the Norwegian phrase å dele, which suggests “to share.” The brand was launched in 2020 by Lindsay Holden, Britta Chatterjee and Shannon Kearney, who together bring experience in retail, marketing and manufacturing in each big-box stores and smaller corporations, from General Mills and hair care company Renpure to Goal. 

Haut.AI, a generative AI start-up within the beauty space, raised 2 million euros in its first external fundraising round. The seed funding comes from LongeVC, a biotech and longevity enterprise capital firm, and the VC branch of Grupo Boticário shareholders.

Natura & Co is officially selling The Body Shop to personal equity firm Aurelius Investment in a deal valuing the chain at 207 million kilos, it was revealed Tuesday. The closing of the transaction is anticipated to occur by yearend and is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Aesthetic Partners, a number one clinical aesthetics-focused practice management company, received a minority investment from San Franciso based investment firm Norwest. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Luxe oxygenated skincare brand Element Eight closed a $6 million funding round. The brand raised $2.5 million from existing investors and an extra $3.5 million from latest investors, pushing the whole raised up to now as much as $7.9 million. 

Zegna signed a licensing cope with Give Back Beauty for the creation, production, marketing and distribution of fragrance and cosmetics for the brand, based on a joint statement from the 2 corporations. Zegna’s beauty license was previously held by The Estée Lauder Cos., which wound down its designer fragrances division in 2021.

October

 L’Oréal has sold green beauty brand Sanoflore to French investment fund Ekkio Capital and Sergio Calandri, Sanoflore’s latest chief executive officer, who can be the founding father of Inula Group, which has other natural product brands.

 Swiss fragrance and flavors supplier Symrise AG raised its stake in Kobo Products Inc., a U.S.-based pigment and powder specialist for the sweetness industry, to 49 percent.

Beauty distributor and most recently brand incubator SuperOrdinary raised $58 million in a Series B fundraising round, bringing the corporate’s valuation to greater than $800 million. 

SkinSpirit acquired Truth + BeautyMedspa in Roslyn Heights, Latest York.

Fragrance brand Ellis Brooklyn closed a $9 million Series A investment round led by enterprise firm REDO Ventures. 

Trafilea Tech E-commerce Group acquired direct-to-consumer clean skincare brand The Spa Dr. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Swiss chemicals company Clariant agreed to accumulate Lucas Meyer Cosmetics, maker of high-value energetic and functional cosmetics ingredients, from International Flavors and Fragrances for $810 million.

FounderSix, the influencer beauty brand incubator behind Allie Glines’ Ravie Beauty, Alex Renee’s Ary World and Lauren Perez’s Anablue, gained a latest investment. The incubator, which was founded in 2020, raised $12 million from KD Capital. The firm has previously invested in OkCupid, ShopRunner, Spot Hero and Teleon Health, amongst other corporations, based on its website.

Líha Beauty, the sleek natural and organic skin- and home-care brand mixing West Africa’s wealthy plant and traditional heritage with English aromatherapy, closed a 1-million-pound funding round. The investor was private equity, based on Líha Okunniwa, who cofounded the brand with Abi Oyepitan in 2017. The sustainable label had raised 200,000 kilos just prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

September

L’Oréal has agreed to take a minority stake in Shinehigh Innovation, a Chinese innovation-led biotech company specializing in supramolecular chemistry.

Pierre Fabre Laboratoires has taken a minority stake in MiYé, the French skincare and dietary supplements brand specializing in women’s hormonal balance and well-being.

The Estée Lauder Cos.‘ investment arm, Latest Incubation Ventures, has taken a minority stake in Code Mint, a Chinese clean beauty label.

Customized beauty company Proven has raised a $12.2 million Series A from existing investors, with NewH2 Ventures acting as lead investor. Proven, which already raised around $9 million in previous rounds, operates two brands: Proven Skincare, the AI-powered, personalized skincare brand launched in 2019, and Noteworthy, a customized fragrance line that launched earlier this 12 months. 

Celebrity aesthetician Angela Caglia’s namesake brand has received funding from former Sephora chief executive officer Martin Brok. Terms weren’t disclosed.

L Catterton has taken a minority stake in Maria Nil, with a view to step up the Swedish sustainable skilled hair care brand’s growth and international expansion.

Eighth Day received a minority investment from L Catterton.

August

E.l.f. Beauty signed an agreement to accumulate Naturium for $355 million. It’s a part of a broader strategy to provide the corporate cachet in skin, which could comprise 18 percent of retail sales after the sale is accomplished.

Coty renewed its license with Adidas. It has partnered with the activewear giant because the ‘90s and introduced its first product within the U.S. in 1999 with the Adidas Moves for Him scent.

American Exchange Group has acquired HatchCollective because it looks for an even bigger slice of the beauty and private care market. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Personal care brand Evolvetogether, launched by Cynthia Sakai through the pandemic with masks that were worn by the likes of Justin Bieber and Vice President Kamala Harris, has secured funding from some well-known names within the beauty industry. The seed round was led by True Beauty Ventures, with participation from G9 Ventures and Gregg Renfrew, the founding father of Beautycounter. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed, but sources told WWD Evolvetogether is on course to hit $10 million in sales.

Kao Corp. has signed an agreement to accumulate Australian sun care brand Bondi Sands, as the sweetness category heats up.

July

Irene Forte Skincare has secured a minority investment from L Catterton. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

GlossGenius, a software platform for beauty salons, has raised $28 million in series C funding. The equity round was led by L Catterton Growth Fund, with participation from Bessemer Enterprise Partners and Imaginary Ventures at a $510 million valuation.

Hair care line Bread Beauty Supply has raised a multimillion-dollar seed funding round, led by Fearless Fund, a enterprise capital fund focused on supporting women of color entrepreneurs. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Coty sold a 3.6 percent stake in Wella to investment firm IGF Wealth Management, with the money proceeds for use to pay down debt.

June

OurX, a direct-to-consumer platform with the mission of making a latest standard for tightly textured hair and scalp care via education, personalized regimens and its own product line, raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Reign Ventures.

Kering Beauté acquired Creed, the high-end area of interest fragrance house that’s controlled by BlackRock Long Term Private Capital Europe and the present chairman Javier Ferrán. Financial terms of the all-cash transaction weren’t disclosed, but industry sources estimate it was for roughly $1.5 billion.

Curio Brands, the parent company of Thymes and Capri Blue, acquired Otherland, the candle company founded in 2017 by Abigail Cook Stone, which is distributed in Sephora, Nordstrom and Anthropologie.

May

Skin Pharm, an aesthetic skincare practice that has its own product line, received a minority investment from Prelude Growth Partners. The $15 million investment from the female-founded growth equity firm will fund the corporate’s clinic expansion plans nationwide and contribute to ongoing product development, each parties said in an announcement.

Natura & Co.’s enterprise capital fund Fable Investments has increased its stake in Perfumer H, the fragrance brand of perfumer Lyn Harris, with a view to help extend its product line, bolster its management team and support expansion in Asia.

Juliette Has a Gun has raised a latest round of funding, with Cathay Capital private equity group raising its stake within the area of interest French fragrance brand and Weinberg Capital Partners taking a minority share.

FemTec Health’s Birchbox assets were purchased by Retention Brands through an task for the good thing about creditors.

Virtue Labs has raised a latest financing round led by Clearasil and Only for Men owner Combe, its majority shareholder.

April

Henkel AG has finalized the sale of its business activities in Russia to a consortium of local financial investors for 54 billion rubles, or $689.6 million. The German maker of Schwarzkopf, Dial and Diadermine products had announced on April 20 its signing of an agreement to sell that activity, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Henry Rose, the genderless effective fragrance brand founded by Michelle Pfeiffer, has gained a Series A investment led by Sandbridge Capital, its first external investment since its launch in 2019. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Oprah Winfrey has invested an undisclosed amount in Dr. Barbara Sturm’s skincare brand.

Oddity, the parent company of Il Makiage and Spoiled Child, has acquired Boston-based biotechnology startup Revela for $76 million. With the acquisition and an extra $25 million investment, the corporate will establish Oddity Labs in Boston.

Ceremonia, the Latinx clean hair care brand launched in 2020, has raised $10 million to support its recent expansion to greater than 500 Sephora stores with a series A investment round led by Sandbridge Capital.

L Catterton is betting once more on the founders of Tula Skincare. The private equity firm has just made a “significant” growth investment in color cosmetics brand Dibs Beauty, launched in September 2021 by Tula Skincare founders Ken Landis (who also cofounded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and Dan Reich, with Austin, Texas-based influencer Courtney Shields and former chief operating officer of A-Rod Corp Jeff Lee. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

Famille C Participations, the Courtin family’s holding company, has taken a majority stake in Pai Skincare to assist step up the brand’s growth and switch it into selective distribution’s clean skincare leader.

Abeo, the digital beauty sampling platform, has a latest owner. The corporate, which launched in 2020 as an element of Arcade Beauty, has been acquired by Sampler, which provides users with free, personalized samples across categories like food and beauty. The acquisition marks a push within the latter category.

Pierre Fabre announced it had acquired Même, a dermocosmetics line formulated specifically for girls with sensitive skin because of cancer treatments. 

L’Oréal invested in DSG Consumer Partners IV, the fourth fund of Singapore-based enterprise capital DSGCP, focused on growing early-stage consumer brand startups across Southeast Asia and India 

L’Oréal has signed an agreement to accumulate Aesop, the Australian luxury personal care company, from Natura & Co. The proposed transaction values Aesop at an enterprise value of greater than $2.5 billion.

TrueNose, a medical aesthetics brand that makes a speciality of non-surgical nose jobs founded by president Menaka Sampath, has been acquired by Aesthetic Holdings, a Denver-based medical aesthetics company with multiple medspa subsidiaries.

March

Latest Incubation Ventures, the early-stage, strategic investing and incubation arm of The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., has taken a minority stake in Vyrao, the British fragrance brand that guarantees way over pleasing scents.

Matter of Fact has closed its second round of funding, to the tune of $6 million. The brand, founded by Paul Baek in 2021, closed a round of additional funding with participation from Horizon Ventures and Cowboy Ventures, along with James and Nicky Hilton Rothschild, in addition to Birchbox cofounder Hayley Barna. That brings Matter of Fact’s total funding to $16 million. The corporate raised $10 million in seed funding in 2021.

Natural skincare brand True Botanicals has gained a series B investment from San Francisco-based growth equity firm NextWorld Evergreen. Although terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, WWD last 12 months reported that True Botanicals had tapped investment bank Moelis & Company to judge deal options, with sources noting on the time that the brand was projecting sales of around $50 million for 2022.

L’Oréal has invested within the Geno-led initiative centered on developing, producing and commercializing biotechnology-based alternatives to key beauty product ingredients. L’Oréal, which made its investment through BOLD, the group’s corporate enterprise fund, didn’t disclose terms of the investment.

Robertet Group has acquired Aroma Esencial, a Spanish company that makes a speciality of processing natural aroma-related products, equivalent to vetiver, patchouli, cedar and ylang-ylang.

February

Live Tinted has closed a Series A fundraising round of $10 million led by Monogram Capital Partners. Other investors are Unilever Ventures, Devonshire Partners and Silas Capital. The wonder brand has secured $15 million up to now.

The Beauty Health Company, owner of Hydrafacial, has agreed to accumulate SkinStylus, an FDA-cleared microneedling device. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Beauty Health said that upon successful integration of SkinStylus into its portfolio, the corporate expects upside from the acquisition in 2024 and beyond.

Givaudan, the world’s largest fragrance and flavors supplier, is acquiring certain cosmetic ingredients from California-based biotechnology player Amyris, including its sugarcane-derived squalane, a sustainable alternative to that present in deep-sea shark livers. Amyris will proceed to fabricate ingredients for Givaudan to make use of in cosmetics. Givaudan will change into the commercialization partner for future sustainable beauty ingredients. 

Sustainable beauty brand Caliray has raised a Series A round. The California-based brand launched in 2021 by Urban Decay founder Wende Zomnir has received latest financing led by True Beauty Ventures, the early stage beauty and wellness focused investment fund run by Wealthy Gersten and Cristina Nuñez.

IFF has entered into an agreement to sell its Flavor Specialty Ingredients (FSI) business to UK-based private equity firm Exponent for $220 million in money proceeds. FSI reports through IFF’s Scent division and is a manufacturer of synthetic and natural base aroma chemicals utilized in the flavour market. Money proceeds from the transaction, net of taxes and expenses, will likely be used to scale back outstanding debt, IFF said.

Unilever has sold the Suave business in North America to Yellow Wood Partners, a non-public equity firm. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Unilever will maintain ownership of the brand.

Miley Cyrus has invested in self-tanning brand Dolce Glow, partnering with founder Isabel Vita.

Symrise took a minority interest in Synergio, an Israeli biotech company that makes a speciality of the event of natural and sustainable solutions to be utilized in advanced plant-based technology destined for consumer goods products. Symrise didn’t give financial terms of the deal, but said it has the chance to accumulate a majority stake of Synergio’s share capital in the longer term.

January

Australian scalp care brand Straand secured $2 million pre-seed investment from Unilever Ventures.

Makeup by Mario received a $40 million minority growth investment from Provenance, a consumer-focused private investment firm, and Silas Capital, an emerging growth equity and enterprise capital firm.

Thirteen Lune, the inclusive beauty platform founded by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, raised $8 million in a seed plus investment round, with latest participation from The BrainTrust Fund.

AS Beauty, a three way partnership between Alan and Joey Shamah, the founders of E.l.f. Beauty, and the Azrak family, who previously ran and sold a pajama business, has added the skin-focused, spa-inspired Bliss World brand to its roster because it looks to diversify its portfolio into skincare. Its current brand lineup consists of Laura Geller Beauty, Julep Beauty, Mally Beauty and Cover FX. It was previously owned by L Catterton.

Glamsquad, the digital platform that permits users to attach with beauty professionals like hairstylists, makeup artists and nail technicians, received a minority investment from Boathouse Capital.

Coty Inc. and Jil Sander renewed their licensing agreement. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Coty in an announcement called it a “long-running partnership between the 2 corporations.”

German fragrance and flavors supplier Symrise took part in a Series A funding round of Ignite Enterprise Studios, which creates and invests in start-up ventures linked to beauty, health and wellness. It is predicated within the U.S. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed.

P&G Beauty has acquired Mielle Organics, a Black-founded textured hair care brand, for an undisclosed sum, with the founders stressing that the deal will increase availability of products, and that there are not any plans to alter formulas.

American packaging manufacturer GPA Global acquired Cosfibel Group, a France-based maker of luxury promotional packaging, luxury gifting and merchandising solutions. Financial terms of the deal, which provides GPA a powerful European footprint, weren’t disclosed.

L’Oréal took a minority stake in temporary tattoo-maker Prinker Korea Inc. through its corporate enterprise fund BOLD.

Glowbar, known for its 30-minute, $65 facial, has received a $10 million Series A funding. The round was led by Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City-based firm whose investments have included Allbirds, Solidcore, Bonobos, Rails Clothing and Madison Reed. 

L’Oréal’s enterprise capital fund BOLD and the British Fashion Council were amongst participants in a $4 million funding round for French metaverse developer Digital Village.