Updated: Dec. 23

Beauty M&A deals have showed nearly no signs of slowing, despite the continued coronavirus pandemic.

Just a number of weeks into 2021, there have already been multiple billion-dollar beauty M&A deals, including the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.’s deal to amass the remaining of Deciem, parent company of The Extraordinary, and Shiseido inking a deal to sell its personal care business to CVC Capital.

There have also been smaller deals, as enterprise capitalists proceed to back beauty firms. 

Here is an inventory of the sweetness M&A transactions up to now in 2021:

January

Paper Cosmetics, a direct-to-consumer natural and sustainable deodorant brand, closed a funding round. Terms weren’t disclosed.

SuperOrdinary received a minority investment from Alliance Consumer Growth. SuperOrdinary helps U.S. beauty brands expand into China, and has worked with The Extraordinary, Olaplex, Drunk Elephant and other brands.

Coty Inc. closed on a minority investment in Kim Kardashian West’s beauty business, KKW Beauty. The $200 million investment gave Coty a 20 percent stake within the business.

Perfect Corp. raised a $50 million Series C round led by Goldman Sachs. Perfect Corp. develops artificial reality and artificial intelligence technology utilized in virtual try-on apps for the sweetness industry.

Curlsmith, a brand that makes a speciality of textured hair, raised a Series A led by BFG Partners.

Hero Cosmetics got a minority investment from Aria Growth Partners, a recent private equity firm. Hero is best known for its Mighty Patch line of hydrocolloid pimples patches, but has also branched into other skincare products.

Cathay Capital took a minority stake in Juliette Has a Gun, a French fragrance business.

Reckitt Benckiser acquired feminine care brand Queen V, which makes vaginal health products for girls.

Amyris Inc., the biotechnology company behind Biossance, said it’s going to acquire Terasana, a clean CBD brand.

Gemma Labs, a data-driven hair care business, raised $2.75 million from PSL Ventures and other individual investors.

Thirteen Lune raised $1 million from family and friends, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Naomi Watts and Gregg Renfrew of Beautycounter.

San Francisco Equity Partners acquired natural beauty manufacturer Smith & Vandiver Corp.

February

Dame Products, which makes vibrators, raised $4 million in seed funding for women-run enterprise firms.

CVC Capital signed a deal to purchase Shiseido’s personal care brands, including Tsubaki, Senka, Uno and Sea Breeze. The brands are expected to be transferred right into a three way partnership run by CVC in July.

L’Oréal finalized the acquisition of Takami, a Japanese skincare brand.

Skin Inc Complement Bar, a skincare line focused on customization, raised $7 million from Singapore-based investment fund Mistletoe.

WellBiz Brands Inc. acquired the franchise rights for Drybar’s salon business, which incorporates 141 Drybar salons.

Givaudan is buying Myrissi, an AI business that translates fragrances into color patterns and pictures.

CBD wellness brand Beam raised $5 million in Series A funding. The business was launched by former athletes Matt Lombardi and Kevin Moran and is concentrated on topicals for pain relief.

Art of Sport — founded by Matthais Metternich, Brian Lee and the late Kobe Bryant — secured $6 million in funding led by entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

The Estée Lauder Cos. said it will acquire the remaining of Deciem, the parent company of The Extraordinary. Lauder is increasing its 29 percent stake within the business to 76 percent, valuing Deciem at $2.2 billion, and in three years, Lauder plans to purchase the remaining of the corporate at a to-be-determined valuation.

Madison Reed, which focuses on clean, at-home hair color, has raised $52 million with plans to launch more products, open more Color Bars and ramp up technology.

111Skin, the high-end skincare line from London plastic surgeon Yannis Alexandrides, has received an investment from Vaultier7.

Inflection has invested in Pangaea Laboratories, the owner of Medik8 skincare.

March 

Amyris said it plans to purchase clean Costa Brazil, a clean skincare business. Founder Francisco Costa will join Amyris as chief creative officer.

Yatsen Holding, the parent company of Perfect Diary, has signed a deal to amass Eve Lom from Manzanita Capital.

Fueguia 1833 has gotten a minority equity investment from Ilwaddi WLL. The plan is to speed up distribution for the area of interest fragrance line, and to expand manufacturing abilities.

AS Beauty, the owner of Julep and Laura Geller, has acquired Mally Beauty, the sweetness brand of celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal. Mally Beauty is sold on QVC, Amazon, Tmall and by itself website.

Curls, a hair care line for individuals with textured hair, has gotten a minority investment from Beauty By Imagination, which also owns WetBrush, Goody, Ouidad and Bio Ionic. Mahisha Dellinger, the founding father of Curls, will remain Curls’ majority and controlling owner, and can proceed to steer the brand. She is going to proceed to concentrate on innovation and expand the corporate’s give-back programs, which concentrate on developing the subsequent generation of Black female entrepreneurs. She may also join the BBI board. Under BBI, Curls plans to expand distribution.

Core Equity Holdings has taken a majority stake in Franck Provost’s hair care empire, Provalliance.

American Securities, a personal equity firm, has agreed to amass Conair, which owns the Cuisinart, Conair, Babyliss, Scunci and Waring brands. Members of the founding Rizzuto family will retain minority ownership.

Eco-friendly fragrance brand Maison J.U.S. has raised 600,000 euros from angel investors.

NewSpring Franchise, a lower middle market private equity fund, has invested in Blo Blow Dry Bar. Blo has greater than 100 locations in North America.

Hub.cycle, which converts fruit and vegetable waste into raw materials for the private care and industries has raised 1.5 million Euros.

Encore Consumer Capital has invested in Love Wellness, a women’s health and wellness firms that makes supplements and vitamins that was founded by reality television star Lauren Bosworth. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

L’Oréal has made a minority investment in environmental start-up Gjosa, which is concentrated on saving water. The 2 have worked together for years with an aim to optimize shampoo rinse technology with a view to save water. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Sakara Life, which expects to achieve $150 million in sales this yr and is profitable, has raised a $15 million Series B from One Higher Ventures, Silas Capital and existing investor Annox Capital. The business has also appointed John Replogle, former CEO of Seventh Generation and Burt’s Bees chairman of the board. He’s tasked with helping to grow the corporate — which right away focuses on food — right into a multi-category lifestyle business with beauty and private care products.

A Cornell Capital-led investor group has acquired a nutrition and wellness R&D, manufacturing and marketing business called INW I Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness, which also owns U.K.-based dietary complement maker Bee Health. Cornell Capital plans to duplicate the strategy it used to grow KDC-One, which has included several add-on acquisitions, to grow INW right into a nutrition and wellness manufacturing powerhouse.

Harry’s has raised a $155 million Series E from Bain Capital and Macquarie Capital, following the termination of a planned take care of Edgewell. The brand new fundraise values Harry’s at $1.7 billion.

April 

Bain Capital has acquired a majority stake in personal care brand Hand in Hand, a private care company.

Men’s skincare brand Disco raised a $5 million seed round led by Midnight Enterprise Partners.

Mielle Organics inked a significant investment deal — somewhere between $100 million and $1 billion — with Berkshire Partners, which made a minority investment within the business.

Famille C Enterprise, the private investment firm of the Courtin-Clarins family, has made a $9 million Series B investment in Pai Skincare.

General Atlantic invested $80 million for a minority stake in Vegamour, a hair care brand centered around hair growth.

The Carlyle Group bought a majority stake in Beautycounter that values the business at $1 billion. Founder and CEO Gregg Renfrew said the corporate plans to ramp up marketing and proceed constructing out the omnichannel distribution strategy.

Nylah’s Naturals, which makes products for textured hair, has raised 50,000 kilos from Sara Davies after an appearance on BBC television show “Dragon’s Den.”

CurlMix parent company Listener Brands has raised greater than $2.9 million through a crowdfunding campaign. The corporate’s goal is to boost $5 million.

Amyris has signed a deal to purchase 70 percent of EcoFabulous Cosmetics, a Gen Z-focused beauty brand that was founded by The Balm founder Marissa Shipman.

Bloomeffects, a tulip-based skincare brand, has raised $2 million in seed funding.

Clean hair care brand Ceremonia has raised $2 million in seed funding in a round led by Silas Capital and Beliade.

Nestlé has entered an agreement with KKR and The Carlyle Group to amass brands from The Bountiful Company for $5.75 billion. The brands include Nature’s Bounty, Solgar, Osteo-Bi-Flex and Puritan’s Pride.

May

L Catterton has invested in Indonesian beauty and e-commerce business Social Bella International, which does business as Sociolla. The location sells makeup, skincare, hair care, fragrance and sweetness tools.

Cherry Pick AI has been acquired by 100.co, a man-made intelligence business. Cherry Pick’s platform analyzes images and consumer reviews, and using AI and data evaluation, goals to find out beauty product needs and market fit before firms manufacture products.

Prestige body care brand Maëlys has received a minority investment of $30 million from Norwest.

Nestle Health Science has signed a deal to amass Nuun, a functional hydration brand that makes electrolyte tablets.

TPG Growth has invested in Ideal Image, a provider of aesthetic services including Botox.

The Hut Group has acquired skincare and hair care product manufacturer Bentley Laboratories LLC for $255 million. Bentley manufactures Perricone, which THG bought in 2020.

Nexus Capital Management LP has invested in Sky Organics, an organic beauty and private care brand that makes mass market products available at Amazon, CVS, Whole Foods and other retailers.

Firmenich has made a minority investment in Essential Labs LLC, a supplier to area of interest home fragrance firms. Firmenich said the deal would allow it to achieve smaller businesses.

Prima, the CBD beauty and wellness brand launched by Christopher Gavigan, has closed a $9.2 million Seed round led by Greycroft, H Ventures, Defy and Lerer Hippeau with participation from Adam Zeplain, Global Founders Capital, Emerald Health, One Gun and Purple Arch Ventures. Prima will use the cash for research and development and operational infrastructure.

Lauryn Bosstick’s The Skinny Confidential has raised $1 million in seed funding for its anti-inflammatory beauty brand, which currently sells a face oil and an ice roller.

Korean men’s grooming brand Cardon has raised a $2 million seed round from Bon Angels, Mirae Asset Enterprise Investments and Strong Ventures. The business goals to take K-grooming global, and can use the funds to scale product lines, enhance the shopper experience and construct the team.

Ever/Body has raised a $38 million Series B from Tiger Global Management, Addition, Fifth Wall, MetaProp and Gaingels. The cosmetic dermatology practice intends to open more locations, in addition to launch a product line.

Incubator HatchBeauty Brands has acquired Trendalytics, a consumer analytics platform that goals to assist partners make calculated buying decisions. Hatch said the deal will help its product pipeline.

Core Industrial has acquired beauty manufacturer Marianna Beauty Holdings LLC with plans to mix operations with Arizona Natural Resources.

Faculty has raised a $3 million seed round led by the Estée Lauder Cos. The brand goals to redefine masculinity, and makes nail lacquer and nail stickers.

June

Yellow Wood Partners has closed a deal to purchase the remaining of Scholl footcare, bringing the worldwide Scholl and Dr. Scholl’s brands back together again after 30 years of separate ownership. The combined business has annual retail sales of greater than $700 million. Yellow Wood’s Dana Schmaltz has said there are growth opportunities in Dr. Scholl’s foot care line and in continuing to construct the brand’s e-commerce business.

General Atlantic has made a minority investment in Buff City Soap, a private care and laundry soap business that makes a speciality of handmade bar soaps. The business has 100 locations and the investment is supposed to permit it to open more stores and speed up e-commerce.

Athena Club, which sells personal care products online, has raised a $15 million Series A with goals of modernizing the buyer packaged goods industry and drugstore shopping.

Cornell Capital-backed Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness has acquired Capstone Nutrition, a manufacturer for health, functional food, immunity support, skincare and other products. Capstone focuses on capsules, tablets and powder products, and the deal is supposed to advance INW’s position within the wellness manufacturing space.

Zenoti, which provides software to the spa, salon and fitness industries, has raised $80 million from TPG Capital with plans to accumulate its platform through further M&A. Zenoti is now valued at $1.5 billion.

Waldencast has taken a stake in Kjaer Weis.

General Atlantic and Huda Kattan have invested in spa software Fresha as a part of a $100 million Series C round.

Iris&Romeo has raised capital from VC firm BrandProject with plans to develop additional hybrid beauty products. The brand makes Best Skin Days, a five-in-one hybrid makeup and skincare product, and saw 30 percent month-over-month growth through the pandemic.

Unilever has signed a deal to amass Paula’s Selection, for a price tag that industry sources say is around $2 billion. Paula’s Selection was an early adopter of direct-to-consumer sales and ingredient transparency in beauty.

House of Smart, a CBD wellness brand, has raised $2 million.

Waeve, a Black-owned business that launched with ready-to-wear wigs, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by Pillar VC, with participation from Maveron, former Glossier COO Henry Davis, former Glossier CTO Bryan Majoney, Glossier CMO Ali Weiss, and Pillpack co-founders TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen.

Kindra, which sells vaginal lotion and different dietary supplements geared towards women going through menopause, has raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Female Founder’s Fund. Primetime Partners, Anne and Susan Wojcicki, Katie Couric Media, The Community Fund and H Ventures also contributed. Kindra was incubated inside P&G Ventures.

Former Coty CEO Camillo Pane’s brand incubator, Present Life, has agreed to sell CBD brand Healist to Kadenwood.

Sexual wellness brand Maude has raised $5.8 million Series A round.

Dae, the hair care brand from influencer Amber Fillerup Clark, has raised a $2.6 million seed round from Willow Growth.

July 

Sexual wellness brand Cake has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau, with Sugar Capital, Brand Foundry Ventures, Selva Ventures, Silas Capital, Ollie co-founder Gabby Sloan, Starface co-founder Brian Bordainick and angel investor Kate Wallman.

Givaudan has bought a 25 percent stake in B.Kolormakeup & Skincare, with the choice to amass a controlling stake within the business after three years.

Loli Beauty has raised a seed round from Fable Investments, the enterprise fund of Natura & Co.

Oral beauty brand Highlight has raised $15 million via a minority investment from Development Capital, an Irish growth fund.

Glossier has raised an $80 million Series E, led by Lone Pine Capital.

Telehealth provider Hims has acquired Apostrophe, which offers virtual dermatology appointments and prescriptions.

Revlon has sold off Gatineau, knowledgeable skincare brand, to The Skincare Sanctuary, its U.K. distributor.

The Nue Co. has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Pamoja Capital.

IEVA Group has acquired Boudoir du Regard, which had been undergoing restructuring.

Eurazeo Brands has made a $53 million minority investment in Pangaea Holdings, the parent company of men’s grooming lines Lumin and Meridian. The business in total raised $68 million. Other investors included Unilever Ventures, GPO Fund and existing investors Base10 Partners and Gradient Ventures.

Huda Beauty’s Huda Kattan has invested in Ketish, a sexual wellness brand, via HB Angels.

Givaudan has invested in Next Beauty China, an incubator for emerging fragrance brands.

August

Function of Beauty has acquired Atolla with plans to expand further into skincare.

The Hut Group has signed a deal to purchase Cult Beauty for 275 million kilos.

Brandefy, an app that is supposed to assist consumers compare formulas, ingredients and costs of beauty products, has raised $1.7 million.

Il Makiage has acquired Voyage81, a man-made intelligence startup meant to assist show a wider range of colours, for $40 million.

Advent International is buying BareMinerals, Laura Mercier and Buxom from Shiseido for $700 million.

Crown Laboratories has signed a deal to purchase StriVectin, which has been backed by L Catterton since 2009.

September

JD.com and JIC are buying a minority stake in Lagargère Travel Retail Asia.

Essence Ventures has acquired BeautyCon out of foreclosure, and is bringing back original co-founder Marina Curry.

Beauty Pie Raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Index Ventures and Insight Partners.

Katherine Power’s Merit makeup brand has raised a $20 million Series A round led by L Catterton.

Puig has invested in Chinese fragrance brand Scent Library.

Live Tinted, the sweetness brand founded by Deepica Mutyala, has raised a seed round of greater than $3 million.

Sephora closed its deal to amass FeelUnique.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals has acquired DermaDoctor for $15 million. The customer said the brand complement’s its CelleRX Clinical Reset line, which can be meant to be highly effective yet gentle on skin. The DermaDoctor team has joined NovaBay as a part of the deal. NovaBay plans to introduce recent products for the CelleRx, Avenova and DermaDoctor brands.

October

LVMH has purchased Officine Universelle Buly 1803, a prestige perfume brand.

Highlander Partners has acquired a majority stake in RMS Beauty, the clean makeup brand from makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift.

Knowlton Development Corp. is acquiring V Manufacturing and Logistics, which focuses on manufacturing small batches of beauty and private care products.

Beaubble has raised one other funding round, bringing the brand’s total to greater than $2 million in funding. Bling Capital led the round, which also included investments from Graph Ventures, Goodwater Capital and YouTube’s former chief technology officer, Steve Chen.

Prime Matter Labs has acquired Cosmetic Development Laboratories to extend geographic coverage and production capability, because it goals to develop into the go-to manufacturer for indie beauty and private care brands.

Summit Partners has acquired a minority stake in Hairstory.

Blank-check company Higher for You Wellness Inc. has signed a letter of intent to amass Mary Louise Cosmetics, a natural beauty company founded by Akilah Releford. Releford will stay on board because the brand’s “chief visionary officer” and proceed to drive product development, the businesses said.

FemTec Health has acquired beauty subscription box Birchbox, in addition to Mira, a digital beauty shopping tool and search engine.

November

Thirteen Lune has raised a $3 million seed round led by Fearless Fund because the business expands with J.C. Penney and appears to launch a personal label beauty line.

Boost Lab Co, an Australian serum company, has raised a Series A round, bringing its total funding to greater than A$5 million. Boost makes seven different serums and was founded by Craig Schweighoffer. The business is planning for an IPO in Australia within the second half of 2022, in line with a spokesperson.

Gryphon Investors has acquired Revision Skincare and Goodier Cosmetics, with plans to proceed developing the product line and constructing out the corporate’s contract manufacturing business. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Revision is knowledgeable skincare line, while Goodier is a manufacturer for cosmetics and skincare.

NuSkin’s strategic investment arm, Rhyz Inc., has acquired Mavely, a social commerce platform, because it looks to construct out its social shopping capabilities. Mavely’s platform includes 40,000 content creators who become profitable by posting about dtc and retail brands, in addition to a social sales team that can assist firms’ customers transition to influencers. As a part of the deal, Mavely will proceed to operate as a standalone company, but will give you the chance to work with Nu Skin’s sales community, too. Nu Skin executives said Mavely’s technology will help its sales people “simplify and supercharge social selling.”

The Good Glamm Group has raised a $150 million Series D round, co-led by Warburg Pincus and Prosus Ventures. Alteria Capital and existing investors L’Occitane, Bessemer Enterprise Partners, Amazon, Ascent Capital and the Mankekar Family office also participated. The Good Glamm Group operates a portfolio of beauty and private care brands which are promoted online via content and creators on the corporate’s various web sites. The corporate’s brands include MyGlamm, a fast-growing cosmetics brand in India, MomsCo, a well-liked mom and baby brand in India, and Baby Chakra, a baby products brand. Good Glamm plans to make use of the capital to speculate in product developments, increase offline expansion and expand content creation capabilities.

Beauty device manufacturer and seller CurrentBody has sold a majority stake within the business to Ecomplete for 50 million kilos. CurrentBody was founded by Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman in 2009, and now operates 17 international web sites in addition to a physical store inside London’s House of Fraser. The business is ready to achieve 42.5 million kilos in sales for this yr, and goals to achieve 100 million kilos in the subsequent two years. EComplete is an e-commerce investment business launched by the previous head of beauty at The Hut Group, Paul Gedman, and wellness entrepreneur Andy Duckworth.

Skinfix has landed a minority investment from Stride Consumer Partners.

Pause Well-Aging is raising a $3 million seed round, led by Swiftarc Ventures.

Rare Beauty Brands has acquired Dr. Dana Beauty.

L’Occitane is acquiring Sol de Janeiro at a $450 million valuation. L’Occitane is buying 83 percent of the corporate, and founder and CEO Heela Yang is rolling over an ownership stake.

Givaudan has signed a deal to purchase Custom Essence, a U.S.-based fragrance formulation business that makes a speciality of natural fragrances. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Custom Essence’s business would have represented about $40 million in incremental sales for Givaudan in 2020, the corporate said.

Waldencast Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company related to personal equity firm Waldencast, has agreed to purchase Milk Makeup and Obagi, in a take care of a combined value of $1.2 billion. The transaction includes investors in Milk and Obagi taking stakes in Waldencast, because it goals to create a multi-brand beauty and wellness platform on the general public markets. The business can be run by founder Michel Brousset as chief executive officer, and Hind Sebti as chief operating officer.

Procter & Gamble has signed a deal to amass Farmacy Beauty.

SuperOrdinary has made a $25 million minority investment in Crea, which is supposed to permit it to expand across Southeast Asia.

Coty has signed a licensing brand with Orveda, the posh skincare line founded by Coty ceo Sue Nabi before she joined the corporate.

Holistic medicine and complement business Apothékary has raised $3.5 million that it plans to make use of to scale at retail within the U.K. and Canada. The business said it projects “eight-figure revenue” for 2021, and is profitable.

Stratia has received a $2 million investment from Fable Investments, the enterprise capital branch of Natura & Co.

Beautigloo, a French company that manufactures beauty fridges, has raised 2.7 million euros.

Shiny Lights Acquisitions Corp. has signed a deal to mix with men’s grooming company Manscaped. The deal values Manscaped at about $1 billion.

Galderma has signed a deal buy Alastin skincare. Alastin’s skilled skincare products, and Galderma plans to grow and expand the brand.

Edgewell has acquired women’s grooming brand Billie for $310 million, in an effort to expand within the mid-tier price segment for razors. The deal comes after several failed grooming deals, including Edgewell’s previous try to buy Harry’s, and P&G’s previous try to buy Billie. Each transactions were blocked by the FTC. Billie’s cofounders, Geogrina Gooley and Jason Bravman, will proceed leading the brand, which is able to expand into retail in 2022.

December

Sodalis has acquired Lornamead in Germany, and the Brisk, Rapid White and Tripe Dry brands within the U.K.

Multigenerational skincare brand Evereden has raised $32 million.

Procter & Gamble has entered the prestige hair care category by signing a deal to purchase Jen Atkin’s Ouai.

Direct-to-consumer skincare brand Facetheory has raised 10 million kilos.

The Center has raised $15 million from Prelude Growth Partners.

L’Oréal is acquiring Youth to the People.

Universal Beauty Group has raised 6 million euros.

Harry’s has acquired Lume, which makes full body deodorizing products.

Eurazeo Brands has acquired a control stake in Beekman 1802, a microbiome-focused skincare line.

Inter Parfums has signed a 10-year fragrance licensing take care of Emanuel Ungaro.

Market research company Suzy Inc. has acquired beauty data company Poshly.

Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery has acquired Englert Dermatology, which operates Advanced Dermatology Bel Air, Advanced Dermatology Hunt Valley and Advanced Dermatology Towson. The practice includes standard dermatology treatments, in addition to cosmetic offerings.

Core Industrial Partners-backed Arizona Natural Resources acquired HealthSpecialty, which makes skin, body and hair care products.

Blackstone has made a majority investment in SPF beauty company, Supergoop.

Beiersdorf has signed a deal to amass Chantecaille at a valuation between $590 million and $690 million.

Skincare mist device company Droplette has raised $15 million.

For more from WWD.com, see: 

The Latest From the Beauty M&A Scene

Should VCs Be Approaching Beauty In another way?