Ulta Beauty, Macy’s and Key Beauty Retailers Reveal Their Picks from Cosmoprof Miami

Faye Brookman and Jenny B. Fine
·9-min read

The weather was cold and dreary, but the mood in Miami for the second iteration of Cosmoprof Miami, held Jan. 21-23, was upbeat.

The event attracted about 19,000 attendees from 115 different countries — largely on track with last year — and a slew of new exhibitors. The number of fragrance brands, for example, doubled, while the number of skin care and makeup brands were each up by about 25 percent.

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Retailers at the show were laser-focused on identifying the latest trends, with a keen eye for strategies to stay competitive in an industry brimming with countless shopping options. Chatter centered on the rapid ascension of TikTok Shop, already America’s eighth-largest beauty retailer, and Amazon’s inroads into the category.

“There was much discussion about the changing landscape in the beauty industry and how to be competitive,” said Jaclyn Diamond, omni buyer, trend cosmetics for Macy’s Inc.

“Overall, it was clear that attendees are approaching 2025 much differently than prior years. Some common themes were the need for strong loyalty programs, strengthening in-service models in stores, differentiated assortments across channels, increasing digital discoverability and finding ways to integrate social selling,” she said.

Noah Rosenblatt, president of Beautyspace, agreed the industry is navigating new waters. “Many brands are rethinking strategies to stay resilient, focusing on differentiation and looking to add long-term value.”

Industry hurdles he noted include stagnating product innovation, intense competition driven by aggressive discounting to capture Amazon’s customer base and pressing need for substantial investment and funding to sustain growth.

“That all said, this industry is strong. Hero [stock keeping units] continue to get bigger, social engagement with brands is growing and tools for skin, hair, wellness and body are all on the rise,” said Rosenblatt. “AI and AR tech integration are allowing hyper personalization into campaign creation, marketing and even customer service [and that] is really exciting.”

Jessica Philips, Ulta Beauty’s vice president of merchandising, and Muffy Clince, senior director of brand intelligence and strategic initiatives, were on the lookout for brands that might be suitable for its upcoming launch into Mexico, as well as for emerging brands that might be suitable for its incubation program, Sparked.

“If you think about our inception, we started with the big strategics and now we’re working on developing emerging brands,” said Clince, noting that the trending brands Vacation and Touchland were both part of Sparked that have since gone on to big successes.

In terms of Ulta’s entry into Mexico, Philips was looking for an array of global innovation, noting that the retailer is on track for a third-quarter opening and that Huguette Cervantes, previously the head of beauty at El Palacio di Hierro, has been named CEO of the business there. “This is a sophisticated consumer that loves international brands,” she said, citing Doré, the French pharmacy inspired skin care brand started by Garance Doré as an example.

Some of the standout categories retailers mentioned to WWD included LED devices for skin and hair concerns, fragrances in various price points, K-beauty rebooted and new delivery forms like skin care sticks.

“The red-light rage continues to happen,” said Rosenblatt of the proliferation of LED devices on the floor. Two that stood out to him were from T.A.B. (Tech Activated Beauty), known best for scalp and hair health, and Ulike, an IPL (intense pulse light) device brand. “Ulike is launching a new red-light mask built with extra bells and whistles,” he said.

LED lights are no longer just for faces, according to Carolina DelRio, general manager-beauty for C.O. Bigelow. “LED lights were on full display for all parts of the face, including full-face masks, undereye patches, and lip masks, as well as for the hair and body to help regrow hair and ease muscle aches. Metamorphosis was one of the brands getting lots of attention in this category,” she said.

Founded by former attorney Sally Gardocki, the brand, which won three CosmoTrend awards, features eye-catching devices like an undereye red-light mask shaped like a shooting star.

In addition to the proliferation of devices, Diamond noted new twists on K-beauty such as vegan alternatives to popular Korean ingredients like snail mucin.

Also giving K-beauty a second life, said DelRio, are cool packages targeting Gen Z and unique collaborations. Bringgreen, for example, spotlighted a partnership with Squid Game.

“Our favorite in the K-beauty category is Chasin Rabbits, which expands the skin care category to the body, with smoothing butt patches. They also built in cooling metal rollers to their packaging that help distribute serums to the under-eyes and face for de-puffing, eliminating the need for a separate facial roller or gua sha,” DelRio said.

Rosenblatt gave a nod to K-beauty brands with a focus on ingredients and value, such as Some By Mi. Most items in the brand’s lineup are under $20.

Fragrances from around the globe and in all price ranges were ubiquitous across the aisles — and no wonder, with the category showing the biggest sales gains in 2024, per Circana. Dossier, a company that launched alternatives to prestige scent in brick-and-mortar at Walmart, offered showgoers the chance to create their own custom scent based on their preferences. Another fragrance hotspot was Café Lattafa Give Me Gourmand, which matches fragrances with desserts.

One retailer debated the future of no-name fragrances at the show. “There’s so much storytelling and experience tied to success. But, if the companies have the money to invest — this could work. The ‘no-name’ aspect could help with speed-to-market and frequency in the category,” she said.

There was also notable innovation in terms of fragrance formats, particularly alcohol-free formulations. ScentInvent teamed up with the manufacturer XJ Beauty to create scented serums, sticks and balms. “I want to make fragrance like candy,” said ScentInvent’s founder Abby Wallach. “Our tagline is it looks like makeup, feels like skin care, but is a fragrance.”

Innovations in hair and tools caught the attention of Lisa Green, VP, DMM for JCPenney Beauty & Salon. “We had an amazing meeting with BaByliss,” she said of the hair tool company. “We met with their two women engineers who designed and engineered a new multi-unit tool they are launching. I love the fact that their product developers are both young women who use the product and thought of every detail they wanted in a tool.”

Hair health, a holdover on-trend category from last year, is still a vibrant topic. Ingredients associated with skin care like hyaluronic acid are making debuts in hair care formulas.

“It’s a 10 is launching a new line called FAST — an amino scalp therapy that is clinically proven to grow your hair up to 99 percent faster,” Green said, adding the brand has before-and-after photos to support the claim.

Beyond the face and hair, retailers noted interest in overall body care on the rise.

“We saw two-in-one and three-in-one products, that marriy skin care and body care; and self-tanner with skin care,” said DelRio.  “Mimosa Lane stood out as a great example of this, with their sunscreen for face and body that contains both antioxidants and hydrating ingredients as well as a self-tanner containing skin care ingredients that would eliminate the need for a separate serum and moisturizer.”

Men weren’t left out of the discussions. “We noticed lots of skin care and body care targeted specifically for men including many brands in the lower- and mid-price ranges,” DelRio said.

Natural deodorant continues to be a trend with elevated formulas for full-body use and cool packaging you want to show off on your bathroom counter, according to the team from C.O. Bigelow.

“We were impressed with the brand AKT, created by two former West End performers who know a thing or two about sweating under pressure and bright lights. Their deodorant creams come in many scents and can be used anywhere on the body. They can even be used as a primer underneath makeup to combat sweat,” she said of the brand whose booth was one of the busiest in the Beauty Vanities special area.

Also in Beauty Vanities Beam which addresses an overlooked body part. “Butt care is a category gaining attention,” said DelRio. “We met with founders of Beam who created products for embarrassing issues such as hemorrhoids and irritation. They created a formula to rival Preparation H in efficacy with a cleaner formula and cute packaging aimed to remove the stigma surrounding this issue that affects a large majority of pregnant women and several age groups.”

Other standouts included Piume, an oral-care brand out of Italy that features toothbrushes whose filaments are infused with different ingredients such as echinacea, vitamins and baking soda to improve gum health, bad breath, etc. “I wanted to take the innovation we were seeing in beauty and translate it to oral care,” said founder Michele Longato, who also has toothpaste infused with the same ingredients. Price points are about $8.

Daily Shader, which was in the Vanities section, also garnered interest with its tinted sunscreen that has 20 percent zinc oxide but doesn’t give wearers the dreaded “ghost face.” That is geared toward children. Next up from founder Breelyn Van Leeuwen is a line for adults which will contain topical vitamin D, a formula that she has patented. It will launch in June.

Also notable: 3H Nails, a line of handmade 3D press-on nails that make nail art accessible. Created by Alicia Liu, each set retails for between $20 and $30. Current retailers include Hot Topic and Urban Outfitters, and Liu is keen to expand her purview, having also recently signed a licensing deal with Sanrio.

Beyond the quest for products, retailers said Cosmoprof is a hub for meeting with colleagues. “It is great to build upon your network and learn from your peers and colleagues in the industry,” Green said. “Overall, I loved the show and will continue to come and discover.”

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