 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal care |
| Founded | 2007 in Seattle |
| Founder | Jane Park |
| Headquarters | New York City |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Nail polish, cosmetics, beauty products |
| Parent | AS Beauty |
| Website | www |
Julep Beauty, Inc. New York based cosmetics company founded in 2007 by Jane Park. The company sells its products online and in its own branded beauty parlors
In 2007 Julep opened four nail parlors in the Seattle area that offered manicures, pedicures, facials, and waxing. [1] [2] Park sold Julep nail care products at the parlors— which was used as a testing ground for Julep product. [3] [4] [5]
Julep moved into e-commerce in 2008. [6] By 2013, Julep products were also available through retailers such as Sephora, and on TV though QVC. [5] [7] Also in 2013, Julep opened its first pop-up store in New York City. [8] Julep reported it had tripled its e-commerce revenue in 2013. [9] In March 2015, Julep announced that they were laying off 8% of their staff. [10]
In December 2018, Julep's parent company, Glansaol, filed for bankruptcy. [11] As a result, Julep announced plans to close their two retail locations, lay-off over 100 employees, and relocate to its parent company's New York office. [12] Glansaol sold to AS Beauty for $18 million. [13]
Julep introduced its monthly subscription service, Julep Maven, in 2011. Subscribers or “Mavens” pay a monthly fee to receive custom boxes of nail polish and makeup. [7] Subscribers may also act as beta-testers in the company's Idea Lab, answering surveys and posting on social media, allowing Julep to see how their products in development are being received. [14] [15] In 2014, Julep's subscription service the company received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB's David Quinlan said about the 173 total complaints made during that period. [16] Julep responded with a statement blaming the influx of complaints on a surge in business and shipping errors. The program relaunched in 2020. [17]
In 2013, Julep received funding from venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Maveron, Troy Carter, as well as Precedent Investments, backed by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay Z and Beyoncé’s Roc Nation. [5] The following year, Altimeter Capital, Azure Capital Partners and Madrona Venture Group also invested in Julep. [18] By April 2014, Julep had raised $56M in venture capital financing. [19]
Julep designs, produces and sells its own products. [20] The company sells in excess of 200 shades of nail polish, [21] each of which is given a woman's name. It also has a line of makeup and skin care products. [1] These have included both sun screens and moisturizers. [22] In 2014, Julep produced the Plié Wand, an ergonomic nail polishing brush that attaches to the top of nail polish caps. [23] The wand was first tested through a crowdfunding campaign. [9] [24] In 2021 the company released the Julep Beauty's Eyeshadow 101 Crème-to-Powder Eyeshadow Stick, which became the bestseller on Amazon. [25] The company promotes its products as free of fumes and toxins. [26]
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect the body or skin. Cosmetics designed to enhance or alter one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features, add color to a person's face, or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.
L'Oréal S.A. is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field, concentrating on hair color, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfume, and hair care.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and haircare.
Shiseido Company, Limited is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022. It is the largest cosmetic firm in Japan and the fifth largest cosmetic company in the world. In Japan, Shiseido is available at cosmetic counters at selected department stores and most pharmacies. The company owns numerous brands and subsidiaries worldwide, in addition to its founding label. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Large70 indices.
Hard Candy is an American cosmetics company, founded in 1995 by Iranian-American sisters Dineh Mohajer and Pooneh Mohajer, along with Dineh's ex-boyfriend Ben Einstein. The company's first product was nail polish that Dineh mixed herself - a shade of baby blue named "Sky" to match her Charles David sandals. After receiving scores of compliments on the unique shade, Dineh began selling it at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, and Ben began selling to many other top retailers including Nordstroms. In that same year, actress Alicia Silverstone appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and, when asked about her pastel blue fingernails, replied, "It's sky blue," causing an overnight explosion of the brand. Ben and Dineh appeared on segments of MTV House of Style program several times. A mere 18 months later, the brand was quoted as generating $10 million a year in a Forbes advertisement featuring Dineh.
Urban Decay, an American cosmetics brand headquartered in Newport Beach, California, is a subsidiary of French cosmetics company L'Oréal.
The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years and is present in almost every society on earth. Cosmetic body art is argued to have been the earliest form of a ritual in human culture. The evidence for this comes in the form of utilised red mineral pigments including crayons associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa. Cosmetics are mentioned in the Old Testament—2 Kings 9:30 where Jezebel painted her eyelids—approximately 840 BC—and the book of Esther describes various beauty treatments as well.
Cutex is a brand of nail care products, owned by Revlon, Inc. The original product was developed and established in 1911 by Northam Warren Company, based in Stamford, Connecticut.
Paula Beth Begoun, also known as "The Cosmetics Cop", is an American talk radio host, author, and businesswoman. She is the founder of Paula's Choice and Beginning Press Publishing.
e.l.f. Beauty Inc. is an American cosmetics brand based in Oakland, California. It was founded by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba in 2004. Items include bath and skin-care products, mineral-based makeup, professional tools, eyeliners, lipstick, glosses, blushes, bronzers, brushes, and mascara, among others.
The Honest Company, Inc. is an American digital-first consumer goods company, based in Los Angeles and founded by actress Jessica Alba, Christopher Gavigan, and Brian Lee. The company had $319 million in 2021 sales, and was valued at roughly $550 million as of February 2022. Chief Executive Officer Carla Vernón is one of the first Afro-Latina CEO of a U.S. publicly traded company. The Honest Company has raised multiple rounds of venture capital, and went public via initial public offering in May 2021, generating over $100 million in capital. Honest serves the United States, China, Canada, and Europe.
Nykaa is an Indian e-commerce company headquartered in Mumbai. It sells beauty, wellness and fashion products through its website, mobile app, and over 100 physical stores. In 2020, it became the first Indian unicorn startup headed by a woman.
Kylie Cosmetics, LLC is an American cosmetics company founded by Kylie Jenner. The company began selling Kylie Lip Kits, a liquid lipstick and lip liner set, on November 30, 2015. Formerly known as Kylie Lip Kits, the company was renamed Kylie Cosmetics.
Toni Ko (born 1973) is a Korean-American businesswoman and founder of NYX Cosmetics. She currently works in Los Angeles. She founded her company in 1999 and expanded it until she sold it to L’Oréal in 2014 for $500 million. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, while also running two new businesses, a venture capital firm focused on funding female entrepreneurs and a beauty brand accelerator.
Anastasia Beverly Hills, also known as ABH, is an American cosmetics company best known for its eyebrow products. The company was founded by Romanian-born Anastasia Soare in 1997, in Beverly Hills, California. Soare's daughter Claudia Soare, also known as Norvina, is the president of the company. In 2018, the company was reported to be worth $3 billion and have over $200 million in operating income.
Jeffree Star Cosmetics is an American cosmetics company founded by Internet personality and musician Jeffree Star. Star invested his life savings to start the company's makeup line in 2014, later detailing the bankruptcy he had been facing following his music career. It launched with three liquid lipstick colors. The company is estimated to sell US$100 million annually. All products are vegan and cruelty-free. The company is co-owned by Star and his business partner Jeff Cohen.
Jacquelyn Lonje Olayiwola Oyeshola Bolayemi Aina, better known as Jackie Aina, is an American beauty YouTuber. She was born to an African-American mother and a Nigerian father of Yoruba descent. She is a YouTuber and social influencer known for advocating for the visibility of people of color in the cosmetic industry. She has partnered with Anastasia Beverly Hills, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Too Faced, Sephora and Sigma Beauty.
Lime Crime is an American cosmetics brand that was founded and launched by Doe Deere. The brand is well known in the beauty community for its eccentric and colourful products, as well as the controversies surrounding Deere and the company. In addition, the brand was independently owned by Deere until its acquisition by Stacy Panagakis and the Tengram Capital Partners in 2018. Lime Crime is also certified as vegan and cruelty-free by both PETA and the Leaping Bunny. The brand is currently stocked at retailers such as ASOS, Revolve, Cult Beauty, Ulta and Bloomingdale's.
Fluide, also known as We Are Fluide, is an American online cosmetics and beauty company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The company offers a collection of cruelty-free makeup that they state is aimed at all gender expressions, gender identities, and skin tones.
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga is an American vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics brand founded by Lady Gaga. First launched on September 17, 2019, it was the first major beauty line to launch exclusively on Amazon as a retailer partner, and released in nine countries including France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Haus Labs relaunched on June 9, 2022 with new retail partner Sephora. The company advertises its products as "supercharged clean artistry makeup powered by innovation."