Between a $1 billion deal, the rise of TikTok Shop, the fall of Ulta Beauty and Target, and a ton of beauty turnarounds, 2025 was a busy year in beauty. So slap on your 2025 trendy face mask of choice—perhaps your slightly alarming-looking LED light mask, or one made with salmon DNA—and let’s jump in. Retailers’ and brands’ turnarounds and challenges Facing dipping sales to start the year, newly appointed Ulta Beauty President and CEO Kecia Steelman introduced the retailer’s Ulta Beauty Unleashed turnaround plan in March to combat “intense” competition. The plan included a slew of efforts—like renewed focus on brand building and digital acceleration, international expansion, and organizational changes. Weeks later, Steelman said Ulta was pausing its shop-in-shop partnership with Target, which started in 2021. Weeks before the pause, employees took to Reddit to identify issues with the partnership, like shoplifting, understaffing, and a lackluster customer experience, Retail Brew found. Then, in August, the two retailers officially announced the partnership would end in August 2026. By Q3, Ulta’s results “exceeded our expectations,” Steelman said on its earnings call earlier this month, noting the retailer was delivering on her turnaround strategy. The retailer reported net sales up 12.9% and comp sales up 6.3%, as beauty engagement “remained healthy” across mass and prestige, Steelman said. Ulta wasn’t alone in its turnaround, as Estée Lauder, Bath & Body Works, and Olaplex were among other beauty players unveiling multipronged plans to jumpstart sales. A future move into beauty is also core to Gap’s turnaround strategy, the retailer said in September. And several beauty companies, including E.l.f. Beauty, Coty, and Revlon-owner Helen of Troy, announced tariff-driven price bumps this year. Ulta’s interim CFO, Chris Lialios, noted on the retailer’s Q3 call that it saw brands’ price increases pick up in Q3. Keep reading here.—EC | 
