Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Ulta Beauty’s challenges include increased competition

Oct 17, 2024
In an effort to counter rivals, the retailer is opening more stores.
Ulta Beauty is facing softer consumer demand and increased competition.
Mike Mozart/Flickr

American sunscreens lag behind Korean brands in quality. Why?

Jul 8, 2024
The FDA hasn't approved a new UV filter for sunscreen since 1999. Some consumers are turning to foreign markets instead.
American sunscreens are notoriously thick and greasy. Some countries have more advanced options.
Michel Porro/Getty Images)

How TikTok is becoming a powerful consumer marketing tool

Jul 16, 2021
The app can cause certain products to blow up overnight, Vox's internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings says.
Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Bringing bacteria to the market

Apr 29, 2019
A slew of new companies are selling bacteria they say can improve our health.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For sale: A brand that pioneered cosmetics for women of color

Apr 11, 2019
The company that launched Ebony and Jet magazines — Johnson Publishing Company of Chicago — has filed for bankruptcy. Johnson sold off its magazines in 2016, but held on to Fashion Fair, its cosmetics brand. When the brand hit the market in 1973, the department store counters that sold it were among the few places where […]
Mike Simons/Getty Images

Young shoppers are giving the makeup industry a makeover

Oct 8, 2018
With big chains like Sephora and Ulta on the move, department stores are playing catch up.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Botox is a multi-billion dollar, potentially deadly monopoly

The product comes from a substance so lethal that it could be used as a potential agent of bioterrorism.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

YouTube beauty videos for people over 35 are a huge hit

Oct 27, 2017
Yes, many social influencers are millennials. But the category to watch might be the over-35 crowd.
Angie "Hot-and-Flashy" Schmitt before shooting one of her videos. 
Courtesy of Angie Schmitt.

How tech is finding its way into your beauty bag

Mar 16, 2017
Turns out algorithms are just at good at assessing your pores as analyzing data.
More than 300 companies displayed their products at the Beauty Tech Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Products showcased include a hairbrush with a built-in microphone.
Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images