In 2023, the dermatologist-founded skin-care brand Fig.1 launched at over 3,200 CVS locations.
Now, having pulled out of the drugstore last August, it is debuting online at Sephora, where it joins recent skin-care additions like the biotech-driven brand Mother Science and Korea’s top anti-aging brand, Iope, owned by Amorepacific.
“Our brand deserves the discovery platform that Sephora [provides],” said Kimmy Scotti, co-founder and brand chairman of Fig.1. “The product speaks for itself.”
In recent years, Sephora has leaned into expert-led brands across categories. It has launched dermatologist-backed skin-care brands like Dr. Idriss and Facile, makeup artist-founded brands like Mary Phillips’s m.ph and Hung Vanngo’s eponymous line, and hairstylist Chris McMillan’s namesake hair-care brand. The retailer declined to comment for this story.
Fig.1 will launch at Sephora with eight facial skin-care products, including a retinol that comes in three strengths. Prices range from $26 for the brand’s Micellar Oil Cleanser to $66 for its highest-strength retinol moisturizer.
Launching at CVS made sense at the time, Scotti said. “We launched the brand during Covid [in 2021]. CVS was having a major moment in skin-care sales because many retailers were closed. There was a boom [with brands like] Cerave and Cetaphil, and all the drugstore brands. We [also] love the pharmacy; we’re a really serious technical brand, and we certainly felt at home in the pharmacy.”
According to Circana, skin care sales in mass channels increased 6% in both dollars and units in 2025, primarily driven by facial cleansers and face moisturizers. Just over a week ago, Target announced plans to debut Target Beauty Studio, shop-in-shops featuring prestige beauty offerings.
But Sephora had always been on Fig.1’s vision board, she said. And the brand’s success at specialty retailers like Mecca in Australia convinced Scotti that Fig.1 belonged at Sephora in the U.S.
Of the transition from CVS to Sephora, Scotti said being in both wasn’t really an option, though her hand hadn’t been forced by Sephora. “We would never let the tail wag the dog; [we wouldn’t let] someone force us out of a business that we thought made sense for us.”
The two parties connected at the Science of Skincare Summit in Austin, TX in November 2024, where Scotti said she believed Fig.1’s ultra-colorful branding helped it stand out among the super-clinical “white and silver, glossy” bottles. Details were finalized in July 2025 for the March 2026 launch.
“We’re priced competitively, compared to all of those [dermatological] brands. Everything that sits on a shelf at your dermatologist’s office is priced at three figures. Even the SPFs are $100. From a formulation standpoint, we can stand up to all of those brands. And I think Sephora noticed right away that our price point and potencies are detached from one another,” Scotti said, noting that the price point seemed to fill a white space, particularly as Sephora’s consumer is getting younger.
The brand’s retinol system is particularly popular — it accounts for 31% of total brand sales and has seen 167% year-over-year growth at Fig.1’s existing retail partners. In addition to Mecca, Fig.1 sells at QVC, Amazon, Shopbop and Cult Beauty. Sales of Fig.1’s level 2 retinol are growing 458% year-over-year, hinting that consumers are graduating to its stronger formulas.
According to Scotti’s Fig.1’s chief product development officer, dermatologist Dr. Panta Schaffer, Fig.1 is uniquely positioned to succeed as a multi-generational brand. “My friends’ kids, my patients — they love the idea that we have a level-up retinol system and that there’s something that is sound in its clinical evidence and formulated in a way that’s good for their skin,” she said. “Our teens and tweens want to purchase skin care, so let it be something that’s good for them — in a formulation that’s tolerable and efficacious, [but] also bright and fun and refillable.” She noted that the retinols can address teen acne, as well as older consumers’ wrinkles.
Launching online first is a strategic decision, Scotti said. “It’s very easy to compare product features online. It’s very overwhelming to compare at the shelf with the packaging in your hands,” she said. “Online is really powerful for Fig.1, because we [compare] so well. [It’s like] ‘Oh, I’m getting 0.6% retinol for $66, compared to other retinol products that cost $300 and have less retinol.” However, the brand plans to eventually expand to IRL doors.
Though CVS provided more IRL doors, “Sephora has a best-in-class discovery platform,” Scotti said.
Ultimately, Dr. Shaffer said, accessibility is important. “I want everyone to be able to buy Fig.1; the goal was really very simple: Avoid luxury prices, where you’re forced to make a decision about whether or not to [replenish] next month. You don’t want to give up on the consistency. That’s how you’re going to see results,” she said.
To promote its debut at Sephora, the brand has tapped a number of creators to post about it. It focused on dermatologists and skin experts, with Dr. Mina Amin (135,000 Instagram followers), Dr. Janelle Vega (136,000 Instagram followers) and Dr. Hadley King (8,000 Instagram followers) participating in the campaign.
Industry sources estimate that Fig.1 could generate $2 million to $3 million in revenue through Sephora in its first year. Fig.1 declined to share its current total revenue.
