The Glossy 50 honors the year’s biggest changemakers across fashion and beauty. More from the series →
When Hind Sebti and Michel Brousset launched Waldencast in 2019, the two beauty veterans wanted to think long-term and create a platform for beauty brands that would last for decades — a challenging prospect in today’s increasingly rapid-fire beauty trend cycle.
“We wanted to build a company that is here 100 years from now,” said Brousset. “There are incredible companies that were built as a response to their time. We think Waldencast is a response to our time in the beauty industry.”
But it’s hard to deny short-term success when it comes. Two years after acquiring makeup brand Milk and clinical skin-care brand Obagi, Waldencast saw a major payoff: a 25.7% year-over-year growth in revenue for the second quarter of 2024.
Much of that growth came down to the success of individual products in 2024. That included Milk’s viral jelly blush sticks, one of which sold every 30 seconds in the first quarter of 2024, and Obagi’s hydrating eye drops, which sold out in 72 hours when they launched in March. But Brousset and Sebti insist success is the result of numerous factors, from innovation to business acumen to sheer luck. “It’s a perfect storm of really understanding the brand DNA and the type of innovation that feeds from that,” said Sebti.
Both agreed creativity is a key element, as well. In February, Waldencast announced the creation of its Creative Council, which invited the likes of Kayali founder Mona Kattan and The Wall Group founder Brooke Wall to act as an advisory board for the company. “You need to keep creativity at the heart of the company,” said Sebti.
But success in beauty also often means contending with dupes, which have more rapidly replicated the most viral products at a cheaper price. As Milk launches new shades of its viral jelly sticks, the dupe brands are right at its heels. But Sebti and Brousset remain committed to the big picture.
“While products everywhere can be duped or can be replicated, what you cannot replicate is the brand,” said Brousset.
