This is an episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. More from the series →
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Esteemed beauty marketer Michelle Miller knows a thing or two about a successful TikTok strategy.
Miller served as CMO of K-18 during its gangbuster rise and 2023 strategic acquisition by Unilever. Her CV also includes Kosas, Too Faced and, as of January, CMO of Vegamour hair care.
“[TikTok has] an algorithm that is able to democratize beauty in a way that makes it a lot more accessible [to the average consumer],” Miller said. “With the platform being so uncertain, it’s emotionally hard for brands that have invested so much time into creator communities, into content on Tiktok. And most of all, it’s really, really hard for creators that have built their entire living and livelihoods on the platform.”
Miller joined Glossy podcast hosts Lexy Lebsack and Sara Spruch-Feiner, plus Glossy managing editor Tatiana Pile, to discuss the latest movement in TikTok’s ongoing sell-or-be-banned legal predicament and what it means for the beauty industry.
As previously reported by Glossy, concern over TikTok’s algorithm and its ability to influence Americans through disinformation campaigns, as well as the large amount of data being collected by ByteDance about Americans, are the top concerns of those behind the ban.
This conversation goes back to 2020 when President Trump said he planned to ban the app, but it wasn’t until TikTok added commerce with TikTok Shop in September of 2023 that momentum rebuilt. Then-President Biden signed a law into effect in April of 2024 that gave TikTok owner Bytedance a window to sell the majority of the business to an American owner or be banned from being downloaded in the U.S.
Despite numerous legal challenges, including one heard by the Supreme Court, Bytedance unsuccessfully fought the legislation, and the app briefly went dark in January before garnering an extension by President Trump.
On April 4, TikTok received a second extension to find a buyer until June 19. Until then, the app is safe. However, alongside a developing trade war with China, TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance with a meaningful impact on the beauty and wellness industries.
“It really puts into place — not only for big brands in beauty, but also for smaller brands that are just getting started — [the questions] of: ‘How do you future-proof your brand? How do you work virality today, and what’s next if TikTok does go away in 75 days?” Miller said.
Also included in this episode is a news rundown on the top stories of the week. The team discusses President Trump’s escalating global tariffs, Beyoncé-founded Cécred’s splashy launch into Ulta Beauty and the latest celebrity beauty brand to hire bankers to explore an exit, ahead.
Excerpts from the conversation, below, have been lightly edited for clarity.
On how brands are pivoting
“Brands that are doing social media well have learned to pivot quickly. From an operations perspective, our influencer contracts now include a TikTok clause, where if something happens to the platform, we can pivot to Meta if need be. That’s something new that’s come out of this. From a paid media perspective, because paid media is a big part of how we spark creator content, that is something we’ve needed to make very agile and [able to] be reallocated if need be.” — Michelle Miller
On TikTok’s growing competition
“[The next big app] will all depend on an algorithm and whoever can crack that piece of technology. I will say, Skylight Social just launched on April Fools Day, which is kind of funny, and it looks just like TikTok. I don’t know if it acts like TikTok [because] not many creators are on there yet, but if someone can crack that code, that’s where I’m putting my money.” — Michelle Miller
The changing role of TikTok on beauty
“TikTok is to beauty [today] what YouTube was to beauty in the early 2010s. [TikTok has] an algorithm that is able to democratize beauty in a way that makes it a lot more accessible. The way brands have played on there has definitely evolved and scaled. You can’t necessarily do the viral campaigns that E.l.f. [Beauty] used to do, where you make a song and it goes super viral. But the special thing about TikTok is the creator community that’s on there. How many more people are creators today because of that algorithm? I think with the platform being so uncertain, it’s emotionally hard for brands that have invested so much time into creator communities, into content on TikTok. And most of all, it’s really, really hard for creators that have built their entire living and livelihoods on the platform. I also think of those brands that built everything on TikTok, where most of their sales are perhaps on TikTok Shop or most of their revenue is coming from the platform. So I think it really puts into place — not only for big brands in beauty, but also for smaller brands that are just getting started — [the question] of: ‘How do you future-proof your brand? How do you work virality today, and what’s next if TikTok does go away in 75 days?” — Michelle Miller
