At CEW today, we turn the spotlight on masstige beauty star InnBeauty Project, Sephora’s Breakout Brand of the Year for 2024. The company, co-founded by Alisa Metzger and Jen Shane, has cross-generational appeal — from Gen Z consumers who love its playful, bright aesthetic, through women aged 60-plus, who love hero products such as Extreme Cream, a plumping and firming moisturizer. “InnBeauty Project’s approach to pricing and formulation, alongside its wide demographic lens, is doing things differently — and it’s working,” writes CEW reporter Paige Herman-Axel. Sephora, the brand’s marquee retail partner in the U.S. and Canada, accounts for 75% of its sales.

Speaking of Sephora, the company has announced that it will be cutting back its workforce in China by 3%. This equates to approximately 120 jobs at Sephora, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Nostalgia for Barneys New York, which shuttered in 2019, has inspired a New York Fashion Week pop-up dreamed up by Carisa Janes, Hourglass Cosmetics Founder and President, and the U.S. department store’s former Fashion Director and Creative Design Director. “Barneys was such an iconic New York institution, and we were all so sad when it disappeared,” said Janes about the inspiration behind the SoHo pop-up, and a limited-edition Barneys x Hourglass Cosmetics palette (now available to pre-order).

In launch news, tennis player Sloane Stephens is debuting her new body care range, Doc+Glo, ahead of the U.S. Open, and London-based natural deodorant brand AKT, which arrived in the U.S. four months ago, has unveiled its body care line, Prepare to Perform. 

Making hair care headlines, Great Many — the NYC-based holistic hair growth brand founded by Michael Pollak and Steve Klebanow — has raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by BrandProject, a Canadian investment firm. Meanwhile, Redken has appointed L’Oréal’s professional hair industry veteran Darren Oram as its Vice President of Education. In other investment news, DFN Ventures has invested in Crème Collective, the beauty sales and creative marketing agency. Founder Jeremy Triefenbach, the agency’s founder, has become its CFO.

Catch up on these news stories at the links below.

InnBeauty Project’s Co-Founders Talk Business. The company was named Sephora’s Breakout Brand of the Year for 2024. (CEW)

Sephora Cuts Jobs in China. The LVMH-owned retailer is cutting 3% of its workforce in China. (WWD) 

Barneys x Hourglass Pop-Up News. Carisa Janes, Hourglass Cosmetics founder and president, has teamed up with the US department store’s former fashion director and creative design director to host a pop-up event during New York Fashion Week, and a limited-edition makeup palette. (VOGUE)

Sloane Stephens Drops Body Care. The tennis player has unveiled her Doc+Glo range ahead of the US Open. (ESSENCE)

Great Many Secures Pre-Seed Funding. The NYC-based holistic hair growth brand has raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by BrandProject, a Canadian investment firm. (BEAUTY NEWS DAILY)

DFN Ventures Invests In Crème Collective. The firm has invested in the beauty sales and marketing agency. (BEAUTY INDEPENDENT) 

AKT Expands Product Range. The London-based, natural deodorant brand is launching a body care range. It arrived in the US four months ago. (COSMETICS BUSINESS)

Redken Appoints Darren Oram VP Of Education. Arram brings over two decades of experience in the beauty industry to the position. (HAPPI)