Jenni Baden HowardEzgi Barcenas, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at L’Oréal, has given her first interview since taking on the role in March 2024. “Barcenas is a member of L’Oréal’s executive committee, Chief Executive Officer of its Foundation, plus steers the company’s Fund for Nature Regeneration, Fund for Women and Climate Emergency Fund,” reports WWD. “But a guiding force for Cyprus-born Barcenas is the fact that she’s a trained engineer.”
Also making executive headlines, Colin Walsh, Glossier’s newly named CEO, will take over at the helm from Kyle Leah by the end of 2025. Walsh has worked with Ouai and Procter & Gamble. At The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), René Lammers, Ph.D. has been named as the company’s Executive Vice President, Chief Research & Innovation Officer, effective October 1, 2025. Lammers will join the ELC’s Executive Team, reporting directly to Stéphane de La Faverie, President and CEO. Meanwhile, Soyoung Kang has been tapped by personal care brand Evolution of Smooth (EOS) as President, in a newly created role.
In other breaking news, it’s been announced that L’Oréal, LVMH and Luxottica are the preferred buyers of Giorgio Armani’s beauty and fashion empire. “The trio of luxury beauty and fashion businesses were mentioned in Giorgio Armani’s will, published on 12 September,” reports Cosmetics Business. Meanwhile, Natura — which has already sold brands Aesop and The Body Shop — is selling its Central American operations, known as Avon CARD, to Grupo PDC. And THG has shared its interim sales for the first half of 2025, reporting that revenue growth returned in Q2, with “momentum expected to continue into the second half of the year,” according to Global Cosmetics News.
In top tech stories, Haut.AI has announced the launch of Skin.Chat, “the only skin care-specialized AI consultant built by scientists,” which is designed to analyze the user’s skin, recommend products, explain ingredients, and adds items to their cart.
Here at CEW, we sit down with the female founders of Clearsteam, Danielle Gronich and Kayleigh Christina, the acne brand set to hit $50M in 2025. The duo are on a mission to empower and educate consumers at all ages of their acne journey. “In 2017, what started as one product mixed and bottled by hand has become an under-the-radar skin care success story,” writes CEW reporter Amber Katz. Also at CEW, we talk to Francesca Raminella, CEO of Halsey’s Makeup Line, About-Face. Raminella, who took over as CEO of About-Face in May 2024, previously worked with major corporations such as Revlon and L’Oréal.
In working motherhood news, The Business Research Company’s Daycare Management Software Global Market Report 2025 reveals that the market for daycare management software has expanded significantly recently. “Childcare management software plays a crucial role in offering a parent portal that keeps parents in the loop about their child’s daily reports, updates, photos, and enables them to interact with the daycare facility,” reports Business Post Examiner.
Read more about these news stories by clicking on the links below.
Ezgi Barcenas Gives First Interview As L’Oréal’s Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer.“For us, this is about: How do we build business and community resilience?” Barcenas told WWD. “Innovation and partnerships are big enablers of that.” (WWD)
Colin Walsh Named Glossier’s Next CEO. Walsh most recently founded digestive supplement brand YayDay, in 2024. (BUSINESS OF FASHION)
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) Taps René Lammers, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Research & Innovation Officer. “René is an exceptional and innovative leader whose deep scientific expertise, global perspective, and passion for cutting-edge product development will be instrumental as we transform our approach to research and innovation to more fully align with our focus on consumer centricity,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, ELC President and CEO. (BEAUTY PACKAGING)
Soyoung Kang Appointed President Of EOS. “Since joining the brand in 2018 as chief marketing & innovation officer, Kang has been instrumental in transforming the brand into one of the fastest-growing mass body care players in the US,” reports Happi. (HAPPI)
L’Oréal, LVMH and Luxottica Named Preferred Buyers Of Giorgio Armani’s Beauty And Fashion Empire. “Some 15% of the company’s stake must be sold within a year-and-a-half of the designer’s death, the will read. A further 30% to 54.9% expected to be sold to the same buyer within five years,” reports Cosmetics Business. (COSMETICS BUSINESS)
Natura To Sell Avon CARD To Grupo PDC. “Natura has been carrying out divestitures as part of a broader organizational shakeup as it pushes for a turnaround,” according to Beauty Matter. “This transaction supports Natura’s efforts to streamline operations and simplify its business while allowing the company to remain focused on integrating Natura and Avon in Latin America.” (BEAUTY MATTER)
THG Reports Interim Results For The First Half Of 2025. “Group revenue for the six months to 30 June stood at £783.4m, a 2.6 percent decline year-on-year at constant currency, while adjusted EBITDA dropped to £24m from £37.1m in the prior year. Gross margin fell to 41.1 percent, compared to 42.6 percent in H1 2024, largely impacted by record whey prices in Nutrition.,” reports Global Cosmetics News. (GLOBAL COSMETICS NEWS)
Haut.AI Debuts Skin.Chat. The tech is “designed to act as a trusted digital advisor,” according to Hattiesburg.com. (HATTIESBURG.COM)
Clearstem’s Female Founders Talk Business. CLEARSTEM’s main demographic is women between the ages of 24 and 36, but Christina noted “it’s strong on the framing sides. Outside of our standard ages, we have the menopausal mom who needs CLEARSTEM, and she’s buying it for her daughter who’s in her early twenties, entering the real world, stressed about her new job and breaking out.” (CEW)
Francesca Raminella On Blazing A Trail As Halsey’s CEO. “We’re digital first and social first. When the company was launched, it was online only, then we got into Ulta and the brand’s dynamics changed a bit. But we continue to talk to our fans, find them, engage them and recognize them digitally,” Raminella told CEW. “We have this strong concert/festival connection because obviously we have the music from Halsey.” (CEW)
Why Daycare Management Software Is Booming. “A surge in the number of employed parents, increased demand for quality childcare services, heightened understanding of daycare management software’s advantages, investment growth in the daycare segment, and a greater focus on child protection and welfare have all fueled the historical growth,” reports Business Post Examiner. (BUSINESS POST EXAMINER)
