What’s old is new again, especially when talking about the evolution of 2012’s newsmakers as the hottest properties to watch in 2013. Beauty Insider compiled a list of People, Brands, Concepts and Companies to keep an eye on next year, as they’re likely to shape and innovate the industry in the following 12 months.

People

Several beauty executives made our Ones to Watch list, and Procter & Gamble’s Deb Henretta is definitely at the top of the stack. Deb, who was named P&G Group President Global Beauty in May as Gina Drosos, a 25-year P&G beauty veteran who last served as Group President, Global Skin and Personal Care, left the company in August. (It should be noted that Gina is a person to watch in 2013: “Where will she land?” is a question on the lips of many beauty insiders!) Deb, who’s been with P&G for 28 years with roles ranging from overseeing fabric care, Pampers and P&G’s portfolio of brands in Asia, will be charged with steering the beauty giant’s global innovation pipeline in 2013 and beyond. Back in Cincinnati for less than a year, Deb is likely to use her eight years of experience in Asia—where she learned how “deeply beauty involved” the Asian woman is—to grow in developed markets, such as the U.S.
“Procter & Gamble’s Asia portfolio is growing in the double digits. Admittedly there’s been less than stellar growth in other regions,” she said earlier this year.

Avon’s Sherilyn McCoy assumed the title Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc., earlier this year, the second woman to hold the post in the 126-year history of the world’s largest direct seller. She replaced

Andrea Jung, who stepped down from the helm. Sherilyn, a 30-year veteran of Johnson & Johnson, has said her first and most urgent objective is to stabilize the business by assessing key markets and the company’s competition, costs and technology, product portfolio and operating model. She’s also stated that she’s looking to increase the number of value priced offerings at Avon to create a more multi-tiered portfolio of products. Overall, it will be interesting to see how Avon performs in 2013, as Sherilyn takes a “patchwork approach” to fixing Avon’s business, rather than adopting a formal strategy that would shake up the entire org. “The challenges we are facing did not evolve overnight, and solutions will take time as well. There is no single issue, and there will be no single solution. We know we can fix this,” Sherilyn said earlier this year.

OPI Product’s newly named President and General Manager, John Heffner, raised some eyebrows went he joined the Coty-owned nail firm in August. John, formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of OPI rival CND, was tapped to manage the day-to-day operations at OPI’s North Hollywood, California, headquarters working alongside company founder and CEO George Schaeffer. John will likely pump new life into OPI’s Axxium and GelColor nail gel business, which is currently ranked second to CND’s Shellac in salons and nail emporiums.

Brands

Finally, the long-awaited, much-anticipated purchase of Urban Decay has taken place. L’Oréal announced in late November it had bought the prestige cosmetics brand from Castanea Partners. We’ll be watching closely to see how L’Oréal’s deep pockets and marketing wizardry can further shape the brand that specializes in appealing to the younger makeup-wearing set who shops in Ulta and Sephora.

Butter London recently ranked as a top-three nail brand from January 2012 to November 2012 in department stores, according to NPD. The brand, which runs with the likes of Chanel Le Verni Nail and Dior Rouge Verni, is likely being eyed by several big beauty firms as an entrée into the hotter-than-hot nail category.

Smashbox recently landed in the portfolio of Bumble and bumble president, Peter Lichtenthal. What gives? Only time will tell what the architect behind bringing salon items to prestige will do for Smashbox, and how the brand looks to evolve in spirit (and possibly distribution?) in 2013.

Concept

Every move made by blow dry royalty Blow and Drybar is watched with laser focus. And the industry will be kept busy in 2013 as both Stuart Sklar’s and Ali Webb’s concepts are slated for aggressive growth next year, as Blow expands in Nordstrom’s Style Bars and Drybar launches a product line. As the burning question “When are you coming to my neighborhood?” falls from the mouths of women across the country on a daily basis, competition is approaching. Look out for DreamStyle, a blow dry bar by fashion stylists Rachel Zoe, to hit the Flatiron District in 2013, and additional outlets to open across North America by the entrepreneurial set.

Innovation at Retail

Beauty Insider is anxiously watching three retailers in 2013, including Look Boutique,

Nordstrom and Macy’s. All three offer the beauty-centric consumer something compelling, whether it be Look Boutique’s smart curation of smaller boutique brands; Nordstrom’s 2013 revamp of its beauty floor with Style Bars that offer everything from brow shaping, manicures to blow outs; or Macy’s never-ending evolution of its open concept beauty emporium, Impulse Beauty.

Share Wars

Be sure to watch how the hair care share wars play out between Unilever and Procter & Gamble over the next year. While P&G will close out 2012 with the best selling hair care brand, Pantene, Unilever nabbed the top spot as the leading hair care company in 2012, thanks to its strong portfolio of brands, including Tresemmé, Suave and Clear. But P&G is prepared. Next year’s launches include a revamped Relaxed & Natural line; styling products by celebrity stylist Danilo; as well as the return of the Vidal Sassoon hair care brand.