Growth investors are shopping for creator-led cosmetics and beauty brands, putting private equity at the forefront of the glam economy's makeover
Recently in Preqin First Close, we explored private capital’s ongoing glow-up. From creator-led brands like Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty and Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Skin, to legacy labels like Charlotte Tilbury, the beauty and personal care sector is as strong as ever. Globally, the beauty and personal care market is booming, with Statista projecting global revenues of over $677bn in 2025.
Here, we take a second look at some major activity in the sector, and how its resilience and emotional resonance have made it a target for private equity, even as overall deal volume in private markets has slowed. Beauty has defied broader trends, proving itself both culturally significant and commercially scalable.
The flurry of recent deals underscores investor appetite. In May 2024, e.l.f. Beauty acquired Rhode Skin for $1bn.
In June 2024, L Catterton partnered with Stripes Beauty (founded by Naomi Watts) after having acquired a majority stake in cosmetics brand KIKO Milano from the Percassi Family just two months earlier.
Meanwhile, TSG Consumer Partners invested in Summer Fridays, a skincare and makeup company, in July 2024, marking an exit for Prelude Growth Partners. A year later, TSG acquired modern fragrance brand PHLUR.
According to Capstone Partners, private equity accounted for nearly 40% of beauty sector M&A in 2024, with North America middle market deal volume surging 194% year-on-year to $1.7bn.
These transactions highlight a broader trend: private equity’s appetite for purpose-driven, celebrity-led businesses with authentic founder stories and strong wellness credentials.
Celebrity-founded brands have excelled at converting fleeting attention into long-term loyalty by leveraging influencers, aesthetic branding, and authentic storytelling. Rare Beauty and Rhode Skin exemplify this approach, while Charlotte Tilbury has shown how luxury positioning combined with influencer collaborations can drive scale.
Shoppable entertainment is also reshaping distribution – think GRWM (‘get ready with me’) videos and TikTok Shop. The line between content and commerce is blurring.
Social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have transformed beauty discovery into a seamless shopping experience. NielsenIQ reports that social commerce drives 68% of global beauty purchases, revealing as well that the global beauty industry is witnessing a solid 7.3% YoY increase in value.
Dry powder is abundant. According to Preqin’s Deal Flow Monitor: Outlook 2025 (for Insights+ subscribers), private equity had roughly $1.5tn in dry powder as of June 2024. GPs are increasingly deploying capital toward thematically aligned, culturally resonant consumer brands. Purpose-driven businesses with wellness or sustainability credentials are proving especially attractive. Beauty sits at the intersection of culture and commerce, making it a natural target.
Despite the excitement, investors face risks. Beauty is trend-led, and celebrity ‘clout’ can fade quickly. The volatility of consumer attention means a brand may go viral on TikTok one quarter, only to lose relevance the next. Celebrity affiliation, while powerful, is not immune to reputational risk, where a public controversy or shifting fan loyalties rapidly erode value. For investors, this makes underwriting celebrity-led brands a balancing act: weighing the benefits of cultural momentum against the fragility of consumer perception.
Exit options are also limited, with IPOs scarce and M&A the dominant path to liquidity. Customer acquisition costs and digital marketing remain friction points, though celebrity affiliations can mitigate this. For founders, taking private often means trading some control for scale and market access. Balancing authenticity with institutional growth expectations is critical.
Still, the market demonstrates an upward trajectory. Statista forecasts the global beauty and personal care sector will continue to expand at a CAGR of around 3.4% through 2030. Emerging areas include personalization through AI-powered custom formulations, biotech-infused skincare with clinically rooted ingredients, and offerings that combine beauty with healthcare.
Fragrance trends in the beauty industry are becoming more niche, emotional, and personalized in 2025. Rather than focusing solely on mass-market appeal, consumers are now gravitating toward micro-trends that align with their lifestyles, values, and even wellness goals. As scent becomes more integrated into skincare, hair care, and even mental wellness, the boundaries of traditional fragrance are rapidly expanding.
Advances in AI and sustainability are also reshaping how perfumes are made and marketed, giving rise to personalized, refillable, and climate-adaptive options. Statista projects the global fragrances market will generate $62bn in 2025, and forecasts an annual growth rate of 3.3% between 2025 and 2030, not far from its parent sector.
Investors are turning their attention to hair tech, too – from devices that promise at-home salon experiences to biotech-driven solutions tackling hair loss and scalp health. Dyson’s Supersonic hairdryer and Airwrap styling tool have shown how high-end technology can reshape consumer behavior and margins.
Fortune Business Insights projects the global hair care market will grow from $114bn in 2025 to $214bn by 2032, a CAGR of 9.4% over the forecast period. These innovations expand the definition of beauty into adjacent categories that align with consumer wellness priorities, making investing in hair a compelling complement to traditional beauty plays.
As consumers increasingly view beauty through a wellness lens, brands are embracing the convergence between beauty and healthcare. Those that offer holistic solutions spanning skincare, haircare, and overall health may be poised to thrive. They are supported by logistics, data, and creator-economy tools, all of which help them to scale at speed.
Companies like Shopify and TikTok Shop have become essential partners for indie brands. Meanwhile, beauty-specific accelerators such as Maesa, the private-equity-backed incubator that manages the end-to-end creation and launch of new beauty brands, demonstrate how private equity can build scale across a portfolio of niche labels.
The beauty industry’s blend of cultural capital and commercial viability continues to attract investors of many kinds. For founders, private equity investment may mean a bigger runway for growth. For consumers, it might mean seeing their favorite brands scale up faster.
Ultimately, private equity is now a central character in the glam economy’s next chapter.
Alina Garcia is an Associate at BlackRock.
Second Look is edited by Libby Fennessy, Production Editor of Preqin First Close.
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