This has been a banner year for beauty. Sales are soaring and consumers are more engaged in the category than ever before. The 45 brands here aren’t just benefiting from the buzz, though: They’re creating it. To compile this list, which is divided into The Establishment, The New Guard and The Originals, Beauty Inc looked at a wide array of quantitative and qualitative data to assess who’s winning and why. Here, the Establishment.
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Call them the head of the class. These are the brands that have withstood the test of time, turning in a top performance year after year. They’ve learned the lessons of staying relevant, and are the industry’s leaders when it comes to studying what consumers want.
Benefit Cosmetics
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Benefit Cosmetics has not only solidified its standing in the U.S. — it’s the fourth biggest prestige makeup brand, according to Circana — but has also demonstrated its social media staying power. Benefit is the eighth-biggest beauty brand by earned media value, according to Tribe Dynamics, at just shy of $300 million. Key areas of focus include known brand equities like brow products, hence why its Gimme Brow pencil won an Allure Best of Beauty award last year, as well as pores, where Benefit unveiled its skin care debut earlier this year. That foray is expected to comprise 15 percent of the brand’s revenues out of the gate.
CeraVe
At the nexus of social media virality, efficacy and longevity sits CeraVe, whose market domination continues to gain steam. According to Circana, it’s the largest skin care brand in the mass market in the U.S., as well as the top share-gainer in the category. Globally, it ranked seventh across mass and prestige in terms of sales, according to Euromonitor. While the Hydrating Facial Cleanser remains a perennial bestseller, CeraVe’s launches also resonated with consumers and experts alike: the Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm, which debuted last year, won an Allure Best of Beauty Award.
Clinique
Just as results driven as its formulations, Clinique has mastered cross-category domination. According to Circana data, it is the top skin-care brand in the U.S. prestige market and the second largest makeup business. That’s due in part to the longevity of its hero products. Industry insiders voted numerous products onto Beauty Inc’s “Most Iconic Products” list, including Moisture Surge and Even Better Clinical Radical Dark Spot Corrector, and Clinique plays well digitally, too. According to Tribe Dynamics, EMV is up almost a third from last year, driven in part by the enduring appeal of Black Honey, which has dominated both sales and TikTok feeds for the past two years. The brand also tapped Gen Z talent Marsai Martin as a brand ambassador earlier this year.
Chanel
Let’s hear it for longevity. More than a century old and stronger than ever, Chanel remains a sales powerhouse, particularly in fragrances, where it holds the second, third and fourth spots in the U.S. with Chance, Bleu de Chanel and Coco Mademoiselle, respectively. That domination also translates to social media. According to Launchmetrics, Chanel’s beauty business generated $59 million in media impact value — the second largest of any fragrance brand. And it’s not just scent. The Chanel No.1 range won a Marie Claire Prix Special Jury Prize, and Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream won Allure Best of Beauty. No wonder, per Circana, it’s the largest prestige beauty business in the U.S.
Dior
Talk about the glow of success. Dior has successfully parlayed its fashion dominance into a multicategory beauty boom, fueling sales with classic products like J’Adore fragrance and more recent franchises like Lip Glow. The brand is the third-largest prestige beauty brand in the U.S., according to data from Circana, and ranks top in fragrance, as well as in the top 10 for makeup. Globally, it is the eighth-largest makeup brand and holds multiple fragrance spots in the top 10, according to Euromonitor. It has become a social media standout, picking up steam with Gen Z and becoming the sixth-largest brand in EMV per Tribe Dynamics, up 46 percent year-over-year. Launchmetrics data tells a similar story: Dior is the top fragrance brand, second-largest makeup brand and fourth-largest skin care brand by MIV. Part of that is driven by the viral explosion of its Lip Glow Oil, though it’s the Dior Addict Lipstick that nabbed Marie Claire honors.
Dove
Dove is cleaning up. The Unilever-owned skin and hair care brand, long a staple in the soap aisle, has made its presence felt in other categories as well. It ranked sixth in hair care, Circana data shows, and its Body Love Moisture Boost Cleanser and Hair Therapy Rescue and Protect Conditioner both won Allure Best of Beauty awards. Ranking aside, Dove continues to lead the way in purpose-driven initiatives. Its Campaign for Real Beauty is more than a decade old, and the C.R.O.W.N. Act — which outlaws discrimination on the basis of hair — has now been passed in 23 states. Dove has also proven adept at disseminating its message widely: its EMV is up 51 percent year-over-year, according to Tribe. Innovation is gaining accolades, too, like Ultimate Antiperspirant, which focuses on hydration and claimed a CEW Beauty Creator Award in the wellness product category.
E.l.f.
Eighteen quarters of consecutive growth and no signs of slowing down. E.l.f., among the first beauty brands to harness the power of TikTok, has also gained serious street cred away from social media. The brand unveiled its first Super Bowl commercial earlier this year, starring Jennifer Coolidge, promoting the E.l.f. Power Grip Primer. That buzz is still driving sales. Circana rankings show it’s the top share-gainer in makeup, and the top share-gainer in the prestige beauty channel overall. Its digital domination is still unmatched as the ninth-largest beauty brand by EMV, according to Tribe Dynamics, and both the Brow Lift and Putty Bronzer products won Allure Best of Beauty Awards.
La Roche-Posay
Few brands epitomize the clinical skin care craze better than La Roche-Posay, a #DermTok and Gen Z heavyweight. As the second-largest share-gainer in the mass market, it seems it’s only gaining steam. Globally, La Roche-Posay is the sixth-largest skin care brand, per Euromonitor. In the U.S., it’s the fifth-largest skin care brand in the mass market and the ninth overall business in that channel, Circana data shows, and weekly Google searches are up to 734,500, per Spate. That’s driven at least in part by its rediscovered hero products, such as the Anthelios Melt-in Milk, which also took home an Allure Best of Beauty Award. No wonder the Dermatological Beauty division at L’Oréal, which houses the brand, has seen sales double since May 2020.
L’Oréal Paris
Infallible indeed. The world’s largest beauty brand has iron grips in all the key categories — it’s still the top mass hair brand and the top total mass business in the U.S., per Circana, and globally is the second-largest makeup brand, behind only Maybelline New York. Digitally, it’s the top brand by MIV in skin care and hair care, Launchmetrics data shows, also nabbing the eighth spot in makeup. That success has translated into the success of new and preexisting products. Infallible Fresh Wear Bronzer and Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara both took home Allure Best of Beauty Awards.
MAC Cosmetics
As MAC Cosmetics prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, its momentum shows no signs of slowing. It’s the third-largest makeup brand globally, per Euromonitor, and the top one in the prestige channel in the U.S., per Circana. By MIV, it’s the top brand in makeup, and by EMV, it’s the seventh-largest beauty brand overall at more than $380 million. Beauty Inc named MAC Prestige Brand of the Year in 2022, when it helped spark a global surge in makeup sales. Though it also got into the skin care mix with a cosmetically minded range of three products, MAC’s innovation in makeup continues to impress the experts, as with MACStack Mascara, an Allure Best of Beauty award winner.
Maybelline New York
Maybelline New York’s appeal is anything but local. The world’s largest makeup brand, per Euromonitor, is still dominating the home front. It’s the largest makeup brand in the mass channel, according to Circana. Digitally, the brand is on fire. It is the fourth-largest makeup brand by MIV at a whopping $197 million, and by EMV, it’s up 25 percent to the 13th spot across categories. Its success is helping L’Oréal’s consumer products division post record growth. And though mascaras are Maybelline’s bread and butter — it launched Falsies Surreal this year, and tapped Martha Stewart to help promote it — it was the Lip Vinyl and Super Stay Active Concealer that won Allure Best of Beauty awards.
Nars
As one of beauty’s original artistry brands preps for its 30th birthday, Nars is still driving relevance — and resonance — with digital savvy. The brand, which is the sixth in makeup by MIV and 10th by EMV, comes in seventh in the prestige makeup category. Radiant Creamy Concealer is among the top-selling facial makeup products at Sephora. Part of its digital forays include venturing into the metaverse, which Nars dove into last year with a Roblox partnership. IRL, products like Light Reflecting Foundation and Orgasm blush and lip products continue to pop, too.
Neutrogena
The brand is the ninth-largest skin care brand, globally, and boasts the second-largest sales volume in the U.S. across categories, according to Circana. Though Neutrogena is still the runner-up in mass skin, it has boldly ventured into new territories, such as personalized, 3D-printed supplements. Key franchises like HydroBoost and Dry Touch are still proving resilient, with the latter being voted one of the most iconic sunscreens of all time by WWD Beauty Inc’s panel of more than 300 industry experts. Neutrogena is doing well digitally, too, with EMV climbing by double digits.
Olay
A pioneer in taking prestige-caliber skin care ingredients to mass market shelves, Olay’s value proposition resonates more than ever. The brand is the fifth-largest global skin care brand and the third-largest one in the U.S., data from Euromonitor and Circana respectively shows. That’s due to sheer staying power. Olay’s Regenerist moisturizer was named one of the most iconic moisturizers of all time by WWD Beauty Inc’s skin care Icon voters, while a later iteration with vitamin C and peptides was voted by consumers as the launch of the year at the CEW Beauty Creator Awards.
Tarte
After a lavish influencer trip to Dubai, Tarte has proven that controversy doesn’t equal collapse. Both in digital reach and actual sales, the brand is gaining significant momentum. It’s ranked as the third-largest prestige makeup brand in the U.S. and the eighth-largest overall beauty business in the territory, Circana data shows. Per Tribe, it’s also the 14th largest beauty brand by EMV, up 30 percent year-over-year. The brand’s Tartelette in Bloom Amazonian Clay Palette is also an Allure Best of Beauty winner. Sweet.
Our Methodology:
WWD Beauty Inc consulted a variety of sources to compile our list of beauty’s most powerful brands, including our own reporting throughout the year.
Domestic and International Sales:
For the prestige and mass markets in the U.S., we considered rankings of the top performers and highest-growth brands, provided by Circana. Globally, we consulted Euromonitor International on sales rankings for 2022, in addition to the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100, an annual ranking of the world’s largest beauty companies.
Digital Success:
To see the brands with the highest digital traction, we consulted data from Tribe Dynamics, Launchmetrics and Spate, in addition to bestseller pages on sephora.com and ulta.com.
Agility and Innovation:
We considered our own reporting when looking at product innovation, trend leadership and agile responses to the factors that have most impacted 2023 thus far. As far as figures for donations and philanthropic endeavors, we relied on companies’ own reporting.
Industry Awards:
We looked at 2022 winners of the Allure Best of Beauty awards, the 2022 Beauty Inc awards, the 2022 CEW Beauty Creator Awards, the 2023 Fragrance Foundation awards and the 2023 Marie Claire Prix d’Excellence.