5.3% increase in net profit

Posted by Robin on 1 August 2026 Leave a Comment

[L’Oréal], whose portfolio includes Garnier, Maybelline and Lancôme, reported a 5.3% increase in net profit to EUR 3.55 billion for the period from January to June, compared with the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to nearly EUR 23.8 billion, supported in particular by strong performances in professional products, such as Kérastase, and dermatological brands, including La Roche-Posay and Vichy.

— Read more in L’Oréal: dermatological division drive first-half sales growth at Premium Beauty News.

L’Oréal Luxe recorded adjusted like-for-like growth of +5.1%, advancing at twice the pace of the global selective beauty market. Fragrances remained the standout category, supported by Prada Paradigme, Emporio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent Libre, MYSLF and Valentino Born in Roma. The division also benefitted from accelerating skincare sales and the addition of the Gucci beauty licence to its long-term portfolio.

A year early

Posted by Robin on 9 July 2026 3 Comments

Coty is exiting Gucci Beauty a year earlier than planned, while L’Oréal is accelerating one of the beauty industry's biggest luxury wins, marking a strategic reshuffling that could have ripple effects across prestige fragrance, beauty licensing and competitive investment.

Under a newly announced agreement, Coty will transition the Gucci Beauty license back to Kering in exchange for approximately $400 million, with the company continuing to operate the business through at least June 30, 2027.

— Read more in Gucci Beauty Changes Hands Early: Coty Cashes Out as L’Oréal Secures a 50-Year Luxury Prize at Global Cosmetic Industry.

Coty said on Tuesday it had agreed to return the Gucci Beauty license to Kering for about $400 million... The New York-based company will use most of the proceeds to pay down debt, with some capital earmarked for investment in key brands including BOSS and Marc Jacobs, a person familiar with the matter said.

— Read more in Coty exits Gucci license early to raise cash for turnaround at Reuters.

Coty will receive $400 million for the early termination of the licence agreement, which was set to expire in 2028, and to provide it with funds to continue running the business until at least June 30, 2027. The possibility of an early termination had been floated since October 2025 when Kering sold its beauty business, including the licences for its fashion brands like Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, as well as beauty brands like perfumer Creed to L’Oréal for $4.6 billion.

— Read more in Coty and Kering Agree to Early Transfer of Gucci Beauty Licence to L’Oréal at Business of Fashion.

The scent of a damp forest floor

Posted by Robin on 10 June 2026 3 Comments

A thunderous soundtrack swelled from ambient minimalism to cinematic triumph, peppered with bird chirps and the howls of monkeys. The scent of a damp forest floor wafted through the air, dispersed by a device I wore around my neck. The walls seemed to shift around me, and my heart began racing. It was exhilarating. It was mesmerizing. I felt like I was going to be sick.

This was my initial experience of Dataland, billed as “the world’s first museum of AI Arts,” co-founded by media artist Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç and opening to the public on June 20.

— Read more in My Queasy, Forest-Scented Stroll Through LA’s New AI Art Museum at HyperAllergic.

A.I., with human intervention, is used to generate Dataland’s scents, created in partnership with L’Oréal’s Luxe division, and its tastes — chocolates created with a local partner, Valerie Confections. “We can look at a Rothko and feel incredible emotions,” Anadol said, “but that artwork will never feel us back.” Unlike the artworks in Dataland.

— Read more in At the Ambitious New A.I Museum, You Feel the Art, and It Feels You Right Back at The New York Times.

L’Oréal Luxe’s Fragrance Métier team developed 12 bespoke rainforest-inspired scents using a proprietary fragrance model and data from Refik Anadol Studio’s Large Nature Model. The fragrances include concepts such as Scent of Data, designed to evoke the rhythm of algorithms, and Scent of Rain, which recreates the smell of rain-soaked earth through advanced scent-capture technologies.

— Read more in L’Oréal Luxe partners with DATALAND to create AI-powered immersive fragrance art experience at Global Cosmetic News.

Completed

Posted by Robin on 1 April 2026 Leave a Comment

L’Oréal has completed its acquisition of Kering Beauté. The deal includes House of Creed, which L’Oréal calls one of the world’s foremost luxury fragrance houses. The acquisition will also feature the signing of 50-year exclusive licenses for the creation, development, and distribution of fragrance and beauty products under Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga.

The right to secure a 50-year exclusive license agreement for the Gucci brand will take effect once the current license agreement with Coty ends.

— Read more in L’Oréal completes acquisition of Kering Beauté to expand luxe and fragrance at Personal Care Insights.

Markets remained cautious

Posted by Robin on 30 October 2025 Leave a Comment

The Paris-based companies on Monday announced the sale of niche fragrance house Creed to L’Oréal, as well as a 50-year exclusive license to develop beauty lines for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under the beauty giant’s umbrella. The agreement also grants L’Oréal an option for Gucci Beauty—currently licensed to Coty until at least 2028, and a 50/50 joint venture in the wellness and longevity categories. [...]
Still, markets remained cautious: Kering’s shares rose 4% on Monday but ended down 3.9% on Friday following a 10% drop in quarterly sales. L’Oréal slipped about 1% on the day of the announcement and ended the week down 0.2% after logging sales growth that came below analysts' expectations—a sign that investors expect results from the transaction only over the medium term.

— Read more in How Much More Can L’Oréal Grow After €4 Billion Deal with Kering? at BeautyMatter.

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

5.3% increase in net profit

A year early

The scent of a damp forest floor

Completed

Markets remained cautious