The beauty conglomerate weighs a potential sale of Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart as it sharpens focus on core heritage powerhouses and renewed growth initiatives.
Estée Lauder Companies is advancing plans to streamline its portfolio, moving toward the sale of several underperforming brands as part of a broader reset designed to restore momentum and reaffirm its leadership position in the global beauty landscape. Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart have reportedly been presented to potential buyers as a bundled acquisition opportunity, marking a pivotal moment for labels once emblematic of the group’s millennial-era expansion. The potential divestiture aligns with the strategic ambitions introduced under chief executive Stéphane de La Faverie through the company’s “Beauty Reimagined” program — an initiative centered on innovation, sharper storytelling, and renewed investment in cornerstone names such as Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, and Clinique.
The brands now earmarked for possible sale reflect a chapter in which the group sought fast-growing, youth-driven disruptors to court the next generation of consumers. Yet as shifts in taste, category saturation, and the rise of digitally native competitors redefined the market, the once-buzzy acquisitions struggled to maintain relevance. Even as hero products like Too Faced’s mascara franchise continue to resonate, evolving dynamics across color cosmetics and K-beauty have challenged sustained growth. Against this backdrop, divesting as a package could offer both operational clarity and financial agility — clearing balance-sheet space for future brand acquisitions and allowing the company to refocus on high-performing pillars and strategic growth engines.
The portfolio rethink arrives at a moment of cautious optimism for the group, which recently posted a return to organic sales growth and strengthened distribution moves, including expanded e-commerce access and new retail partnerships. Fragrance momentum has provided lift, while makeup and skincare remain the long-term foundation of the business — categories where revitalization is underway but still fragile. By shedding legacy laggards and concentrating resources behind brands with strong equity and cultural resonance, Estée Lauder signals an intention to build a leaner, more resilient portfolio — one positioned not only to compete, but to reassert influence in an increasingly competitive beauty marketplace.