In Review, March 2025: Headline highlights from Space NK, Boots, L'Oréal and more...

Sophie Smith

31 March 2025

March was yet another busy month for the beauty industry, from store openings and closures to new brand launches, acquisitions, investments, and more.

It also saw the exciting return of TheIndustry.beauty 'The Innovators' Awards for 2025, which is all about recognising beauty brands and retailers who are pushing boundaries and driving positive change, and this year, we've added more categories to celebrate all of the achievements of our beloved beauty industry. Entries are open now.

Here's a round-up featuring March's big beauty headlines from businesses including Space NK, Harvey Nichols, Thérapie Clinic, and more, as well as the top features content from TheIndustry.beauty.

Space NK

Space NK to open flagship at London's Oxford Circus

Space NK is opening a new flagship at London's Oxford Circus, introducing a purpose-built beauty experience concept to meet the wants and needs of its customers. Taking the unit currently housed by Ikea's Hus of FRAKTA, the new store will feature a selection of new brands, exclusive product launches and familiar favourites, allowing customers to explore the "very best of beauty".

Boots owner WBA acquired in multi-billion dollar deal

Boots owner WBA entered into a definitive agreement to be taken private by US-based firm Sycamore Partners in a $10 billion deal. The transaction, expected to be completed by the end of 2025, attempts to better position WBA to become the "first choice" for pharmacy, retail and health services.

Louis Vuitton hires Pat McGrath to lead its debut beauty line

It’s no secret that luxury brands can count on beauty lines to boost revenues, which is why Louis Vuitton is launching La Beauté Louis Vuitton later this year. The exciting twist? Acclaimed makeup artist Pat McGrath is its Creative Director. La Beauté Louis Vuitton will include 55 lipsticks, as well as ten lip balms and eight eyeshadow palettes.

UK's richest beauty entrepreneurs revealed - here's who made the list

The beauty industry's power players were ranked, with Charlotte Tilbury topping a list of the 30 richest beauty entrepreneurs in the UK. The entries of The Sunday Times’s inaugural Beauty Rich List have built their wealth from products and services ranging from skincare and hair salons to false eyelashes and tanning shops.

Beauty Pie x

Beauty Pie launches new app as it bolsters member experience

Online brand Beauty Pie enhanced its member experience with the launch of a dedicated iOS app. The new app features an ultra-personalised ‘digital concierge’, allowing users to easily shop for products, receive recommendations and access exclusive offers. It also allows members to check on previously-ordered products and shades, get notified about new launches and real-time stock drops, and receive live delivery updates.

EverySkin secures investment to fuel expansion

Aesthetic treatments provider EverySkin secured funding to finance the opening of additional outlets in London, as well as its longer-term UK-wide expansion plans. The new investment from Middleton Enterprises will help the UK-based business achieve its next phase of growth.

Harvey Nichols to close Beauty Bazaar store in Liverpool

Harvey Nichols confirmed the closure of its standalone Beauty Bazaar store in Liverpool as part of its strategy to reposition the department store for growth. Having first opened in 2012, the concept store offers brands such as Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics and Jo Malone London, amongst others. It is expected to close by mid-April.

Weleda refreshes brand identity after over 100 years

Weleda unveiled its first-ever rebrand, marking a historic transformation since the company was founded in 1921. The updated design attempts to strengthen the beauty company's connection with younger audiences while reinforcing its position in the premium segment.

L'Oréal-backed Korean fragrance brand heads to UK with Selfridges

Korean perfume brand BORNTOSTANDOUT, which recently received Series A funding from L'Oréal, announced its UK launch at Selfridges. The fragrance brand, which specialises in powerhouse gourmands with tongue-in-cheek stories, is known for its home scents, perfumes and bodycare as well as its playful scent names

K-beauty brand Yepoda secures investment to support growth

Korean beauty brand Yepoda closed a Series B funding round to fuel both market and product expansion. The new funding round is led by consumer-focused investment firm Verlinvest. It will be used to accelerate Yepoda’s growth across the US and Europe, as well as driving continued product innovation.

Coty sells stake in Kim Kardashian's beauty brand

Coty sold its 20% stake in Kim Kardashian's beauty brand to her clothing line, SKIMS, bringing the two businesses together under one unified brand. The divestiture comes after the group invested in SKKN by Kim in 2020 and completed the transaction in 2021.

How Very is driving engagement and sales with new beauty inspiration hub

Digital retailer Very launched a new beauty hub to inspire customers and transform how they shop the category. By allowing customers to shop by trend, ingredient, and brand, the retailer is changing the way it talks about beauty, attempting to bring a "new level of ease" to the shopping experience.

Sure launches sniffable billboard for playful deodorant campaign

Unilever’s Sure unveiled a sniffable billboard in celebration of its Whole Body Deodorant, inviting Londoners to stop and sniff the "Bunda" and "Meatballs" on show. The billboard, which challenges passersby to 'handle the whiff', is part of a campaign to launch Sure Whole Body Deodorant - a UK first for the category.

Duran Duran launch their own unisex perfume

80s icons Duran Duran launched a unisex fragrance, created in collaboration with Italian luxury perfume house, Xerjoff. The ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’ artists have created two scents, named Black Moonlight and NeoRio (a nod to the band’s seventh hit single, ‘Rio’) inspired by style and sensuality.

Westfield London opens 'innovative' retail concept to meet demand for wellness services

Westfield London introduced a Health & Wellness Village, bringing health and wellness brands and services to the retail environment as demand grows for "accessible, high-quality health and wellness experiences". As the demand for wellness destinations is "stronger than ever", the 50,000 sq ft premium space is designed to meet the wants and needs of shifting consumer preferences.

Thérapie Clinic amplifies new campaign with flash mobs around London

Thérapie Clinic hosted three flash mobs around Central London in celebration of its new laser hair removal campaign. Promoting the tagline 'Your Bush, Your Rules', the flash mobs kicked off at the Piccadilly Circus fountain, later performing outside Tottenham Court Road station and Stratford station.

Diem

New fragrance brand Diem launches to 'disrupt outdated industry'

London-based fragrance house Diem launched with a mission to "disrupt the outdated industry", encouraging true expression and fresh, fearless experimentation with fragrance. Allowing consumers to experiment and build a scent collection that "adapts to every version of them", Diem is avoiding the concept signature scents.

L’Oréal Paris selects Arsenal for first football club partnership

L’Oréal Paris entered an exclusive partnership with Arsenal as the football club's first Official Men’s Haircare Partner. The brand describes Arsenal’s rich history of innovation and performance as a "natural fit" for L’Oréal Paris. As part of the collaboration, the two organisations will work together to spotlight the brand's new Elvive Growth Booster collection.

British Beauty Council names Trinny Woodall and Jessica Diner as new ambassadors

The British Beauty Council announced Trinny Woodall, founder and CEO of cosmetics brand Trinny London, and Jessica Diner, Global Beauty & Wellness Director at Vogue, as its latest ambassadors. Under the partnership, both Woodall and Diner will work closely with the council on its new roadmap, applying their expertise in beauty brands, media and entrepreneurship to guide the organisation’s activity and amplify its work.

L’Oréal launches 'Act for Dermatology' to advance access to skin health services

L’Oréal launched a €20 million, five-year programme spearheaded by its dermatological beauty division to help democratise access to skin health. As part of the new L’Oréal Act for Dermatology, the company has partnered with the WHO Foundation to support the World Health Organisation’s efforts to increase awareness of the impact of skin diseases globally.

Debenhams

Debenhams to 'transform' race-day experience with new beauty partnership

Debenhams entered a two-year partnership with The Jockey Club, delivering beauty experiences at some of the most celebrated fixtures on the 2025-2026 racing calendar. The collaboration promises to "transform the race-day experience", with each activation combining the thrill of the races with the digital department store's expertise in beauty.

New AI-powered fragrance house launches with 'groundbreaking' approach to scent creation

A new fragrance house powered by olfactory intelligence - a technology that turns data into scent, giving brands more intuitive, data-driven, and creative ways to design fragrances - launched. Generation by Osmo allows brands to predict and synthesise new molecules that have never been smelt before and solve problems that existing materials can’t, such as toxicity and safety to humans and the planet.

The Perfume Shop to host UK's first fragrance-themed escape room

The UK’s first perfume-themed escape room landed in London this month, hosted by The Perfume Shop
in celebration of National Fragrance Week. Designed to take guests on a journey through the world of fragrance, the new ‘Scent Unlocked’ pop-up challenged participants to unlock scent-inspired puzzles while exploring four themed rooms dedicated to perfume brands including Gucci, Marc Jacobs, BOSS and Burberry.

Wildsmith introduces fully compostable packaging with Shellworks

Botanical beauty brand Wildsmith teamed up with packaging innovators Shellworks to introduce product "packaging that will never become waste". Two of Wildsmith's bestselling formulas, Active Repair Copper Peptide Cream and Ceramide Repair Balm, will be available to purchase packaged in Vivomer, the 100% compostable packaging.

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