Key Takeaways: 

• Execution in Q4 is critical for shaping momentum into 2026.
• Brands are balancing growth with operational realities, including tariffs and supply chain challenges.
• Education, community, and pro-advocacy are driving consumer engagement and loyalty.
• Thoughtful international expansion and category innovation are top priorities for next year.

As beauty founders and brand leaders head into the final months of 2025, they’re navigating an unprecedented market defined by constant consumer shifts, macroeconomic pressures, and evolving social media trends.

From Peach & Lily’s first international retail expansion in Mexico to Fur’s bold product innovations, Live Tinted’s community-driven strategies, and Brown Sugar Babe’s focus on profitability, beauty leaders are balancing growth ambitions with operational realities.

Meanwhile, biotech-powered haircare brand K18 is doubling down on science-driven innovation and consumer education, highlighting the ways advanced technology and storytelling are shaping the future of beauty. Across indie and established players alike, a few recurring themes emerge: strategic focus for H2, planning for 2026, adapting to economic headwinds, and leveraging social media to engage consumers in meaningful ways.

BeautyMatter spoke with these beauty leaders to learn what’s top of mind as they close the year, and how they’re preparing for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Priorities in the Fourth Quarter of 2025: “Execution Is Everything”

As beauty brands close out the year, their fourth-quarter strategies reflect just how diverse the landscape has become. For some, it’s about perfecting large-scale international rollouts. For others, it’s about doubling down on education, refining hero products, or maximizing holiday sales. What unites them is an understanding that execution in these final months will undoubtedly determine momentum heading into 2026.

For Peach & Lily, the fourth quarter represents the high-stakes execution of its first international retail partnership with Ulta Beauty in Mexico City. “We could have done international already, but we always believe in growing through productivity and in penetration [by going an inch wide and a mile deep] in the areas you’ve decided to enter,” founder Alicia Yoon told BeautyMatter.

K18 co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Suveen Sahib echoed the need for focus. “The two top priorities are execution and discipline, and doubling down on precision. … Stylists are our anchor,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brown Sugar Babe is in full holiday mode. “We’re thinking about what we’re going to be offering, the margins we're expecting, and the trends we should capitalize on. Those are the things that we're tackling right now and implementing a strategy to accomplish,” founder and CEO Maekaeda Gibbons told BeautyMatter.

At Fur, with holiday planning out of the way, co-founders Laura Schubert and Lillian Tung say the fourth quarter is about operational efficiency. “It's a competitive time of year, but it's also a great time of year. We’re making sure we execute the plan we created and at the same time set the table for 2026. … Execution is everything,” Schubert said.

Live Tinted’s President, Amanda Domaleczny, is concentrating on all stages of the funnel. “We’re obsessed with where discovery is happening and where conversion is happening in this kind of multitouch attribution that in beauty is hard to wrap your head around,” she said.

Each agrees that fourth-quarter choices will shape next year’s trajectory.

Eyes on 2026: Balancing Growth and Expansion with Caution 

With fourth-quarter plans in place, these leaders are defining 2026 goals while bracing for economic volatility. They’re eying international expansion, category innovation, deeper community building, and education and retail growth—but they’re all doing so with measured ambition.

Brown Sugar Babe, headquartered in Atlanta, will open its first brick-and-mortar store in the fourth quarter of 2025, with plans to host events and expand at the start of 2026. “The plan is to go to other markets like New York and Houston as time progresses,” Gibbons said. In the meantime, the flagship will focus on creating “a community and experience” to deepen its connection with consumers.

Live Tinted is thinking about how to evolve and double down on its existing retail partnerships after its complexion category drove unexpected growth this year. “We're continuing to grow our store footprint with Ulta Beauty in the US and with Sephora in Canada … with more space and more products,” Domaleczny said, adding that 2026 will also include “figuring out the experience at each of those touch points for the product business that we're building.”

Tung says next year, Fur will lean on education as a growth lever. “In 2026, we’re bringing honesty and efficacy into tangential categories and body concerns. … How consumers are thinking about their bodies and what they're asking for in those routines is becoming more complex, more sophisticated, and honestly, higher quality. How Fur is going to play into that is a real 2026 goal,” she said.

For K18, winning international markets through localized education and intentional marketing is key. “We’re approaching Europe with a strong, thoughtful strategy and localizing our brands—not exporting America to Europe; this is about becoming part of European culture and British culture. We are looking at how we become relevant to each of these cultures. … That philosophy is going to be a growth engine for us,” Sahib explained.

Peach & Lily is similarly focused on thoughtful expansion, but Yoon emphasizes that 2026 will be just as much about innovation as it is about geography. “We have some new innovations coming in 2026 that we’ve been working on for so many years. Our team is knee-deep in preparing, and I’m excited about that. … We’re also preparing a lot of exciting things to connect with our consumers in a deep way, including more in-person [experiences] as well,” she said.

Tariffs, Trade, and Supply Chain: A New Reality 

Possibly the most widespread operational headache this year has been navigating the ever-evolving tariff and global trade policies. These unavoidable factors have altered timelines, packaging and ingredient sourcing, and pricing strategies across the beauty landscape.

Peach & Lily’s Yoon describes how a once-simple import process became a moving target. “We made most of our products in Korea … it used to be no tariffs, [but] now we have to navigate tariffs that come into the US. We’re negotiating with all of our suppliers. … The impact on the consumer is the last thing, but there may be a certain point where we [say] 'This isn’t tenable,’” she said.

Sahib says K18 has been preparing to stay ahead of sudden policy changes. “We built redundancy, diversified suppliers, and even started near-sourcing packaging so we wouldn’t be reactionary to trade shocks,” he explained.

For Fur, sourcing and customization have been pressure points as global shipping costs and duties fluctuate. “Packaging is our biggest challenge. We source pieces from different countries, and when tariffs go up, you feel it right away. We’ve had to rethink lead times and safety stock,” Schubert.

Live Tinted has tried to stay proactive with pricing, rather than scrambling to catch up. “We did a couple of price increases, but more in line with a pricing strategy that was set a couple of years ago,” Domaleczny said, adding that they’ve been able to avoid emergency hikes by planning years ahead.

And Brown Sugar Babe’s Gibbons has already seen tariffs directly influence her operations and international ambitions. “Customers were getting duty bills … so we had to rethink packaging and even paused some international DTC moves until we could make it work.”

Whether it’s K-beauty imports, biotech ingredients, or indie fragrance packaging, beauty leaders are building supply chains that can bend without breaking when tariffs change overnight.

Consumer Shifts and Social Media: Education, Community, and Pro-Advocacy 

Social platforms still drive discovery, but the balance between pro-advocacy, short-form virality, and community has shifted toward more education and credibility.

Yoon sees a surge in consumer curiosity. “Our community is hungry for education. … You can definitely expect a lot more education from us in all different formats,” she said.

For Live Tinted and Brown Sugar Babe, owned communities have been a key driver of growth and consumer acquisition. “[Live Tinted] started as this community-first platform and brand. [For us], the opportunity has been continuing to weave that approach into what we have been doing … with our product development programming and our field initiatives. We've gotten closer to the customer than ever this year,” Domaleczny said.

And for Brown Sugar Babe, its Facebook group has highlighted the power of fragrance and community. “Fragrance is an essential part of a lot of people's lives, and tapping into that is always going to secure our spot in the ecosphere. … Some of the stories that the women tell are about how fragrance makes them feel and boosts their confidence. … We're going to lean a lot more into that in 2026,” said Gibbons.

Both Tung and Schubert agreed that the brand’s pro community will remain a primary objective to help usher in new product innovations. “Consumers are looking for value and efficacy,” Tung said. “It’s not just the right price, but the right product with the right efficacy that makes it worthwhile. At the end of the day, a $55 oil is expensive, but it’s worthwhile to them, and they’re looking for those results with before-and-afters or clinicals.”

Similarly, Sahib notes that the pro community has always been a big driver of growth for the brand and central to K18’s expansion. “When stylists are loving K18 in the back bar, they will stand up for us—that's what, in turn, drives retail opportunities. … That community will continue to be a core focus for us, and we will do it with integrity, while figuring out how we can expand the footprint of the stylist distribution,” Sahib shared.

What’s Top of Mind: Adaptability, Community, and Education
 
Whether launching global expansions, strengthening pro communities, or weathering tariffs, these executives' mindsets reveal that beauty in 2025 is as much about resilience as it is about innovation. Their collective mindset heading into 2026: plan meticulously, educate relentlessly, and pivot quickly, all without losing sight of the consumer.