Throughout 2023, we’ve asked beauty investors and deal makers to share their views on the market for the remainder of 2023. Most have expressed cautious optimism, noting the resiliency of the beauty category—a bright spot among the somewhat mixed results we’ve seen in the consumer space in general. Most have said that investments and acquisitions are still available to best-in-class beauty brands with unique value propositions, outstanding founders, and profitability (or at least a clear path to profitability). But that optimism was dampened somewhat in Q3 as the BeautyMatter deal index tracked the most brand failures during the quarter since it began five years ago. Beauty brand failures in 2023 so far, a combination of bankruptcies and shutdowns, total 20, with 10 in Q3 alone. This puts 2023 on track to triple the number of failures in 2022 and exceed the number in the last three years combined, which includes those that occurred as a result of the pandemic. The majority of brand failures in 2023 have been in the skincare, retail, and color cosmetics categories.