Key Takeaways:Sephora and Condé Nast are redefining beauty retail through creator-led commerce.Creator storefronts merge media, retail, and influence into one ecosystem.The future of beauty retail belongs to creators driving cultural conversion.Affiliate marketing and creator commerce have long sat at the tension point between brands, creators, and platforms. For years, platforms like LTK and ShopMy have served as intermediaries, enabling creators to amplify product discovery, drive traffic, and earn commissions, while brands and retailers benefit from increased reach without the need for direct storefront management.The recent news of Sephora launching My Sephora Storefront and Condé Nast rolling out its creator-led commerce playbook via Vette shows that the paradigm of affiliate marketing is shifting. These announcements signal a reassignment of power in which retailers and publishers are no longer passive hosts to affiliate links; they are attempting to own the checkout.The move will allow consumers to check out directly from the platform itself, collapsing friction and creating a more continuous commerce loop. “A linear approach is never the Sephora way,” Brent Mitchell, Vice President of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at Sephora, said in a press release. “We knew early on that we needed to create a larger ecosystem of creators and experts to show up for our consumers. While each creator community has its own unique strategy, they work together to address gaps in how beauty lovers discover new products and develop their purchasing habits.”The playbook is changing, and creators, brands, and platforms alike will need to reorient.