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Sephora’s Final Rose

Inside the beauty giant’s Bachelor-themed brand summit, where winners were anointed, industry trends were analyzed, and everyone is always kissing up to stay on the shelves of the hardest-to-please retailer in the business.

Mona Kattan
Kayali’s founder, Mona Kattan, also co-founded Huda Beauty with big sister Huda Kattan, who in 2024 returned to her position as the makeup label’s C.E.O. after a tumultuous few years. Photo: Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Rachel Strugatz
March 5, 2025

Every year, many of the biggest beauty founders and executives descend on the Ritz in San Francisco for two days of schmoozing, healthy competition, and tons of beauty programming at the Sephora Brand Summit—the industry’s version of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, and a pep rally for the most dominant, hard-to-please retailer in the business. This is all closed to the public and media, of course, but there were enough beauty vendors in attendance to provide me with a play-by-play.