text: This Prime Day, Amazon wants Lady Gaga to help push it further into beauty - The Girl Sun
  Home Money This Prime Day, Amazon wants Lady Gaga to help push it further...
  But cosmetics has proven difficult for Amazon to conquer. Sephora, which has long prized itself as a retailer of prestige cosmetics, has in the past punished brands for selling their products on Amazon. Luxury brands like Estee Lauder and L'Oreal, which hold an inordinate amount of the industry's power, have been reluctant to sell on Amazon, which is infamously known for its no-frills shopping experience.
  Those challenges haven't prevented Amazon from trying. It struck a partnership with luxury beauty line, Violet Grey, in 2017. This April, it announced it is launching its first dedicated skin care line, called Belei.
  Now, as color cosmetics sales slow in comparison to rapid-fire growth in skincare, the tide may be turning in Amazon's favor. Cosmetics is still the largest portion of the $18.8 billion prestige beauty business, according to trade organization The NPD Group. But cosmetics last year posted only 1% sales growth over the year prior, while skincare sales grew 13% and contributed to 60% of the overall industry's growth.
  The slowness in cosmetics is showing itself in the industry's titans, Sephora and Ulta — thereby possibly denting the exclusive loyalty brands feel towards them.
  "On the existing brands … including some of the biggest brands that had been driving growth over some time at Ulta are continuing to struggle. There's a transformation in the makeup business right now. The category remains healthy, but there's a shift in consumer preference on brand," said David Kimbell, Ulta's president and chief merchandising and marketing officer, in May.
  Sephora, meantime, is giving increased space in its stores to skincare rather than cosmetics, reflecting changing habits. It is also devoting a significant amount of its prime shelf space for cosmetics to Rihanna's Fenty makeup, the highly popular line owned by its parent, LVMH.
  "As these retailers shift their focus to skin and see softness [in prestige cosmetics], these brands are rightfully saying '60% of all searches are starting on Amazon, why not go to Amazon?,'" said Radhakrishnan.