Estée Lauder Companies is reportedly exploring the sale of Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart+ in a single package deal, as the beauty giant continues to reset its portfolio and focus on higher‑growth priorities. The three brands are being quietly shopped to potential buyers at a combined price estimated in the low nine figures (roughly $100 million to $199.99 million).
What Estée Lauder is reportedly selling
Industry sources indicate that Estée Lauder Companies has mandated advisers to gauge interest in Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart+ as a bundled transaction rather than three separate sales. All three brands were once viewed as growth engines within the group, but sales momentum has slowed in recent years amid intense competition and shifting beauty trends.
The brands span key categories and geographies: Too Faced in color cosmetics with strong roots in the United States, Smashbox in makeup and artistry, and Dr. Jart+ as a South Korea‑born skincare label with global reach. A sale would mark one of Estée Lauder’s most significant brand cuts since it began actively pruning its portfolio under its ongoing restructuring plan.
Why these three brands are on the block
The trio has struggled to sustain growth as consumer interest shifts from full‑glam makeup to skincare, hybrid formulas, and derm‑driven brands. Once‑viral names that leaned heavily on social media hype have found it harder to keep pace with newer, faster‑moving competitors and changing shopping habits.
At the same time, Estée Lauder Companies has been under pressure to repair margins and reignite top‑line growth after supply chain challenges, a slow recovery in China, and uneven category performance. Selling underperforming or lower‑priority assets would free up capital and focus for core franchises such as Estée Lauder, MAC, La Mer, Jo Malone London, and Tom Ford Beauty.
The price tag and what buyers might see
The three brands together are being marketed in the “low nine figures,” suggesting a steep discount to earlier expectations baked into prior acquisitions—particularly around Dr. Jart+. That valuation reflects both softer current performance and the investment a buyer would need to reignite growth across product, branding, and distribution.
For prospective buyers, the appeal lies in acquiring established brand equity, existing global distribution, and a pipeline of hero products that still resonate with loyal fans. However, any acquirer would likely need a clear repositioning plan, especially for Too Faced and Smashbox, to stand out in an overcrowded color‑cosmetics landscape.
A signal of a wider beauty portfolio resets
This potential divestment comes as more beauty conglomerates reevaluate their stables and shed slower brands to sharpen their portfolios. Economic uncertainty in major markets like the United States and China has made consumers more selective and price‑sensitive, prompting big groups to double down on their strongest global franchises.
Estée Lauder Companies’ move, if completed, would crystallize a broader industry trend in 2026: using divestitures not just to cut costs, but to reallocate capital into strategic acquisitions, innovation, and hero lines. It would also underline how quickly, once “it” brands can move from growth darlings to restructuring candidates when they fail to adapt to new waves of beauty consumers.
