What we&#x27;re seeing in the data.

Aug 2026

Q4 Starts in August

By the time holiday traffic arrives, the winners were decided months earlier: rank built in September, inventory sent in October, creative tested before November. The calendar most brands run is too late.

Aug 2026

The Beauty Event Calendar Is Fragmenting

Prime Day moved. Retail tentpoles multiplied. Fall events stack against holiday. Why the annual promo calendar is now a strategic document, not an afterthought.

Aug 2026

When One Brand Owns a Quarter of the Ad Shelf

In one Ulta category, a single brand holds nearly 26 percent of all sponsorship. What auction concentration means, and the challenger playbook for competing around a landlord.

PDRN, Centella, and the Ingredient Search Economy

Beauty shoppers increasingly search by ingredient and format instead of brand and category. Why that rewrites keyword strategy, content, and who gets to win.

Your Category Is Shrinking. Your Plan Shouldn't Panic.

Most Ulta.com categories lost organic ground this quarter. The playbook for defending share, protecting margin, and finding the growth pockets when the shelf contracts.

K-Beauty Is the Last Growth Lane on Ulta.com

While most of Ulta.com softened this quarter, K-Beauty grew: organic visibility up 11 percent, sponsorship up 37 percent, and a leaderboard of Korean-founded brands. What the data says and what to do with it.

Medicube Took Over Amazon Skincare. Every Brand Should Study How.

In roughly a year, Medicube went from one K-Beauty brand among many to the name to beat in Amazon skincare. The short version of what happened, and where to read the full breakdown.

AI Search Is Rewriting Beauty Keyword Strategy

A growing share of shoppers start research in an AI chat and arrive at Amazon and Google with hyper-specific queries. What we're seeing in the search data, and how keyword strategy has to change.

K-Beauty's US Surge Is a Connected Commerce Story

K-beauty brands entering the US are the purest test of connected commerce: demand born in content, captured on Amazon, converted into retail. Where the winners differ from the casualties.

Jun 2026

What Amazon Marketing Cloud Actually Changes for Beauty Brands

AMC is a clean room most brands have heard of and few have used. What it actually measures, the three queries that pay for themselves, and what it changes for beauty.

May 2026

Our Honest Take on Amazon Streaming TV for Beauty Brands

Amazon STV is the shiniest thing in the ad console. When it genuinely works for beauty brands, when it is a donation to Amazon, and how to tell which one you'd be.

Apr 2026

The Halo Nobody Talks About: Amazon's Effect on Your Shopify Store

Everyone measures social-to-Amazon spillover. The reverse lane is real too: how Amazon presence lifts DTC revenue, and what we see when brands connect the data.

Mar 2026

TikTok Made Them Buy It. On Amazon.

TikTok's most valuable conversions never touch TikTok's pixel. How the lag pattern works, how to actually see it, and why capture readiness decides who profits.

Feb 2026

Branded Search Is the Quietest Tax in Beauty Media

The most profitable-looking line in your ad account is often the least incremental dollar you spend. When brand defense is real, when it is waste, and how to right-size it.

Jan 2026

Prime Day Is a Margin Event, Not a Revenue Event

Recap decks celebrate revenue. The P&L remembers discounts, fee surges, and pulled-forward demand. How we plan Prime Day for profit, not applause.