It was a tale of four Nics — and some 200 fellow victors and trailblazers — at the 2025 WWD Beauty Inc Awards ceremony Tuesday night in New York.
The event, held at Lavan Midtown following Beauty Inc’s inaugural The Catalysts conference, celebrated the innovators, ideas and launches forging the future of beauty. That the honoree cohort included a Nicolas (Hieronimus, L’Oréal Groupe), a Nicola (Formichetti, MAC Cosmetics), a Nyx (Professional Makeup) and a Nick (Vlahos, Rhode) was pure coincidence — but a cheery one nonetheless.
“It’s kind of like my Greek wedding,” laughed Vlahos, chief executive officer of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode upon accepting the Deal of the Year award alongside Scott Milsten, general counsel and chief people officer of E.l.f. Beauty, which acquired Rhode in a $1 billion deal in May.
The culmination of one of beauty’s most transformative years yet, the ceremony shone a light on the individuals and teams that made it so.
Jenny B. Fine and Nicolas Hieronimus at the 2025 Beauty Inc Awards.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
It should come as no surprise, then, that the night kicked off with a fireside chat between Beauty Inc editor in chief Jenny B. Fine and Hieronimus, who was Beauty Inc’s 2025 Pete Born Impact Award honoree. As CEO of L’Oréal Groupe — only the sixth in the company’s 116-year history — Hieronimus has exemplified the kind of agility, speed and creativity that today’s macro-environment increasingly demands of its winners.
“I like the concept of movement, of beauty that moves the world,” said Hieronimus, whose most recent industry-shaking move was a 4-billion-euro transaction this fall to acquire Kering’s beauty properties, further cementing L’Oréal’s dominance in the luxury beauty space.
“What I’m trying to do at L’Oréal is to create a movement that will project the company into the future; into new territories, new visions of beauty, new categories. Whether we’re talking about beauty-tech, dermatology, new types of consumers — I don’t know if Elon Musk is right to say we’re going to be on Mars someday, but I’m sure if Martians want to look great, we will be there for them.”
This sky’s-the-limit mentality was a common theme among the night’s honorees, among them Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Simon Huck, whose supplement brand Lemme has catalyzed its category with new formats and on-trend offerings.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Simon Huck
Maria Wurtz/WWD
“I started my wellness journey when I had my first baby almost 16 years ago, and everything I do in this space is for my kids. This means so much to me,” said Kardashian Barker upon accepting the Wellness Brand of the Year award.
“This is such an incredible honor and such a full-circle, pinch-me moment,” added Huck.
For Dame Pat McGrath, who accepted the Launch of the Year award for Louis Vuitton’s foray into cosmetics, the moment was a long time coming.
Pat McGrath and Rare Beauty’s Scott Friedman and Mehdi Mehdi.
Allie Joseph/WWD
“I used to say the day that Louis Vuitton launches makeup, the world is going to stop,” said McGrath, who worked with the French fashion house for years as its key makeup artist during fashion weeks and urged it to launch makeup before becoming creative director of La Beauté Louis Vuitton. “As a makeup artist, a creative and a designer, it’s been an honor, and this is only the beginning — fasten your seatbelts.”
Similarly, Cécred CEO Grace Ray, who accepted the award for Brand of the Year, Prestige, emphasized the company was just getting started when it came to redefining the hair care category.
“When I joined Beyoncé and Miss Tina to start this brand, we set out to help shift the narrative in hair and help push a new definition of what typical beautiful hair looked like,” she said. “The thing that we’re most proud of is helping people feel a deeper connection to their hair and create a community where people feel seen.”
To close out the event, WWD beauty editor-at-large Pete Born took to the stage to honor the late Leonard Lauder, who passed away in June at age 92. During his speech, Born reminisced on the last time he saw Lauder.
“His face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw me and he said, ‘It’s Pete Born,’ and I said, ‘It’s Pete Born, your oldest old friend.’ That was Leonard. He had a knack for making everyone feel special and I’m so grateful to have known him,” Born said. “There will never, ever be another Leonard Lauder.”
Here, the complete class of 2025 Beauty Inc award winners.
The Pete Born Impact Award: Nicolas Hieronimus
Breakthrough Brand of the Year, Mass: Good Molecules
Breakthrough Brand of the Year, Prestige: Kayali
Innovator of the Year, Makeup: M.Ph by Mary Phillips
Innovator of the Year, Wellness: Olly Mood + Skin
Innovator of the Year, Hair: Crown Affair
Innovator of the Year, Skin Care: Medicube
Innovator of the Year, Fragrance: Rare Beauty
Deal of the Year: E.l.f Beauty’s Acquisition of Rhode
Excellence in Marketing: Valentino Born in Roma
Retailer of the Year: Mecca
Icon of the Year: Pantene Pro-V
Beauty Executive of the Year: Kecia Steelman, chief executive officer, Ulta Beauty
Brand of the Year, Prestige: Cécred
Brand of the Year, Wellness: Lemme
Brand of the Year, Mass: Nyx Professional Makeup
Creator of the Year: Golloria George
Creative Force of the Year: Nicola Formichetti, global creative director, MAC Cosmetics
Launch of the Year: La Beauté Louis Vuitton
An Appreciation: Leonard A. Lauder
