Michelle Phan acquires EM Cosmetics from Ipsy

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Sep 22, 2017

YouTube personality Michelle Phan is shuffling her businesses. The beauty expert that rose to fame through makeup tutorial videos on YouTube has formed an agreement with her company Divinium Labs and Ipsy, the online beauty shop she co-founded, to acquire EM Cosmetics from Ipsy.

 
Phan co-founded Ipsy with Marcelo Camberos and Jennifer Goldfarb in 2011 and expanded the business to work with over 8,000 creators and reach 20 million individuals. Ipsy also operates Glam Bag, a personalized beauty sampling service, and will launch in November Ipsy Shopper, an online beauty marketplace with over 30,000 SKUs.
 
Two years after co-founding Ipsy, Phan launched EM Cosmetics in the US with L’Oréal. The line, which gets its name from a Vietnamese term of endearment, did not perform well, with outlets reporting that the line was too expensive for Phan’s fan base.

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With the acquisition, Phan will be moving on from Ipsy to focus on leading EM Cosmetics.
 
“I’m excited to continue to develop EM Cosmetics for my community,” said Phan. “Leading EM Cosmetics will allow me to realize my vision of building a global beauty brand with innovative R&D and increased vertical integration. It’s been fun and rewarding to help build Ipsy from the ground up, as we’ve seen creators fundamentally change the face of the beauty industry.”
 
The new EM Cosmetics launched with affordable lip creams and eyeliners and will expand its product offering around these products.