Update: Take a look at our Top 20 Beauty Companies of 2022 report. 

In the past year, the Beauty industry showed its flexibility, ingenuity and technical prowess, as brands and suppliers exercised remarkable fluidity in adapting to extreme conditions unlike any the world has seen.

In addition to the catastrophic human suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, global business was strongly impacted not only by sudden brick-and-mortar retail closures, but also by the shutdown of international travel—two of Beauty’s most lucrative sectors. Work-from-home makeup-free habits and mask wearing contributed to a downward spiral in color cosmetic sales.

But all was not lost. Some beauty brands and suppliers quickly pivoted to produce pandemic essentials such as hand sanitizer, while others shifted their digital capabilities into high gear via IT infrastructure, distribution channels, enhanced e- and m-commerce sites, select third-party online malls, and suppo