We Speak Fashion

L’Oréal Powers Past the Beauty Market: €35.33 Billion in Nine Months as Salon and Derm Brands Lead

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

The world’s largest beauty company is growing faster than the market it leads. L’Oréal reported sales of €35.33 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 6.9% like-for-like and 7.7% as reported, in a statement released on October 22. Third-quarter sales reached €11.56 billion, up 7.2% like-for-like.

CEO Nicolas Hieronimus called it “an exceptional third quarter,” saying the global beauty market “once again proved its resilience” and that L’Oréal “continued to significantly outpace it” — company commentary put the wider market’s growth at roughly 5% for the quarter.

The quarter’s heavy lifting came from the group’s two professional-facing divisions. Professional Products — home to Kérastase, Redken and L’Oréal Professionnel — sold €1,469.1 million in Q3, up 12.1% like-for-like, while Dermatological Beauty (La Roche-Posay, CeraVe, SkinCeuticals) sold €1,871.6 million, up 12.2%. L’Oréal Luxe added €4,176.6 million (+6.4%) and Consumer Products €4,044.3 million (+4.3%), as fragrances and haircare drove growth, skincare continued to accelerate, and e-commerce sales grew around 17% — well ahead of the online beauty market.

The brand highlights told the same story. Kérastase grew double-digit, powered by Gloss Absolu, Genesis and Chronologiste; La Roche-Posay launched Mela B3 Double-Dose and Anthelios UV Air; Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre and MYSLF fragrances grew double-digit; and the newly acquired fragrance house Creed performed strongly.

Regionally, SAPMENA-SSA was the standout at +19.2% like-for-like, followed by Europe at +9.9% and North Asia at +7.8%; North America grew 2.2% (5.6% adjusted), and Latin America was the only region to decline, down 1.0%. During the period L’Oréal also closed its acquisition of a majority stake in Innovist, a digital-first Indian personal care house of brands — a results statement that underlines a simple point: at €35 billion in nine months, L’Oréal is not just leading the beauty business, it is widening the gap.

We Speak Fashion

From a Maine Classroom to the Runway: Solange Omon Wins Victoria’s Secret’s Angel Search and an IMG Models Contract

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

We Speak Media

The newest Victoria’s Secret Angel was a full-time college student in Maine when the year began. Solange Omon, 21, was named the brand’s newest Angel on October 18, 2026, winning Angels Among Us, the nationwide open casting search Victoria’s Secret documented as a YouTube docuseries, and making her runway debut the same night at the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles.

The search, led by chief creative officer Adam Selman, toured four U.S. cities and followed contestants through auditions, runway training, fittings and eliminations from September. Omon was spotted at the Chicago casting and earned a place in the top 10 before reaching the final three alongside Andreína Martínez Fournier and Tatyana Tinsley, with her win revealed live during the show. According to Forbes’ reporting of comments by company executive Elizabeth Preis, more than 100,000 people began the application process and roughly 900 were invited to audition.

Her prize, as reported by People and Grazia, includes an exclusive modeling contract with IMG Models. At the show, she walked in the Autumn Changes segment wearing gold wings with a flowing sheer cape, and Victoria’s Secret confirmed her selection on its official fashion-show site as the company’s newest Angel.

Born in Cameroon and based in Lewiston, Maine, Omon is the oldest of six siblings; her family moved to the United States when she was young. Before entering the competition, she was studying full time while working as a program coordinator at local nonprofits, supporting mostly Black and immigrant teenagers with job applications, mentoring, school support and climate education.

It is a résumé that makes her an unusual Angel — and exactly the kind of discovery story an open casting is designed to find: from a Maine classroom to one of fashion’s most-watched runways in a single season.