Procter & Gamble Might Be Kissing CoverGirl and Other Brands Goodbye

Easy, breezy, beautiful—buh-bye, girl: Procter & Gamble is said to be in the process of ditching up to 100 of its beauty brands, including iconic lines like CoverGirl, Herbal Essences and the very pricey/celebrity-endorsed SKII label, among others, in a flash sale to the public via IPO.

Via Bloomberg:

P&G is working with its advisers on the plan, the people said, though it hasn’t finalized the details, including which products will be separated. The company may still decide not to follow through with the separation, the people said.

P&G has been reviewing each of its brands, as the company looks to exit those where it doesn’t command a market-leading position. Among those likely to be sold are some fragrances, make-up and hair salon products. P&G is working on turning around its two largest beauty brands, Pantene shampoo and Olay skin care.

It’s always weird to see the labels managed under a larger, seemingly-unrelated parent company—like how LVMH owns Sephora (and subsequently Make Up For Ever, which makes a superb full-coverage concealer that covers even the shittiest of shitty dark undereye circles) and also…Hennessy, for example—which goes to show that, when it comes to spending on personal care, where we spend our money isn’t as diverse as you might think.

I also didn’t realize that Pantene and/or Olay needed turning around, since the two brands are seemingly always winning ‘Best Of’ awards from women’s glossies—and for drugstore labels, they’re quite good. But if selling off some eyeshadow quads and luxury perfume (P&G also owns Dolce & Gabbana fragrances; who knew?) is going to make it happen, then all the power to them.