Milani

Milani is an American color-cosmetics brand founded in 2001 by siblings Ralph Bijou and Laurie Minc [5]. Built around affordable makeup pitched at prestige quality, it began in East Los Angeles and is headquartered in Culver City, California. Since 2018 the brand has been owned by the private-equity firm Gryphon Investors, so while it continues to operate and launch products, it is no longer independently held [5].

By the mid-2020s Milani had grown into a roughly $200 million business, described by WWD as the only independent brand among the top 10 mass color-cosmetics brands in the United States, with sales up more than 30 percent year over year. Inside Retail Asia, profiling the company in 2024, framed that growth as a return to relevance driven by social media and a renewed focus on the brand's origins.

Milani was launched in 2001 by the siblings Ralph Bijou and Laurie Minc. The company traces its beginnings to East Los Angeles, and on its philosophy page describes that setting as central to its identity: "We began in the melting pot of East LA and are devoted to bringing beauty to all communities." From the start the stated aim was to offer makeup of prestige quality at prices accessible to a broad audience.

The brand's Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit, which later became central to a public controversy, launched in December 2017 [6]. In 2018 Milani was acquired by Gryphon Investors [5]. The company points to early 2020 as a turning point for its visibility: it entered TikTok with a branded challenge, and according to Milani the organic content "continued to go viral," helping fuel the growth reported later by trade press. Subsequent marketing leaned on the same channel, including a "TikTok Made Me Buy It" product collection.

Milani has been owned since 2018 by Gryphon Investors, a private-equity firm that acquired the brand from its founders [5]. The company has continued to operate under that ownership, and executives quoted by WWD still characterised it as the sole independent name in the mass-market top 10, distinguishing it from multinational and conglomerate-owned competitors. No sister brands or further acquisitions are recorded in the available sources.

Milani positions itself as a maker of prestige-quality makeup sold at affordable prices, summarised in its mission statement as delivering "prestige quality products at affordable prices that fit the needs of every skin tone, look and attitude. Borderless beauty, without compromise." Its tagline is "Beauty For All, Inspired By You."

Diversity and customer input are recurring themes in how the company describes itself. It frames inclusivity as foundational ("Diversity is in our DNA") and says its product ideas are crowdsourced from customers, whom it credits as the people who "define" its beauty. Milani also states that its formulas "utilize the same ingredients and labs as luxury brands" without the corresponding price markups. This affordable, broadly targeted positioning is reflected in its audience: WWD reported that 65 percent of Milani consumers are under 44, and Inside Retail Asia noted that 45 percent of its customer base identifies as non-white [4].

Milani's range spans face, eye and lip makeup along with a smaller skincare and beauty-tools selection. Its most prominent product is the Make It Last Setting Spray, described by the company as a bestseller and, per WWD, one of the top 10 setting sprays at Walmart with around 70 percent growth [5]. Other frequently cited items include the Keep It Full Nourishing Lip Plumper, the Anti-Gravity Mascara, the Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit, and the Fruit Fetish lip oils, which Inside Retail Asia characterised as high-performing alternatives to higher-priced competitors.

On ethics, the company states that it is cruelty-free and certified by PETA, adding that it does not test on animals and requires suppliers to certify the same; it also markets a dedicated vegan collection. A Wikipedia overview of the cosmetic industry lists Milani among brands making cruelty-free claims, while noting that the cruelty-free label "lacks regulation and standardized third-party certification" [3].

The company says most of its manufacturing takes place in the United States and Europe. Its philosophy page states that "96% of our luxury-quality formulas are manufactured in the United States and Europe," though an earlier version of the same page expressed the split as 68 percent North America and 29 percent Europe; both renderings point to the United States and Europe as the principal production regions [2].

Milani has been the subject of trade and industry coverage centred on its growth. WWD profiled it as the lone independent brand in the mass-market top 10 and a business of roughly $200 million [5], and Inside Retail Asia ran a 2024 feature on its revival, citing the same valuation and describing it as one of the fastest-growing mass brands in color cosmetics. Its "Face Set. Mind Set." campaign featured female athletes including the US gymnast Jordan Chiles and the WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu [4].

In 2022, during the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, Milani was drawn into testimony when Amber Heard's legal team implied she had used the brand's Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Correcting Kit to cover bruises during her relationship with Johnny Depp, which ended in 2016. Milani responded publicly on TikTok, posting documents indicating that the kit did not launch until December 2017 and so could not have been used in the period described [6]. The brand's response was viewed several million times, and reporting later noted that no product had actually been named on the record by Heard's attorneys.

Milani remains an operating, growing brand, but it is not independently owned: it has been held by the private-equity firm Gryphon Investors since 2018. As of its most recent documented activity in 2024, the company was actively selling online and continuing to launch products, with trade coverage describing sustained year-over-year growth. Its distribution is anchored in the United States but extends to European retailers.