LONDON — Sephora has picked the winners of its inaugural prize for new European beauty, part of a wider effort to incubate brands and equip them with tools needed to compete in a crowded market.
On the eve of London’s Sephoria festival, a buzzy affair where brands showcase their products, host demonstrations and master classes for consumers, the retailer revealed Substance of Light, a UV protective skin care brand founded in 2021 by French entrepreneur Clara Nentille, as winner of the Sephora Prize.
The second-place winner was fragrance house French Cowboy, which was founded in 2025 by Ashley Santiago and Adrien Ollat, and collaborates with different creatives on the scents. In third place was the Belgian hair care brand Omad’s, which was founded in 2021 by Zoé Jadot and Julien Dupont. It aims to enhance and naturally brighten blond hair with formulas based on an old family recipe.
Catherine Spindler, Sephora Europe and Middle East president, said the aim of the prize is to highlight and support European talent. The prize is open to brands across the region, including continental Europe, the U.K., Turkey, Switzerland and Monaco.
“This new initiative is based on Sephora’s DNA. We want to find new brands and trends, but we also want to celebrate European entrepreneurship. We often talk about new brands coming out of the U.S. and Asia, but it’s just unbelievable to see how full of energy and creativity European beauty is, and how many fantastic founders there are out there,” Spindler said in an interview on the sidelines of the London Sephoria event.
Sephoria launched in Milan and Paris in 2025, and will take place in a different European city every year.
The prize was unveiled in June, and Spindler said 150 founders applied. The judges, from across the Sephora team, narrowed the list down to 10, with the final three revealed on Thursday night ahead of Sephoria, which runs Friday and Saturday.
On Thursday night, Spindler announced the details of the 2027 prize, with submissions opening on Oct. 26. Winners will be revealed in the first quarter of next year.
The top winner receives three years of guidance on research and development, supply chain, operations, merchandising, marketing and working with investors. Sephora also promotes the winning brand’s products across Europe and in its “The Next Big Thing” campaign. The runners-up receive similar mentoring and marketing support for one year.
“On one side, the industry is fantastic because it’s still growing, but I think newcomers need help in understanding how to scale properly, and at the right pace, and we want to support them,” she said.
It was difficult to narrow down the list, she said, adding the three winners stood out for a number of reasons. “What unites them is storytelling, the personal element and the authenticity with which they’ve built their brands. They are also bringing something new to the market,” she said.
Spindler added: “It’s such a difficult landscape — there are so many brands. And in order to build your brand you need good products and the ability to distribute and scale. But you also have to be authentic in what you are doing.”
Organizers said the London Sephoria event was oversubscribed, with tickets selling out within 10 minutes. Sephora sold around 4,000 tickets, while the waiting list was 55,000.
The space, at 180 Strand in central London, felt like a beauty fun fair. There was themed merchandise for sale near the entrance including lipstick-printed T-shirts and cotton bags done in collaboration with the designer Ashish, and London-themed key chains and caps.
The 45 brands at the show weren’t selling anything. Instead, they offered immersive experiences, such as makeup sessions, games, photo opportunities and music moments.
The event also had spaces for people to relax upstairs. Sephora teamed with the well-being company Sanctum, which offered noise-canceling headphones to everyone, and managed a large space with guided meditations, dim lighting and bean bag chairs.
Next year the beauty jamboree will return to Paris.