Revlon: makeup icon falls to social media rivals

Revlon products on sale in a Boots store in London. The expected boom in post-lockdown cosmetics sales never materialised, causing another headache for the 90-year-old company. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

The end of the pandemic was supposed to usher in another “roaring 20s”, with bumper makeup sales as wearing lipstick became a “symbol of returning to life”. But the party is over for one of the most storied names of the makeup business, after Revlon collapsed under the weight of its debts.

It is a story of social media star power trumping old-school glamour in today’s beauty industry.