If you had thought that you had seen the last of Beautycon, think again. We’re happy to report that the once-beloved beauty festival is set to make a return this year, under new ownership.
After a four-year hiatus, Beautycon makes a much-anticipated debut this fall with a reimagined beauty-filled festival taking place on September 16-17 in Los Angeles. With the help of its new management, Essence Ventures, the event plans on ushering in a new era of beauty—one that dismantles unhealthy beauty standards, amplifies global beauty conversations, and celebrates creators of all identities, gender expressions, textures, and backgrounds. Along with introducing its new vision and mission, the 2023 Beautycon experience will also introduce a fresh tagline to encourage individuals to define beauty for themselves: “rally the beauty rebels.”
“For far too long, the beauty industrial complex has defined an unattainable and synthetic standard for what beauty is that permeates the spirits, bodies, and souls of humanity and creates a dissonance that causes diminishing self-worth and value, which has lead to a global mental and physical health crisis, fueled by the pursuit of the unrealistic standards of what is beautiful,” said Caroline Wanga, president and CEO of Essence Ventures. “As we re-activate Beautycon, we fully intend to not only democratize beauty, but to also reverse the sequence of importance by returning the definition back into the hands of individuals and holding brands and the beauty ecosystem accountable to following the lead of the individual instead of perpetuating an aesthetic of attraction as the standard on how to exist.”
For this year’s event, Beautycon will be calling on Walmart to serve as its exclusive retail partner. The retailer will be showing up with a dynamic experience that features some of its most loved beauty brands and products, specially curated for the event. Not to mention, leading up to Beautycon, Walmart will empower creators to tell the story of beauty from their eyes, kicking off the conversation around how beauty is defined today.
“At Walmart, we aspire to be the most inclusive beauty retailer, from our store shelves to our digital aisles,” said Jill Toscano, vice president, media, at Walmart. “Walmart ensures everyone has the tools to confidently express themselves and define what beauty means to them. By teaming up with Beautycon, we hope to create a celebratory space where everyone feels like they can fully embrace and express their whole self.”
To hold us all over while we wait for its homecoming to L.A., Beautycon will be making its pre-debut at the 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, presented by Coca-Cola, in New Orleans, LA from June 29 – July 3. Attendees will have the opportunity to preview this new era of Beautycon as well as engage with the leading voices of beauty.
Tickets for the Los Angeles event will be on sale starting June 15, with more details announced in the coming weeks. For more information about Beautycon 2023, beauty enthusiasts and “rebels” can head over to www.beautycon.com for more information or follow @beautycon on Instagram.
