Dieux Skin, the direct-to-consumer skincare brand that’s ridden star products to a star turn on social media, is breaking into brick-and-mortar retail at Sephora.
The brand launches today on the beauty specialty retailer’s website before rolling out to 714 doors on March 6. Sephora is carrying its $44 Air Angel Gel Cream, $69 Deliverance Serum, $25 Forever Eye Mask and Instant Angel Moisturizer in two sizes, a 50-ml. size for $45 and a 100-ml. size for $78.
Started in 2020 by cosmetic chemist and chief of product Joyce De Lemos, chief creative officer Marta Freedman and CEO Charlotte Palermino with a waiting list thousands of people deep for its sole debut product, the reusable Forever Eye Mask, Dieux sought to establish a meaningful product range prior to entering physical retail. “We have a really strong set of products,” says Palermino. “I think we understand why the products work and who it’s for. Now that we have that, we can then bring that into Sephora.”
Sephora’s focus on brand building and education were big draws for Dieux. The brand was an early adopter of TikTok Shop and has nearly 80,000 followers and just under 943,000 likes on TikTok. On Instagram, it has 116,000 followers. Palermino has 295,000 followers on Instagram. On TikTok, she has 413,000 followers and almost 9 million likes. She regularly addresses hot-button beauty topics on social media. (Yes, Juvia’s Place’s products can be worn by people with light skin, she points out in a recent post, and she highlights misinformation about carcinogens in beauty products.)
“A massive part of how we built the brand was educational content and transparency, explaining things to people, so I think, with Sephora, they have so many opportunities for us to get in front of beauty advisors,” says Palermino. “If you’re going into a retail store, to have somebody who’s informed on products and who understands what’s going to work for your skin and going to tell you, ‘Don’t buy this for your skin type, maybe try this,’ it’s the kind of guidance that people need.”
Dieux, which reports it achieved 45% growth last year to surpass $10 million in sales, is financing its Sephora partnership with DTC revenue. The brand is in early-stage beauty and wellness brand investment firm True Beauty Ventures’ portfolio. Palermino declines to disclose how much funding Dieux has raised. She says, “We raised money a few years ago, and we didn’t actually spend it because we’ve been profitable.”
Dieux’s Forever Eye Mask reached cult status out of the gate after popping up in celebrities like Hailey Bieber’s social media feeds. On top of the celebrity spotlight, the reusable and selfie-able aspects of the product made it a hit.
“You really do buy it only once, but we stick around for a long time. The repurchase rate is very low on the Forever Eye Mask, and I’m personally very proud of that number,” says Palermino, continuing, “It was a moment in time when people were relieved to see that this was even possible for a business, that you could create a product that you buy once and get a lot of exposure, and so that exposure obviously led to awareness, awareness eventually leads to sales.”
“The repurchase rate is very low on the Forever Eye Mask, and I’m personally very proud of that number.”
Dieux didn’t participate in paid media during its first year of business. Currently, its paid media strategy mostly consists of amplifying organic content that’s already performing. Palermino, whose resume crosses traditional media, marketing, advertising and social media jobs at companies such as Snapchat, Say Media and Hearst, says, “Content is content. Advertising is content. It’s the same thing. What gets people engaged organically is the same thing as something that’s paid.
To support its Sephora launch, Dieux will be diversifying its promotional activities by executing in-person events and collaborations with fellow Sephora brands along with Instagram and TikTok content creation. Palermino says, “I love makeup, I love makeup artists, and the Forever Eye Masks are perfect for makeup application because it catches eyeshadow fallout, and so I’m already DMing all the makeup artists that have brands there and I’m like, ‘Hey, what do you want to do together at Sephora?’”
She’s DMing brands competing in the skincare category with Dieux as well. “We recognize that, if you open up anyone’s medicine cabinet, they have a bunch of different brands, and that’s OK because there are incredible brands out there,” says Palermino. “We’re friends with Eadem, and we’re friends with Topicals. There are so many brands that we can collaborate with, and I think that’s another thing that we’re so excited about is to all educate together with brands that have similar value sets.”
Dieux will be releasing a sunscreen in the future. Palermino has been vocal about the United States lagging other countries when it comes to sun care innovation. Last year, she recorded a video with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the issue. Also last year, De Lemos told Beauty Independent that she’d like to round out Dieux’s product assortment with a cleanser and expressed interest in branching into body care.
Dieux’s core demographic is consumers aged 25 to 44 years old, but its customer base shifts depending on the product. Deliverance and Instant Angel are popular with menopausal women because of their calming and moisturizing properties, while Air Angel is picked up by young customers dealing with acne. Age aside, Palermino emphasizes that the brand is helping people find what is effective for their skin with the fewest number of steps possible.
“The idea that you need to constantly be launching for newness and for sales is not part of our philosophy,” she says. “I understand that business model, but it’s not really how we’re set up nor is it the kind of purchasing behavior that I personally enjoy aligning with. What I always say is it’s about finding your niche, but your niche is millions of people.”
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