Westman Atelier, the makeup brand launched by celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman in 2018, has raised $15 million in funding from existing backers Imaginary Ventures and Prelude Growth Partners.
The funding was disclosed in February filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Westman Atelier previously raised nearly $37 million, with Prelude participating in each prior round dating back to its 2019 seed financing and Imaginary joining a follow-on round. The new funding from Prelude and Imaginary could give Westman Atelier runway to pursue growth and wait for a more favorable environment for a strategic exit in the makeup category.
The beauty industry has been closely watching the fates of several makeup brands established as or rumored to be on the market. Makeup by Mario, Merit, Saie, Rare Beauty, Fenty Beauty, Kosas, Victoria Beckham Beauty and One/Size by Patrick Starrr are among those brands. Product and brand overlap, heavy stockkeeping unit loads, investor caution, softer makeup sales growth relative to fragrance and haircare, an influx of brands exploring sale processes and limited exit opportunities have stymied makeup dealmaking.
Westman Atelier, which Women’s Wear Daily reported was closing in on $100 million in 2023 sales, has been pegged by industry insiders as one of the brands most expected to secure a deal. Makeup by Mario is another.
A big reason is that investors are flocking to authority, a consumer draw at a time when brand trust is hard to earn, and Westman, a centerpiece of her brand’s content, oozes it. Westman’s client roster is a who’s who of Hollywood’s biggest female stars. She’s currently working with Anne Hathaway on the press tour for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” and Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Aniston have been clients, too.
Westman’s husband, David Neville, co-founder and former co-CEO of Rag & Bone, is the CEO and co-founder of Westman Atelier. In earlier funding rounds, the brand’s investors included G9 Ventures, Electric Feel Ventures and Fernbrook Capital Management. Last year, influencer marketing platform Traackr ranked Westman Atelier as the third-fastest-growing makeup brand by VIT, its metric for creator-driven brand impact, behind Sacheu Beauty and Missha, with growth of 155%.
The fresh funding also comes as Prelude and Imaginary have been busy in the beauty space. Imaginary has funded Alix Earle’s Reale Actives, Mikayla Nogueira’s POV Beauty and Lore, the fragrance brand from beauty industry veterans Joe Cloyes, Greg Gonzalez, Mazdack Rassi and Melanie Bender. Lore raised $5.5 million in funding in 2025, according to an SEC filing. A different SEC filing shows Imaginary Ventures began raising a $500 million fourth fund last year. In 2022, it closed its $500 million third fund.
Prelude led scalp care brand KilgourMD’s series A round announced earlier this month and invested $20 million in skincare brand OneSkin last year. Tower 28, Skin Pharm, Blueland and DpHue are additional beauty brands in Prelude’s portfolio. In 2025, the firm closed its third fund with $600 million, significantly above its $250 million second fund.
Upon launch, Westman Atelier entered Barneys New York with a six-piece collection spanning foundation, highlighter, contour and bronzer that adhered to its skin-first approach to makeup and positioned clean beauty formulations alongside high-performance results. Three years later, it expanded to Sephora, and today its distribution encompasses direct-to-consumer, specialty beauty retail and department stores domestically and internationally, with placements at Nordstrom, Violet Grey, Cos Bar, Cult Beauty and Net-a-Porter.
Westman Atelier sits at the high end of prestige beauty, with products ranging from $26 minis to $325 skincare items. Most hero makeup products, such as Vital Skin Foundation Stick, Face Trace Cream Contour Stick and Baby Cheeks Blush Stick, retail between $48 and $92. HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick and Sun Tone Bronzing Crème are recent releases.
Westman Atelier extended into skincare in 2023 with the launch of serum Skin Activator. In 2024, the brand told Glossy it planned to grow skincare to 10% of sales by 2025.
