Growth stories in beauty are often told through a viral product. Mary van Praag tells hers through strategy, team building and a clearly defined customer. In a conversation on the Glossy Beauty Podcast, published September 10, the chief executive of Milani Cosmetics laid out how the company reached just under $250 million in annual sales in 2025, and why she believes it can reach $500 million within the next three years. Below, the essential points, with her words quoted as published by Glossy.
The Context
Van Praag joined Milani as CEO in 2020, bringing experience from Revlon, Johnson & Johnson, Coty and Perricone MD. The brand is privately held by private equity firm Gryphon Investors and sells through Ulta Beauty, Target, Walmart, CVS and Amazon, among others, with hero products at accessible prices, including a $12.99 baked blush, $13.99 setting spray and $14.99 mascara. According to Glossy, Milani delivered more than 10 percent sales growth in 2025 and moved from No. 10 to No. 7 in mass color cosmetics.
On Consistency
Van Praag points first to durability rather than a single breakout year.
“[It’s been] about 20 quarters of consecutive growth ahead of the category, so we’re very, very proud of that.”
Even so, she frames the milestone as a starting line: “We feel like we’re just getting started.”
On Phases of Growth
She describes the business as moving through deliberate stages.
“We set out a clear strategy [and] we’ve had phases of growth. … I’d say we’re in the catapult phase now.”
Glossy describes the current phase as focused on refining product architecture and reinvigorating the brand’s DNA, with further opportunities in retail space and international expansion.
On Building the Team
She credits much of the progress to the organization she built.
“I created what I’d say is a world-class team, and built processes to help enable that growth with the team, step-by-step.”
On the Customer
Milani’s planning is anchored in a single, specific persona, described by Glossy as a 37-year-old core millennial who is professional, urban-dwelling and family-focused.
“We’re naming her Sophia for the moment, and she’s not a trend; she’s not a label, but she wants something in makeup that will reveal who she is personally, but not redefine herself.”
It is a revealing line for any brand navigating trend cycles: the target is not a microtrend or an aesthetic, but a person with a stable sense of self.
On the $500 Million Goal
On doubling again, van Praag was measured but confident. “Everything that we’re planning suggests that we’re tracking to that goal,” she said, adding: “If the past is any predictor of the future, I’m quite confident we will get there.”
The Takeaway
Van Praag’s approach will resonate well beyond mass beauty. A clear strategy in stages, a team built before the push, and a customer defined precisely enough to say no to trends: these are disciplines any growth-stage brand can borrow. Whether Milani reaches half a billion dollars by 2029 will depend on execution at retail, but the leadership framework is already visible.
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- Mary van Praag doubled Milani Cosmetics annual sales to $250 million in five years. Now she’s ready to double them again., Glossy (Lexy Lebsack), 2026-09-10
Lead image: illustrative photo by Chidera Faustina Okeke on Unsplash.
