Are Estée Lauder and Balmain launching a beauty partnership?

Estée Lauder, the beauty giant behind labels such as Tom Ford and Victoria Beckham, is thought to be close to reaching an licensing agreement with Balmain.

The Paris based luxury house, which is owned by the Qatari Mayhoola investment vehicle, would be a coup for the cosmetics company, which would license Balmain beauty in a similar set up to Tom Ford, now a billion dollar business.

Estée Lauder would produce, market and distribute Balmain’s beauty products, such as makeup and fragrance. It is not known if Balmain Hair Couture, which operates as a separate division to Balmain, will be part of the deal.

Balmain does not currently have a significant beauty presence, with the brand’s early fragrances created in the 1940s and 1950s by perfumer Germaine. Some later developed fragrances were stil available on the market when they were licensed to Inter Parfum from 2012 to 2017.