Sephora has named Substance of Light, a UV protective skin care brand founded in 2021 by French entrepreneur Clara Nentille, as the first winner of its new prize for emerging European beauty brands. The retailer announced the result on the eve of its Sephoria festival in London, where tickets sold out within 10 minutes and a 55,000-person waiting list formed behind roughly 4,000 sold tickets.

The prize is part of Sephora's wider effort to incubate brands and give them tools to compete in a crowded market. It drew 150 founder applications after its unveiling in June. Judges from across the Sephora team cut the list to 10, then revealed the final three on Thursday night ahead of the two-day consumer festival.

Who won what?

The podium split across three categories of beauty.

• First place: Substance of Light, UV protective skin care, founded 2021 by Clara Nentille.
• Second place: French Cowboy, a fragrance house founded in 2025 by Ashley Santiago and Adrien Ollat, which collaborates with different creatives on its scents.
• Third place: Omad's, a Belgian hair care brand founded in 2021 by Zoé Jadot and Julien Dupont, built on an old family recipe aimed at naturally brightening blond hair.

The prize is open to brands across the region, including continental Europe, the U.K., Turkey, Switzerland and Monaco.

What does the winner actually get?

The top winner receives three years of guidance on research and development, supply chain, operations, merchandising, marketing and working with investors. Sephora also promotes the winning brand's products across Europe and in its "The Next Big Thing" campaign. The runners-up receive similar mentoring and marketing support for one year.

That package reflects Spindler's read on the market. "On one side, the industry is fantastic because it's still growing, but I think newcomers need help in understanding how to scale properly, and at the right pace, and we want to support them," she said.

Why these three brands?

Catherine Spindler, Sephora Europe and Middle East president, said the three winners shared qualities that survived several rounds of judging. "What unites them is storytelling, the personal element and the authenticity with which they've built their brands. They are also bringing something new to the market," she said.

She framed the prize as an extension of the retailer's identity. "This new initiative is based on Sephora's DNA. We want to find new brands and trends, but we also want to celebrate European entrepreneurship. We often talk about new brands coming out of the U.S. and Asia, but it's just unbelievable to see how full of energy and creativity European beauty is, and how many fantastic founders there are out there," Spindler said in an interview on the sidelines of the London event.

She was blunt about the odds newcomers face. "It's such a difficult landscape — there are so many brands. And in order to build your brand you need good products and the ability to distribute and scale. But you also have to be authentic in what you are doing."

How big is Sephoria's pull?

The London edition, held at 180 Strand in central London on Friday and Saturday, functioned less like a trade show than a beauty fun fair. The 45 brands present sold nothing. They offered immersive experiences instead: makeup sessions, games, photo opportunities and music moments.

Themed merchandise sat near the entrance, including lipstick-printed T-shirts and cotton bags made with designer Ashish, plus London-themed key chains and caps. Upstairs, Sephora teamed with well-being company Sanctum, which handed out noise-canceling headphones and ran a large space with guided meditations, dim lighting and bean bag chairs.

Sephoria launched in Milan and Paris in 2025 and will move to a different European city every year. Next year it returns to Paris.

What comes next?

The cycle is already turning. Spindler announced the details of the 2027 prize on Thursday night, with submissions opening on Oct. 26. Winners will be revealed in the first quarter of next year. For a three-year mentoring package and a pan-European campaign slot, 150 applicants will likely look like a warm-up number.