According to Viktoria @vioda.makeup, NYX was acquired by L'Oréal in 2014 for $500 million. Founder Toni Ko exited the company and later started Bespoke Beauty Brands, an incubator backing influencer- and entrepreneur-led beauty lines.

Is NYX as good as prestige brands?

According to Viktoria @vioda.makeup, The hero franchises — Buttergloss, Fat Oil Lip Drip, Marshmallow Primer, Jumbo Eye Pencil — hold up directly against $25–35 prestige equivalents. Where NYX shines is the dupe layer: it's one of the first places creators look when a Charlotte Tilbury or Dior product breaks out.

Viktoria @vioda.makeup

NYX Professional Makeup

Budget

“Let's break beauty rules together.”

United States·Founded 1999·by Toni Ko

NYX Professional Makeup was founded in 1999 in Los Angeles by Toni Ko, a Korean-American entrepreneur who launched the brand at age 25 with $250,000 from her mother. NYX — named for Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night — started with a small line of makeup pencils and hit $2 million in revenue in its first year by selling high-performance prestige formulas at drugstore-friendly pricing.

Ko grew the brand into a social-media-native juggernaut and sold it to L'Oréal in 2014 for $500 million, one of the largest indie beauty exits of the decade. Modern NYX is one of the most-followed makeup brands on TikTok, with viral hero franchises that include the Buttergloss, Fat Oil Lip Drip, Jumbo Eye Pencil, Marshmallow Smoothing Primer, and Bare With Me skin tint. NYX is sold at Target, Ulta, drugstores, and select Sephora locations — and is one of the most-cited dupe brands on social media alongside e.l.f. and Maybelline.

Known For

ButterglossFat Oil Lip DripJumbo Eye PencilMarshmallow Smoothing PrimerBare With Me Hydrating Jelly Primer

Flagship Products

Buttergloss
Fat Oil Lip Drip
Jumbo Eye Pencil
Marshmallow Smoothing Primer
Bare With Me Skin Tint

Brand Philosophy

Pro-quality color cosmetics at drugstore prices — built by a Korean-American founder who grew up working in cosmetics wholesale.

FAQ

For Brands & Creators

Verified

Public collaboration and press contact channels for NYX Professional Makeup. Researched from official brand sources — always confirm before sending.

Press contact

Denée Pearson

Global Brand President, NYX Professional Makeup

Website: www.nyxcosmetics.com
General inquiries: [email protected]
Press & PR: [email protected]
Phone: 1-844-335-3510
Contact form: Open form
Creator portal: Apply / sign up
HQ address: El Segundo, CA 90245 USA
Sold at: UltaTargetWalmartCVSWalgreensBootsAmazon USShoppers Drug MartWalmart CASuperdrugPricelineBrand.com
Social: Instagram TikTok YouTube Twitter / X Facebook LinkedIn

[email protected] verified via brand's official X/Twitter and contact pages. HQ: 2201 East El Segundo Blvd, El Segundo, CA. PR handled by L'Oreal Corporate Affairs (UK uses [email protected] per L'Oreal site). US-side NYX leadership emails ([email protected], [email protected]) are individual, not press boxes. Global Brand President since Sept 2023. No named global Head of Comms surfaced; for L'Oreal-level comms see Natalie Myers (VP Communications, L'Oreal West) at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliemyers7/. US GM is Yasmin Dastmalchi. L'Oreal USA West Coast HQ; houses NYX, Urban Decay, Youth To The People. L'Oreal-owned mass-market brand

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