It’s not hard to understand why. According to reporting by the publication Puck News, POV Beauty hit the ground sprinting when it premiered online in March with five skin prep products priced from $22 to $38. It racked up about $1 million in sales during its first seven minutes and $3 million before inventory completely sold out.

More than 110,000 people signed up for the waitlist on POV’s restock in May. Once it went live, the $158 bundle containing the brand’s full assortment sold out in 30 minutes. POV Beauty is backed by Imaginary Ventures, the investment firm co-founded by Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet with Skims, Kosas, Glossier, Westman Atelier, Half Magic, Reformation, Everlane, Nécessaire and Stripe in its portfolio.

A former Ulta store employee, Nogueira joined TikTok in 2020 and attracted 10 million followers in a year with her bold makeup looks. Her influence has only continued to explode since then. In 2022, Phlur sold out of a year’s worth of its $99 Missing Person fragrance in 10 minutes after Nogueira stitched a TikTok about it. Products from L’Oréal, E.l.f. Cosmetics, Glow Recipe, Basma Beauty and CTZN Cosmetics have gone viral after being spotlighted by the influencer.

Nogueira’s ties with Ulta remain strong. In April this year, she hosted the retailer’s first public-facing beauty convention, Ulta Beauty World. However, her connection with Sephora has been blossoming too. Last month, Sephora collaborated with POV Beauty to gift 50 of Nogueira’s followers $1,000 shopping sprees at the retailer’s Times Square location in New York City.

Coming off its largest North American launch to date with Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, which was estimated by analytics firm YipitData to have exceeded $10 million in retail sales in its first two days, Sephora is looking for its next big win. Meanwhile, Ulta is laser-focused on gaining back ground it lost in 2024 as it executes a turnaround plan partly centered on securing buzzy new brands.

As the battle for POV Beauty wages on behind closed doors, we decided to dig into what the brand’s approach to retail should be. For the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions related to indie beauty, we asked nine retail consultants, content creators, marketers and investors the following questions: Do you think POV Beauty will launch at Ulta or Sephora, or should it pursue another distribution strategy altogether? What advice would you give the brand on its brick-and-mortar strategy?