Since launching about two years ago in August, Polite Society has carved out a presence in retail, driven by a fast-growing partnership with Ulta Beauty.
The “clean” cosmetics brand, founded by Too Faced veterans Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson, debuted at Ulta Beauty in 2023 in 700 doors. That number has grown to nearly 1,200 locations, with double shelf space in 215 stores.
“What it took us 10 years to do with Too Faced, we’ve done in a year-and-a-half,” laughed Blandino. (In 2016, Too Faced was sold to the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. for about $1.45 billion.) “It’s because we have an amazing team. Ninety percent of them are from Too Faced, our old team. We’re a band of incredible misfits.”
Polite Society at Ulta Beauty.
They’re in growth mode, with 35 employees in-office and another 25 in the field, and they’re actively hiring across marketing, social and operations.
“We met and exceeded our goals, and we’re growing much faster than we had planned, so we’re trying to stay ahead of it,” Blandino said of new hires.
Based in Corona del Mar, Calif., Polite Society was founded with a mission to make “clean” beauty bold, expressive and uncompromising in performance. The brand’s consumer base is led by Millennials, followed by Gen Z and Gen X in equal measure, said Johnson.
“I wanted to create a brand, first and foremost, that celebrated beauty and that’s clean and nontoxic and vegan,” Blandino went on. “Natural, nontoxic beauty just didn’t have a full glamorous, rebellious, creative, artistic perspective. And I wanted to create a brand that would give us both.”
That balance defines the brand’s formula-first approach and innovative mindset. Products include a powder blush with the ease and application of a stick and a powder highlighter designed to mimic the luminous finish of freshly moisturized skin.
But it’s their newest lip launch that’s generated the most buzz. Lip remains Polite Society’s number-one category — no surprise, given Too Faced was among those that put lip plumper on the map.
The product, B.I.G Mouth XL Plump Intensive Lip Plumping Concentrate, launched last month, and is breaking records. “It was created to target a center top lip, then to pump them both up and out for a balanced pout. It has never been done outside a doctor’s office,” claimed Blandino.
Fueled by a viral “Polite Pharmacy” social mailer, the product sold through 70 percent of its initial stock before hitting shelves at Ulta Beauty. It’s now the fastest-selling item in Polite Society’s two-year history, with one sold every 60 seconds.
Polite Society
“It’s about recreating things that might look like something you’ve seen before, or something you have in your bag, but actually work differently, improve the way you wear them and deliver on their promises in a nontoxic, clean, vegan, cruelty-free way,” Blandino said of product development.
The brand sources and formulates products globally, with 65 to 70 percent made in Italy, followed by France, and is looking to South Korea for launches in 2026, said Johnson. There are 26 new products planned for 2026, and continued international expansion.
Polite Society is set to launch in Ulta Mexico this fall, followed by Ulta Middle East. It’s also ramping up its presence in Australia with Mecca — expanding from 25 to 45 doors — and has entered Chile, Colombia and Mexico through Blush Bar.