Barry M bought by make-up rival Warpaint

"Patrick O'Brien, retail research director at analytics firm GlobalData, said Barry M had failed to innovate and had instead been "more reactive". He told the BBC the company had also struggled as, despite being stocked in well-known retailers, it faced increasing competition from other brands at similar prices. O'Brien said Barry M had become "a small brand in a sea of new and fun names, which are generating traction through social media marketing"."

"Mintel analyst Clotilde Drape said Barry M's challenges reflected a broader shift in the beauty industry. The market has been reshaped by celebrity and influencer-led brands such as Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, Hailey Rhode Bieber's Rhode and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty, which offer "emotional connections and community", she said. Drape added that make-up trends have shifted from "bold, pigmented looks", Barry M's strong suit, towards "skin-first finishes, hybrid products and sheer, dewy aesthetics"."

"Speaking to the BBC in 2022, Dean said his father had been hoping to target the punks and New Romantics of the early 1980s. His father reasoned that these people were looking for "the blacks and the blues and the greens and the yellows", but why not offer more than that? He remembers his father saying that no other make-up company had produced 100 colours and Barry M would become the first to reach that goal."

Barry M was known for bold, eye-catching colours and is stocked in around 1,300 UK shops, including Superdrug, Boots, Sainsbury's and Tesco. The brand has struggled due to limited innovation and increased competition from similar-priced entrants and influencer- and celebrity-led brands. Consumers have shifted preferences toward skin-first finishes, hybrid products and sheer, dewy aesthetics rather than bold, pigmented looks. Social media marketing by newer brands has generated traction that Barry M has not matched. Since 2014 Barry M has been run by Dean Mero, and the founder aimed to offer an unprecedented range of colours targeting punk and New Romantic styles.

Read at BBC News