Coty bought Philosophy in 2010 from Carlyle Group for a reported $1 billion. Philosophy makes skin care and other beauty products as well as fragrances. It was founded in 1996 by Cristina Carlino.
Cristina Carlino (born in 1961) founded Philosophy in 1996; she subsequently became an ubiqitous face on TV home-shopping network QVC before selling the business to private equity juggernaut Carlyle Group in 2007 for $475 million, though she retained a “significant equity holding” in the firm. Since then, Philosophy has been resold for $1 billion to cosmetics juggernaut Coty Inc., best-known for buying out 51% of Kylie Jenner’s brand in 2019. For her part, Carlino has since become an angel investor, doling out significant venture funding to startups like Paper Cosmetics.
