Was there really a need for another great low-cost brand in the cosmetics industry? The answer, at least on the market, seems to be yes. And so Sheglam also arrives in Italy – the beauty brand born in 2019 as a cosmetic branch of the fast fashion giant Shein – which seems to be ready to invade our shelves.
In fact, it is not a quiet debut but a real widespread insertion in around 850 points of sale in the launch phase, with the aim of exceeding 1,600 stores by the end of 2026. Supporting and accompanying this process of entry and distribution on the Italian market is Total Brand (Wlam Group), which supports the brand in building the commercial network and penetrating large-scale retail trade.
First important stop, Tigotà and OVS, chains that leave no doubt about the brand’s intention to arrive everywhere and in a short time, but Sheglam can already be found in other stores in Italy.
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Low cost beauty like fast fashion
The SheGlam model is the one that transforms makeup into a product from “instagrammable” collections, with refined packaging, rock-bottom prices, and a marketing machine built on TikTok creators and virality. The result is a brand perfectly calibrated to the current scenario: what makes numbers on social media today will already be surpassed tomorrow by the next launch.
It is exactly the same logic that has made Shein one of the most discussed and controversial players in global fashion. Except that here we are not talking about clothes, but about products that come into direct contact with the skin.
However, SheGlam ensures that its products comply with the strictest international safety, quality and regulatory standards, including the European Cosmetic Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 and US FDA regulations. The brand also declares that the formulations are entirely cruelty-free, Leaping Bunny certified, largely vegan and developed following a particularly rigorous blacklist of ingredients.
However, SheGlam presents itself with a precise narrative: democratizing beauty, making it accessible to all. A powerful message, which leverages a real need. But there is a subtle and important difference between making something accessible and pushing towards ever faster and less conscious consumption.
The arrival of SheGlam in Italy is not just the debut of a new brand. It is a sign of how the beauty sector is also following more and more closely in the footsteps of fast fashion: accelerated production, very short cycles, consumers encouraged to buy today what will be “out of fashion” tomorrow.
And as has already happened with clothes, sooner or later we find ourselves dealing with what’s left: unused products at the bottom of a drawer, packaging that ends up in landfill, and the strange sensation of having bought a lot without having really chosen anything.
The real question is not just how much a few euro lipstick costs, but what consumption model we are normalizing. Because the visible price is only part of the final bill, what we actually pay is much harder to read on the label.
