Unilever has announced that is has signed an agreement to acquire luxury color cosmetics brand Hourglass for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory requirements.

“We are delighted to be adding Hourglass to our portfolio of prestige brands. The color cosmetics category has been showing high growth rates, driven by social media content, channel diversity and democratisation of professional make-up techniques, and it therefore presents a significant opportunity. Hourglass is already a successful brand in this space, offering fantastic make-up products that also deliver skin care benefits, and we look forward to continuing to grow this wonderful brand,” said Alan Jope, President, Personal Care at Unilever.

“As the first color brand in Unilever’s prestige portfolio, we are excited about this partnership as Hourglass continues to challenge the status quo with high performance luxury cosmetics,” added Carisa Jones, Founder and CEO, Hourglass Cosmetics.