Despite the economic and political turmoil that interrupted global beauty sales in 2013, the majority of the Top 20 beauty companies pulled ahead via creativity and ingenuity—and of course R&D and innovative product launches. Targeting specific needs of consumers in various regions of the world seems key to future growth, as you’ll see. Read about the strategies employed in everything from cutting product lines to introducing new categories. And how together, these 20 companies generated sales of over $150 billion.

Read the full story, and about each individual company, here.