Meet the 2026 Ulta Beauty MUSE Accelerator Cohort

Ulta Beauty has selected 8 beauty and wellness brands to participate in the fifth annual MUSE Accelerator Program.

Starting September 14, these early-stage brands will start a 10-week journey that includes a robust curriculum, mentorship, and funding to fuel growth and prepare for retail distribution.

Lauren Brindley, chief merchandising and digital officer at Ulta Beauty, commented:

“For five years, MUSE has elevated emerging voices with the potential to shape the future of beauty, providing founders with greater access to the resources, mentorship and support that can help them succeed. We’re proud to have supported 32 brands and counting and look forward to seeing the impact this next cohort will have on our industry.”

The 2026 MUSE Accelerator Cohort

• Jade Mui-Wong & Tina Mui, AWARE Hair: AWARE Hairis a professional scalp wellness brand redefining proactive care at the root. Designed for the modern needs of scalp and hair, the brand’s high-performance formulas support holistic scalp health without compromising luxurious salon results.
• Osaremi Sade Parham, Blue Water Girls: A Caribbean-inspired beauty brand bringing the feeling of a private island escape to sun and body care. Through clean, glow-enhancing formulas and joyful storytelling, the brand inspires everyone to embrace the sun and celebrate their natural radiance.
• Alexis Flores, Dos Mundos: Dos Mundos is a Latin-owned luxury fragrance house rooted in culture, memory, and the feeling of living between worlds. Through scent, the brand translates Latin stories into modern, intimate, and elevated fragrances made to feel personal, emotional, and deeply lived-in.
• Jordan Polk, MIA Outdoor Hair: Redefining hair care for life outdoors with high-performance formulas designed to address the unique stressors hair and scalp face outside. The brand’s hero product, HairBlock, is a texture-aware leave-in serum powered by a three-UV-filter system and sustainable biotechnology to help support hair against the drying and damaging effects of sun, salt water, and chlorine.
• Jenny Ching Lien Farelli, Mochiglow: A fine fragrance house inspired by the scents of Asian desserts & drinks. Mochiglow transforms flavors like rice, mochi and matcha into perfumes that capture feelings of joy, comfort and nostalgia.
• Monica Stevens, MoKnowsHair: A salon-quality collection of products for all curl types and textures, formulated by Master Cosmetologist MoKnowsHair, to help you have the BEST, healthiest version of your hair.
• Ernestine Cecelia Meadows, Prados Beauty: An award-winning beauty brand founded by Xicana and Yoeme makeup artist Cece Meadows to create authentic representation and visibility for Indigenous communities in the beauty industry. Through high-performance, culturally inspired cosmetics and meaningful collaborations with Indigenous artists, Prados Beauty celebrates identity, creativity, and community while making beauty a space where everyone belongs.
• Sana Mithani & Lizna Kabani, Prereq Care: The self-care bridge for how Gen Alpha lives, co-founded with 50 real preteens and teens who shaped every decision from formula to packaging. On-the-go, microbiome-friendly, dermatologist-approved formulas manage odor, calm redness, and protect the skin barrier through the shifts of puberty — built for backpacks, not bathrooms, and all the in-between moments of life.

New this year, Ulta Beauty is introducing Alumni Spotlights to its programming to celebrate the MUSE participants who have accelerated their businesses since completing the program and pass on valuable learnings to this year’s cohort. 

Featured alumni include OCOA, Octavia Morgan Los Angeles, Scarlet by Red Drop, and POOM Cosmetics.

MUSE participants are also surrounded by a network of experienced leaders from Ulta Beauty and other brand founders within Ulta Beauty’s brand portfolio, creating impactful connections and relationships that endure beyond the 10-week program.

The MUSE Accelerator mentors for 2026 are:

• Shontay Lundy, Creator and Founder of Black Girl Sunscreen
• Priscilla Tsai, Founder and CEO of Cocokind
• Gina Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Donna’s Recipe
• Nils Johnson, CEO and Co-Founder of Good Molecules
• Alicia Grande, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Grande Cosmetics
• Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder of Hero Cosmetics
• Malena Higuera, CEO of NOYZ
• Julissa Prado, CEO of Rizos Curls
• Tony Prado, Co-Founder and COO of Rizos Curls