Julep is a fast-growing cosmetics brand that sells nail polishes, bath and skin products, and makeup. It does all its business online. In addition to regular sales, Julep also offers a subscription service along the lines of Birchbox, where “Mavens” receive a box filled with a curated selection of Julep goodies.

In the past year and a half, Julep has launched 52 new beauty products and 186 nail colors. The startup attributes this remarkably fast rate of production to a lean e-commerce business model, which does not involve physical stores and relies on social media channels for marketing. Julep factors fan feedback into its product decisions and envisions beauty as a “two-way conversation” between the brand and the women engaging with it. The low overhead costs mean more resources can be devoted to iterating quickly and rolling out new products every month.

Julep is part of a larger trend of vertically-integrated e-commerce companies like Nasty Gal, Warby Parker, Indochino, Beachmint, Shoedazzle, and Everlane (to name a few) that cut out the supply chain and get their products directly to consumers at significantly lower prices.

Julep was founded by former Starbucks executive Jane Park. Jeff Jordan, a partner at Andressen Horowitz, said in a statement that Park and her team “have leveraged the Internet to build Julep into a compelling brand at a pace previously unheard of in beauty.”

In 2012, Julep launched nationwide on QVC and Sephora. This second round of financing will fuel development into new categories of cosmetics. Maveron Venture Partners, which led Julep’s first round, also contributed to this financing.

“As direct TV proved to be a launching pad for enduring beauty brands decades ago, we believe new social media channels will be the catalyst for launching the next great multi-channel beauty companies,” said Maveron board member Jason Stoffer in a statement. “Julep is a pioneer in using Facebook, Pinterest, and the social web to deeply engage its community of beauty lovers around color and fashion-forward beauty products.”

Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter, Precedent Investments, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Western Technology Investments, and Version One Ventures also participated in this funding round. Julep is based in Seattle, Wash.

Photo Credit: Screenshot

Glossybox made a powerful entrée this morning, announcing that is has shipped its two millionth box and has received $72.4 million (55 million euros) in overall financing.

This European version of Birchbox delivers monthly packages filled with beauty products to its community of subscribers. Upon signing up, women choose their subscription plan and create a beauty profile. They will then receive a curated box of 5 travel-sized products, based on their preferences. A beauty magazine is included in the package along with cosmetics like hand cream, nail polish, perfumes, and so on.

Glossybox appeals to consumers that appreciate the element or surprise and ability to sample beauty products before buying, as well as to brands that want to put their products in the hands of an engaged audience. It was founded in Germany in 2011 and now has a presence in 16 countries.

Along with the fresh, sparkling funding news, Glossybox also announced shipping its 2 millionth box. The service has more than 200,000 customers around the world, and all these demonstrations of traction attracted the attention in investors looking to get in on the action.

German accelerator Rocket Internet, Holtzbrink Ventures, and Investment AB Kinnevik participated in this round, which is a first for Beauty Trend Holding.

Earlier this year, Birchbox acquired its French clone Joliebox in an attempt to penetrate the European market. However, with a presence in Asia and Israel, as well as wider distribution across Europe, Glossybox’s reach is already greater than its American competitor  and this large round of investment will only accelerate its growth. Europe has become a hot space for e-commerce startups this year, such as Zalando, another Rocket Internet company.

Beauty subscription service Birchbox has acquired its Parisian equivalent, JolieBox. The deal extends the perfume-scented reach of Birchbox’s platform in Europe and expands its repertoire of partnerships.

JolieBox is based in France and with distribution in the U.K, and Spain as well. The company offers a basically identical product and business model to Birchbox, which founder Katia Beauchamp said should make for a harmonious combination. Like rose and jasmine.

Birchbox has met with tremendous success for its innovative approach to e-commerce. Cosmetics lovers sign up for a monthly subscription service that costs $10 a month. Once invited into the community, members receive a customized box each month filled with beauty samples from over 200 top brands, like Lancome, Kiehl’s, and Dior. If customers fall in love with a product, ladies (and now men too) can purchase the full-size through the Birchbox store.

This system solves one of the challenges with bringing the cosmetics industry online. Consumers like to sample, apply, sniff, and see a product to decide if it is right for them. Quality cosmetics are costly, and it’s important to try products out before purchasing. Furthermore, an overwhelming array of beauty goodies are out there, as anyone who has ever stepped into Sephora can attest to, and the discovery and sampling experience is half the fun.

Beauchamp and her partner Haylay met at Harvard Business School and brought together their mutual love of cosmetics and business savvy to create a model that is not only convenient but delightful for the user (I speak from experience). Companies love Birchbox because it puts their product literally on the bodies of active consumers and promotes sales.

Their example has inspired a parade of similar companies. You can find “Birchboxes” for everything now, from children’s clothing to adult toys.

The platform also publishes editorial content to complement the products and in April launched Birchbox for Men. It raised $10.5 million in investment last year, led by Accel Partners. Birchbox is based in New York.

Read the press release.