Gap Enters Beauty Battle: Will Makeup Save The Brand?

Gap Inc. is moving beyond basics into blushes and body mists. Starting this fall, Old Navy will roll out an expanded beauty and personal-care assortment in roughly 150 stores, with most items priced under $25 and a curated mix that includes Old Navy–branded skincare and body care alongside names like e.l.f., Mario Badescu, and Korean beauty staples TonyMoly and Mixik. About 45 of those doors will feature dedicated beauty shops staffed with advisers, while the remaining locations will merchandise assortments through enhanced checkout lanes. In 2026, the namesake Gap brand follows with a fragrance launch, marking a step-change in the company’s strategy to add higher-margin, adjacent categories to its apparel core. The move comes as Gap posts steady comp gains at Old Navy and Gap, ends Q2 with ~$2.4 billion in cash, and reiterates a disciplined operating playbook—positioning the retailer to test, scale, and refine beauty distribution while leveraging portfolio brands and marketing muscle built around denim, active, and cultural storytelling.