Lime Crime Acquired by Tengram

Cult makeup and hair color brand Lime Crime has been acquired by Tengram Capital Partners. 

Founded by Doe Deere and Mark Dumbelton in 2008, Lime Crime is a pioneering, digitally native beauty brand and a cult favorite among fashion-forward beauty aficionados. For years, Lime Crime has set trends that have taken the beauty industry by storm—Unicorn Lipsticks in a rainbow of shades, Diamond Crushers lip toppers, and more recently Unicorn Hair.  The brand has customers from Los Angeles to Singapore to London and is sold at Bloomingdales, Riley Rose and Ulta.com.The brand ecently launched in the UK, originally online with Cult Beauty, and recently with FeelUnique and Selfridges.

The Tengram acquisition will support Lime Crime's growth strategy;  Lime Crime will continue to focus on its flagship Limecrime.com while also pursuing select retail partnerships.
“Lime Crime is truly unique among beauty brands, with a powerful following and a deep understanding of its consumers and their expressive approach to cosmetics. We have tremendous appreciation for what Doe, Sasha Valentine and the team have built over the past ten years: a revolutionary brand that empowers consumers to express themselves and inspires them to push past the traditional limits of beauty. In an era of beauty brand proliferation, Lime Crime's authenticity and innovation stands above the rest. Lime Crime is a tremendous fit in our strong portfolio of beauty brands, and we look forward to leveraging our experience to help the Lime Crime team achieve its growth prospects,” Richard Gersten, partner at Tengram, stated,

In making the announcement, Tengram also said Stacy Panagakis, formerly general manager of Fresh, coming on board as CEO of Lime Crime. She has held executive roles at Origins Natural Resources, Stila Cosmetics and Clinique.

Panagakis will work alongside COO Valentine, an eight-year veteran of the brand.

Co-founder Deere has transitioned out of day-to-day operations and has joined the board of directors.

“I founded Lime Crime on the belief that beauty is a form of freedom. We should all be allowed to express ourselves unapologetically,” said Deere. “Over the last decade, unicorns all over the globe have taken that idea and made it their own, propelling us to where we are today. I am so proud of what we've built together and am confident Stacy, Sasha and the team will continue to build on this foundation to take Lime Crime to a whole new level!”


Tengram's current investments include ReVive, el cap, Algenist and Cos Bar.