How Josie Maran and More than 30 Beauty Brands Are Banding Together to Help L.A. Fire Victims

Josie Maran is in panic mode.

On Jan. 8, beauty mogul behind her eponymous brand was on the phone with her two daughters as they evacuated from their Runyon Canyon home.

Maran, who called L.A. home for 20 years but who now splits her time between California and St. Barthélemy, was thousands of miles away. She could only hope for the best.

“It’s torture for a mother not be able to be in control of a situation,” Maran recalls of the harrowing moment. “Smoke alarms are going off, I can see orange flashing on their faces, and I’m like, ‘Just run.’”

Today, her family is safe. And, the house in L.A. that she owns and called home for many years is filled with friends who have no place else to go.

And, today, Maran is focusing on what’s next. Over the last several days she’s corralled 30+ plus beauty brands to form the charity fund Los Angeles: Beauty Together. “When disaster strikes, people are beautiful and heroic,” she says over the phone.

The goal, “to provide relief to those who have lost everything to the tragic events in Los Angeles,” according to a release.

The participants include Biossance, by Rosie Jane, Cay Skin, Color Wow, DedCool, Emi Jay, FORVR Mood, Goop, Grande Cosmetics, Haus Labs By Lady Gaga, Henry Rose, House of Lashes, Huda Beauty, Ilia Beauty, Iris & Romeo, Kayali, Lawless Beauty, Lilly Lashes, Mane, Merit, Milk Makeup, Nécessaire, PHLUR, Ranavat, Rose Neal Collective, RŌZ Hair, Saie, SAINT JANE, Salt & Stone, Sara Happ, Skylar Clean Beauty, Sol de Janeiro, Summer Fridays, Tatcha, The 7 Virtues, The Maker, Tower 28, Youth to the People, Vegamour and YSE Beauty.

Their effects will be immediate: on Jan. 16, the brands are banding together for a charity sales event with proceeds being immediately diverted to fire victims via the Wildfire Relief Fund 2025. Maran and other founders and friends will be on Instagram Live throughout the day to raise awareness.

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Every donation is up to the brand’s discretion, but Maran plans to donate 100% of sales on Jan. 16.

“We're here to help people feel good. And so when something like this happens and we have the power to do something about it, this is where the beauty industry shines, and to help other people shine. For people who love to shop, they get to help and do, good, too.”

She, among other brands, will be posting direct links to the fundraiser for those who want to donate without purchasing beauty products but might not know the initiative exists.

As for phase two of the partnership, that will focus on initiatives such as potentially providing sustained support to victims and charitable service providers over the long process of rebuilding.

“It’s a moment by moment thing; this is a long healing road,” she says.

For Maran, the massive partnership, which came together in a week’s time, was a no-brainer. “I couldn’t sleep. So I just started reaching out to people saying, “We have to do something. And that’s how this happened.”

Related: Celebrity Hairstylist Jen Atkin Shares Loss of L.A. Home from Wildfires in Emotional Posts: 'Too Much to Comprehend'

“[Many of us] are doing product donations. But right now, we want to go directly with our relief, with cash. People need cash right now. It's beautiful to get all the essentials but right now, people need the dignity of choice, to be able to decide what they need to do, and they need money to be able to do that. And I think somebody's just got to help raise money and get it in a direct way to people. And I'm happy to be the leader of that, somebody had to do it.”

Adds Maran, “Movements like this show what true beauty is all about.”

For more information on how to help, email relief@josiemaran.com.

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