Personally I think that the pace will continue in 2022.
Working in the cosmetic industry,mergers have always been a topic and it was still growing over the last few years.
In Beauty, there are a lot of start-ups, founded e.g. by successful influencers or covering a niche (vegan, sustainability, doctors’ brand) which, after they have reached a certain turnover, become very interesting for the big players. With a merger/ take over they immediately can enter in that market segment without creating a new brand with new products.
And the trend for luxury cosmetic is clearly to have a purpose and values and cater to all customer types.