Houston-based beauty company sold for $845 million

Japanese beauty company Shiseido announced it's buying Drunk Elephant, a Houston-based beauty company that specializes in clean and eco-friendly products, for a whopping $845 million.

Drunk Elephant was founded in the Bayou City 7 years ago and is a popular product line at beauty stores such as Sephora.

In September, Influenster, the leading product reviews platform, whose estimated 6 million members have written more than 38 million reviews, announced the winners of its 2019 "Reviewers' Choice Awards: Best in Beauty."

Drunk Elephant won categories such as Best Indie Eye Cream and Best Indie Face Oil.

Founder Tiffany Masterson wrote about "looking for the right strategic partner" and a potential sale in June, saying she would only sell her company to someone who shares her values.

"This will be a forever thing for me, because I'm not looking to sell my brand and move on," she wrote in an online article posted on the company's website. "I don't know if a sale will happen tomorrow, in a year or in 10 years, but I'm open to it and open to the right partner."

Masterson will stay with Shiseido as the company's chief creative officer and president.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.