Melissa Meisel, Associate Editor04.25.16
Skin is still in, according to recent news coverage in Happi. NPD data reports that in the past 10 years, skin care led gains within the prestige beauty industry. Today, categories such as makeup and skin care are melding. And many upscale brands like La Prairie are reaching out to all ages to satisfy the growing needs of the savvy shopper. Elizabeth Lamont, vice president of marketing, La Prairie, New York, took time to chat with Happi about the latest developments at her company.
Happi: What are the top trends for the season in beauty and why?
EL: In terms of trends for Spring 2016, we are seeing the idea of “multi” or “doubling-up.” On the one hand, customers are looking for single products which offer multi-benefits, but on the other hand, there is also this idea of doubling—whether it be double cleansing with a first step to remove makeup and surface impurities and the second step to really cleanse the skin deep down.
At La Prairie you can experience this with our Cellular Cleansing Water Eyes and Face followed by our Foam Cleanser. In terms of more “performing” doubling, the arena of masks is seeing this in a very big way, referred to as multi-masking or double masking. Our Cellular 3-Minute Peel, which was the first derm-strength AHA-based product to market, gives a refined, new smooth surface to the skin in just 3 minutes. This is step one to prepare the skin for our Skin Caviar Luxe Sleep Mask, which is a brush-on, leave-on, overnight treatment—a lifting facial in a jar. You get the benefit of purifying and preparing the skin with the first step to ensure an ultimate result and penetration of the second step. That is something that customers are coming to us and asking about spontaneously, often without us having to recommend it as a skin care gesture.
Then, going back to this notion of multi-benefit products, skin care that is infused into makeup is another trend we’re seeing. I always talk about the fact that our makeup, specifically our foundations, offers products that look good on the skin, but also look good off, because they leave the skin in a better condition than it was before that makeup product was worn.
For example, our Skin Caviar Concealer Foundation SPF 15, which has caviar extract in it to help lift and firm the skin, means that you’ll have a lingering beneficial effect from having worn the makeup itself. Additionally, on the surface there are optical erasers to blur away lines, there is an evenness to the skin tone with buildable coverage, and it has the convenience of having a color-tone correct concealer included in the packaging, as well as a foundation sponge, and a concealer brush, so it’s really an all in one solution for a customer who is looking to make a single purchase that is going to make a big difference on her skin.
Happi: Are there certain ingredients or components in these products that are noteworthy to consumers? What are they looking for?
EL: In terms of ingredients or attributes of products, we’re finding that customers are coming in so much more educated than ever before. They know about not only our products, but ingredient trends in general.
Again, going back to this idea of multi-benefit products, the idea of a moisturizer that “just moisturizes” is over. Customers know that one of the most important things they can do is to protect skin from UV exposure. With the introduction of our Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil SPF 50 (debuting this month), we wanted to stand apart and so we needed to offer an array of benefits beyond the “basic” benefit of broad-spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays. In addition to that, we have formulated the veil with “smart crystal white” technology, which helps to minimize the appearance of dark spots caused by increased melanin production in the skin. So, on the one hand, we are protecting the skin from current exposure to the sun, as well as treating the skin and the results that are visible from past exposure to the sun. It also functions as a light hydrator infused with Swiss Glacial Water, and also perfectly primes the skin for a perfect makeup application. Talk about an all-in-one!
The other trend that we’re seeing is a resurgence of a slightly more matte finish, but with a desire for skin which still looks healthy and glowing. It’s a bit of a dichotomy—how can I be matte and glowing? It is a conundrum that we’ve been able to address with our latest launch, Cellular Radiance Perfecting Fluide Pure Gold, which has a triple-gold science technology for long-term and immediate results, and so it does have a slightly matte, very soft-focus finish to the skin, but the pure gold powder in the formula helps give the skin a radiant and luminous glow. And in this era of selfies and photo-ready skin, it’s important to have that healthy radiant glow come off the page, or the screen in this particular case, but without looking shiny. That hybrid-glow is something that can be experienced with this product.
Happi: What will be the product that everyone talks about in 2016?
EL: Well, every customer is unique, and the thing that she talks about will be uniquely hers. We talked about masks earlier and we’re seeing ongoing adoption of masks as part of a general protocol of skin care treatment. Also, the use of serums among increasingly younger customers who are recognizing that the care they give to the skin today will result in a much better skin in the future. So it’s not necessarily a single product, but more about a more sophisticated regimen with more involved steps.
The other thing that we are seeing from a cosmetics standpoint is color correction, having skin that looks perfect in any environment. With our new Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Transforming Cream SPF 30, the SPF of course gives you the protection piece. It's also a product that has adaptive color-intuitive pigments, which means that the pigments correct for the light conditions in which you find yourself. Your skin will always look the best version of itself, regardless of that condition – daylight, fluorescent light, candlelight (when we all look great), so that you always look your best. This product also comes with an angled brush so that you can get the type of coverage you desire, again buildable coverage depending on how much correction you find your skin needs.
We’re also seeing in the industry this idea of social first. So everything that lives in the virtual world, whether digitally or socially, is now becoming the first point of entry for our customers’ experiences with products. Finding ways to showcase products and the benefits of those products within the constraints of the digital sphere is something that all brands clearly are working toward.
Lastly, we continue to look east for inspiration, at the habits of Asian customers, and even more specifically Korean customers, and the trends that exist in that marketplace. For years now it’s been the habit of a Korean woman to adopt an 8 to 10 product skin care ritual. Whereas here in the United States, sometimes even a 3- or 4-step ritual might be perceived as advanced or sophisticated. But there is more understanding that each of these steps treats the skin at a different level and it’s really the layering approach, this multi-product approach, always personalized to the customers’ needs, that is going to give the utmost in results, whether it’s preventative in nature or corrective in nature. Regardless of age, more and more women are adopting a multi-product approach to skin care in order to customize their personal best beauty ritual!
Happi: What are the top trends for the season in beauty and why?
EL: In terms of trends for Spring 2016, we are seeing the idea of “multi” or “doubling-up.” On the one hand, customers are looking for single products which offer multi-benefits, but on the other hand, there is also this idea of doubling—whether it be double cleansing with a first step to remove makeup and surface impurities and the second step to really cleanse the skin deep down.
At La Prairie you can experience this with our Cellular Cleansing Water Eyes and Face followed by our Foam Cleanser. In terms of more “performing” doubling, the arena of masks is seeing this in a very big way, referred to as multi-masking or double masking. Our Cellular 3-Minute Peel, which was the first derm-strength AHA-based product to market, gives a refined, new smooth surface to the skin in just 3 minutes. This is step one to prepare the skin for our Skin Caviar Luxe Sleep Mask, which is a brush-on, leave-on, overnight treatment—a lifting facial in a jar. You get the benefit of purifying and preparing the skin with the first step to ensure an ultimate result and penetration of the second step. That is something that customers are coming to us and asking about spontaneously, often without us having to recommend it as a skin care gesture.
Then, going back to this notion of multi-benefit products, skin care that is infused into makeup is another trend we’re seeing. I always talk about the fact that our makeup, specifically our foundations, offers products that look good on the skin, but also look good off, because they leave the skin in a better condition than it was before that makeup product was worn.
For example, our Skin Caviar Concealer Foundation SPF 15, which has caviar extract in it to help lift and firm the skin, means that you’ll have a lingering beneficial effect from having worn the makeup itself. Additionally, on the surface there are optical erasers to blur away lines, there is an evenness to the skin tone with buildable coverage, and it has the convenience of having a color-tone correct concealer included in the packaging, as well as a foundation sponge, and a concealer brush, so it’s really an all in one solution for a customer who is looking to make a single purchase that is going to make a big difference on her skin.
Happi: Are there certain ingredients or components in these products that are noteworthy to consumers? What are they looking for?
EL: In terms of ingredients or attributes of products, we’re finding that customers are coming in so much more educated than ever before. They know about not only our products, but ingredient trends in general.
Again, going back to this idea of multi-benefit products, the idea of a moisturizer that “just moisturizes” is over. Customers know that one of the most important things they can do is to protect skin from UV exposure. With the introduction of our Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil SPF 50 (debuting this month), we wanted to stand apart and so we needed to offer an array of benefits beyond the “basic” benefit of broad-spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays. In addition to that, we have formulated the veil with “smart crystal white” technology, which helps to minimize the appearance of dark spots caused by increased melanin production in the skin. So, on the one hand, we are protecting the skin from current exposure to the sun, as well as treating the skin and the results that are visible from past exposure to the sun. It also functions as a light hydrator infused with Swiss Glacial Water, and also perfectly primes the skin for a perfect makeup application. Talk about an all-in-one!
The other trend that we’re seeing is a resurgence of a slightly more matte finish, but with a desire for skin which still looks healthy and glowing. It’s a bit of a dichotomy—how can I be matte and glowing? It is a conundrum that we’ve been able to address with our latest launch, Cellular Radiance Perfecting Fluide Pure Gold, which has a triple-gold science technology for long-term and immediate results, and so it does have a slightly matte, very soft-focus finish to the skin, but the pure gold powder in the formula helps give the skin a radiant and luminous glow. And in this era of selfies and photo-ready skin, it’s important to have that healthy radiant glow come off the page, or the screen in this particular case, but without looking shiny. That hybrid-glow is something that can be experienced with this product.
Happi: What will be the product that everyone talks about in 2016?
EL: Well, every customer is unique, and the thing that she talks about will be uniquely hers. We talked about masks earlier and we’re seeing ongoing adoption of masks as part of a general protocol of skin care treatment. Also, the use of serums among increasingly younger customers who are recognizing that the care they give to the skin today will result in a much better skin in the future. So it’s not necessarily a single product, but more about a more sophisticated regimen with more involved steps.
The other thing that we are seeing from a cosmetics standpoint is color correction, having skin that looks perfect in any environment. With our new Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Transforming Cream SPF 30, the SPF of course gives you the protection piece. It's also a product that has adaptive color-intuitive pigments, which means that the pigments correct for the light conditions in which you find yourself. Your skin will always look the best version of itself, regardless of that condition – daylight, fluorescent light, candlelight (when we all look great), so that you always look your best. This product also comes with an angled brush so that you can get the type of coverage you desire, again buildable coverage depending on how much correction you find your skin needs.
We’re also seeing in the industry this idea of social first. So everything that lives in the virtual world, whether digitally or socially, is now becoming the first point of entry for our customers’ experiences with products. Finding ways to showcase products and the benefits of those products within the constraints of the digital sphere is something that all brands clearly are working toward.
Lastly, we continue to look east for inspiration, at the habits of Asian customers, and even more specifically Korean customers, and the trends that exist in that marketplace. For years now it’s been the habit of a Korean woman to adopt an 8 to 10 product skin care ritual. Whereas here in the United States, sometimes even a 3- or 4-step ritual might be perceived as advanced or sophisticated. But there is more understanding that each of these steps treats the skin at a different level and it’s really the layering approach, this multi-product approach, always personalized to the customers’ needs, that is going to give the utmost in results, whether it’s preventative in nature or corrective in nature. Regardless of age, more and more women are adopting a multi-product approach to skin care in order to customize their personal best beauty ritual!