Emilie Mascarell: Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry

Build a strong brand identity: Develop a distinctive, memorable, and consistent brand identity that reflects your values and resonates with your target audience. The Ordinary is a great example of this, as they have built a loyal following by offering high-quality skincare solutions at an affordable price point.

As a part of our series about “Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emilie Mascarell.

Emilie Mascarell is a French beauty executive with over 15 years of industry experience.

She has worked for top-tier companies such as Coty, L’Oréal and Estee Lauder, and spent a decade leading product development at Le Labo. Today, as the founder of Emilie Consulting (https://www.emilieconsulting.com/), a New York-based consulting agency, she specializes in fragrance and beauty product strategy and product development, helping businesses bring their vision to fruition.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I’ve always had a passion for beauty products. As a child, I would collect perfume miniatures, experiment with makeup and often sneak my mother’s skincare products. During my first internship with a French national newspaper, I was given the opportunity to write about beauty products, and I was immediately captivated by the industry. I went on to study marketing and started working for various beauty companies on marketing and product development. It has truly been a dream come true to turn my childhood passion into a career.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

One of the most fascinating experiences in my career occurred during my early days at Le Labo. I had to learn on the fly and became involved in every aspect of the business, from fragrances and formulations to packaging, visual merchandising, store build-outs, vendor sourcing, contract negotiations — you name it! This was a massive learning opportunity and it was exhilarating. Constantly having to be flexible, adaptable, and having to improvise pushed me out of my comfort zone and provided me with a better understanding of what it means to be part of a startup. I will always be grateful for this chance and the valuable lessons it taught me. I apply all of these insights to assist the entrepreneurs I am working with and tailor my advice to the size of their business.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

The tipping point in my career was seeing the successful launch of a full line of personal care products in-store. The project was executed with a lean team, a tight timeline, and during an acquisition transition with Estee Lauder. Despite the challenges, the product launch was a success, which taught me the importance of resilience, determination, and adaptability in the face of adversity. It also demonstrated the value of collaboration, effective communication, and a growth mindset.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Working closely with the co-founders of Le Labo, Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi, was instrumental in my success. They taught me so much, and constantly demonstrated empathy, kindness, and generosity. Their mentorship taught me the importance of these qualities in leadership, which I strive to embody in my own work.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The global beauty industry today has grown to more than a half a trillion dollar business. Can you tell us about the innovations that you are bringing to the industry? How do you think that will help people?

As the beauty industry continues to grow, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to minimize its impact on the environment. As a product developer, I’m passionate about exploring new and innovative ways to reduce waste, from sustainable packaging solutions to environmentally-friendly formulations. While I’m unable to share specific details due to confidentiality, I’m currently working on exciting and very innovative concepts in this direction.

In addition to sustainability, my focus is also on creating products that are meaningful, long-lasting, and of high quality to meet the evolving needs of consumers and reduce waste in the industry.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the modern beauty industry?

• I am thrilled by the recent advancements in inclusive beauty, with brands creating products that cater to a diverse range of skin tones, hair types, and beauty needs. This positive shift towards inclusivity is not only empowering but also helps to promote representation in the industry.
• I’m also excited to see the demand for transparency and authenticity from consumers, who are more informed about the products they use on their skin. Beauty companies are now being pushed to challenge the status quo and innovate in new ways to meet this demand.
• I’m glad to see the beauty industry become more sustainable, with innovations in packaging and formulations that reduce waste and environmental impact.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to improve the industry, what would you suggest?

• Greenwashing — It’s frustrating to see brands claiming to be sustainable or eco-friendly, only to find out that their practices don’t actually align with those claims. Some products with refillable packaging aren’t designed to last, are not recyclable or generate more waste than traditional packaging. The industry needs to be more transparent and accountable when it comes to sustainability claims and design refillable products that are effectively developed to last.
• Market saturation — The beauty industry is becoming more crowded due to the proliferation of new brands. Although it’s exciting to see this growth, market saturation has become a concern, and the DTC model is no longer as profitable as it once was. Therefore, both brands and retailers should be responsible for providing unique offerings, regardless of whether they are backed by influencers or celebrities.
• Fearmongering — Brands should focus on providing clear and accurate information about their products rather than using fear-based marketing tactics. Consumers have the right to be informed about what they’re buying, without being manipulated by fear into making a purchase decision.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share a few ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

• Beauty is all about feeling good and embracing your own unique self. There’s no need to “fix” anything — what matters is that you do whatever makes you feel good.
• Stay away from non-sense beauty hacks, trust that the products you buy have been developed and tested to get the best results when used as instructed by the brand
• There is no one size-fits-all solution, while reviews can be helpful, you might not see the same results as someone else, it’s all about experimenting and figuring out what works best for you

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, Can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry”. Please share a story or an example, for each.

• Build a strong brand identity: Develop a distinctive, memorable, and consistent brand identity that reflects your values and resonates with your target audience. The Ordinary is a great example of this, as they have built a loyal following by offering high-quality skincare solutions at an affordable price point.
• Embrace diversity and inclusivity: Consumers appreciate brands that reflect their values when it comes to diversity and inclusivity in products and advertising. Fenty Beauty is a great example of this.
• Innovate: Bringing something truly unique to the market is key for standing out from competitors. Supergoop’s approach to suncare with high end positioning, lightweight formulas and refined packaging is one successful example of innovation in the industry.
• Focus on customer experience: Delivering an excellent in-store and online customer experience through knowledgeable and friendly sales associates, great and reactive customer service, easy-to-navigate websites, and fast shipping can establish loyalty and repeat business. Recently, I received a defective product from a DTC skincare brand. When I contacted them about it, they replied promptly, asked me a few questions about the issue and sent out a replacement within five days with no complications. The whole process was seamless, leaving me with a positive impression of the brand and no hesitation to purchase from them again.
• Be socially responsible: Showing a commitment to social and environmental issues helps to build a loyal following. Ilia Beauty’s dedication to sustainability and Rare’s contribution to mental health initiatives are two examples of beauty brands that are striving to make a difference in the industry.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My movement would advocate for greater accountability and urgency from companies and governments in implementing environmental resolutions to address the pressing environmental issues we face today. We need to see real action and measurable progress towards sustainability to create a better future for our children and future generations.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

It would be “The greatest risk in life is not taking one.” As someone who tends to overthink things and fear the unknown, this quote serves as a reminder to take risks and not let fear hold me back. It’s important to embrace uncertainty and trust in the journey, rather than living with regret and wondering “what if”.

How can our readers follow you online?

They can follow me on my website https://www.emilieconsulting.com/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.