Jane Lauder, global brand president of cosmetics brand Clinique, sat down with Fortune‘s Leigh Gallagher to talk about the brand, the newest trends in the beauty industry, and how she plans to compete with niche makeup brands. Lauder, who is also the granddaughter of Estee Lauder—founder of her eponymous makeup conglomerate and Clinique’s parent company—shared three pieces of advice for those in the beauty industry.
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1. Leverage social media.
“You really have to look at what the consumer is buying and what they’re looking for and I think the most important thing is understanding what’s happening around you to be able to reach the consumer in the right way. With the rise of Instagram and Facebook and video, a lot of the niche brands have done a fabulous job of finding out how to target consumers with the right influencers — people who have huge social media followings.”
2. Be the expert.
“When [Clinique] started, it was started by a beauty editor, Carol Phillips, with a dermatologist, Dr. Norman Orentreich, and they were the experts, they were the ones giving advice. Fast-forward to today and who’s giving advice? It’s these women who’ve started their own beauty channels,” Lauder says. “There’s still a need for information and for information from people you trust.”
3. Focus on ingredients.
“All the ingredients we choose and use are the safest that we can have and the most efficacious and really not putting in that could irritate skin,” the Clinique head says. “There’s a lot of chatter out there about what should you use and what shouldn’t you use, but I think it’s about understanding which products are right for what skin.”
