Recent celebrity business ventures have signified a trend in the health and beauty industry of celebrities moving beyond endorsements to branding products and in some instances, taking part ownership of the items they are endorsing, such as Jennifer Aniston and Katie Holmes.
In an exclusive interview with the Examiner, Nicole Desir, Vice President, Brand Management, Beanstalk, provided insight into this new celebrity beauty business trend, and why celebrities and beauty leaders are bringing branded products to the market that offer consumers a unique, personal experience.
For ten years, Nicole Desir has been diligently toiling behind the scenes at Beanstalk, the Omnicom-owned licensing agency that represents world-class corporate brands such as Cover Girl and Max Factor, as well as celebrity clients including Salma Hayek, Paris Hilton, Iman, and Carmindy. Nicole is responsible for the strategy development and implementation of the Salma Hayek Health and Beauty program launched in the U.S. in 2011 exclusively at CVS Pharmacy, and was integral in the expansion of the Mary-Kate and Ashley licensing program into cosmetics and fragrances. Prior to joining Beanstalk, Nicole worked on brands such as Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Elizabeth Arden, and since joining Beanstalk ten years ago, has led various client programs.
The celebrity beauty business has shown no sign of slowing down, with celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Drew Barrymore, among others, bringing branded products to the beauty market that offer consumers and fans a unique, often personal, experience. "Forbes" tapped into Nicole’s vision of this latest celebrity beauty business trend in a recent Q&A. Celebrities are realizing branded lines of makeup, fragrance and in now Rihanna’s case, fashion, offer more long-term brand sustainability than the ‘flash-in-the-pan’ popularity gained from product endorsements only.
Interviewing Nicole Desir, who has been responsible for uniting consumers with the products from some of the celebrities they follow, was more like having a conversation with an old friend, one who works within the beauty field and the other who brings the brands to the market. Having read her detailed interview in Forbes, there were only a few questions I had left to ask.
EX: Katy Perry-her fragrance didn’t do well, her false eyelashes received some negative reviews-how do these affect sales?
ND: Picking the right partner is important for both the celebrity and the manufacturer to minimize any negative experience the consumer may have and to create great products up front.
EX: Do you see this trend of celebrity beauty branding continuing?
ND: Yes, celebrities are trying to find ways to stay in consumers’ minds as long as possible. Using a hot media presence is beneficial, but companies want brands that are aspirational for a while.
EX: Any new celebrity brands coming up that hasn’t hit the media yet?
ND: Yes, makeup artist, Carmindy of “What not to Wear” on TLC has been developing a makeup line for 10 years now, a sort of reemerging beauty trend of smaller lines created by makeup artists from years past, however details of this have not been released to the media yet.
This presence of celebrity HBA businesses is nothing new within the beauty industry, designers, makeup artists, and hair stylists have been using licensing to extend their brands into products for many years now. Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, Vera Wang Beauty, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Sally Hershberger Hair Care and Christian Louboutin Cosmetics are all a continuation of a long-standing, but not often spoken of dynamic in the health and beauty industry, a celebrity business trend not changing anytime soon.
Many of the products listed above can be found on Long Island at CVS, Ulta Beauty in Levittown and Garden City and Sephora in Garden City and Manhasset.
Thank you Nicole Desir for taking the time to provide us with all of your insight into celebrity branding within the health and beauty industry.
©Deirdre Haggerty, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this article may be reproduced without prior written permission and consent from the author or Clarity Digital Group LLC, DBA Examiner.com.
The author receives no compensation from any PR Firm for the above recommendation and is not responsible for any effects, positive or negative, that may occur. Follow Deirdre on Twitter or like her Facebook fan page, Ask the Pro, for more professional beauty advice.
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