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Dua Lipa is expanding her role at YSL Beauty: the singer is now the global face of makeup for the brand, which is leaning back into cosmetics after years of skincare and fragrance in the spotlight.
“We want talent and personalities who epitomise who the brand is,” says Stephan Bezy, the international general manager of YSL Beauty. “If they accept, it’s because they recognise themselves in the brand.” She joins actor Austin Butler and Lenny and Zoe Kravitz, the brand’s other global ambassadors. The appointment is a carryover into cosmetics, as Dua Lipa is also the face of eau de parfum YSL Libre. Fragrances have become a powerful sales driver for luxury beauty brands. Can Dua Lip sell lipsticks as well?
Beauty brands have begun taking a different ambassador tack in recent years, looking to YouTubers, athletes, virtual personalities and any celebrity that may pique the interest of the highly covetable Gen Z consumer set. The goal is to stand out in a wash of oversaturated beauty content across social media and beyond. For a November campaign, YSL Beauty decided to focus away from product altogether, instead promoting a new series meant to raise awareness of domestic abuse. “[Intimate partner violence] is one of the most prevalent yet underfunded and underreported forms of violence against women. For us, it was obvious to take a big stand on this issue,” YSL Beauty’s global head of brand corporate engagement, Juleah Love, told Vogue Business of the cause marketing initiative at the time.
Overall, beauty giants have been up against a difficult selling environment, thanks in large part to poor performance in the travel retail space, as sales have failed to rematerialise long-term in the aftermath of pandemic shutdowns. YSL Beauty parent L’Oréal reported a sales decrease of 6.9 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2023, while the luxe division (which houses YSL) was flat.
Makeup has been a bright spot, expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.8 per cent between now and 2032, growing from $400 to $618 billion, according to market research company iMarc Group.
In the past two years, “there’s been a comeback for makeup,” Bezy says. Dua Lipa’s ambassador appointment coincides with a slew of cosmetics launches, both recent and coming up this year. Bezy says that consumer interest and sales trends started skewing in favour of skincare products starting in 2018, and the category took off during the pandemic. Performing particularly well for the brand, he notes, is its Candy Glaze lip gloss stick and Rouge Volupté lipstick balm. Soon to launch is the Loveshine lip oil, coming in March. All three play into the current popularity of glosses and oils. The no makeup-makeup trend also helped to boost sales of nude lip products and eyeshadow palettes.
Competition in the luxury beauty space has heightened in recent years, with more brands eyeing the opportunity to increase sales and capture the attention of entry-level luxury customers with cosmetics and skincare. Prada Beauty launched in 2023, with a suite of lipsticks, foundations, creams and serums. Other more recent launches include Hermès, Valentino and Gucci, with Balmain and Miu Miu expected to launch in 2024. “It’s much easier to launch a brand today directly on the internet,” Bezy says. “We are in a highly competitive market, and it’s becoming more and more competitive across digital.”
The US and Chinese markets are of particular importance for YSL Beauty, says Bezy. In the US, the brand codes don’t necessarily resonate. “It’s not enough to be a luxury brand from Paris, with the status, the logo, the quality, the aura and image,” says Bezy. “You need to interest them; you need to resonate with what they are looking for — to be a progressive brand that is talking to the youth and understands their tension.” One way to resonate with the youth, he adds, is through ambassadors.
“We have a message,” says Bezy. “Dua is a collaborator. She has a vision of the world, and this is what the youth is looking for.”
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