ICYMI: Happi posted this article earlier this year but we have great news! Nathalie Gerschtein of L’Oréal and other industry experts will be sharing knowledge on all things beauty and wellness at our Nov. 3 conference in New York City. Click here to register and learn more about this informative event.

Nathalie Gerschtein leads thousands of L’Oréal employees to create the beauty that moves the world. She is the first woman to lead L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division (CPD) in North America, in fact.

As president of the largest division in the L’Oréal Group’s North America Zone, Gerschtein is responsible for accelerating growth, innovation and sustainable practices across its mass market portfolio of brands and product categories from skincare and makeup to haircare and hair color in the US and Canada. This extensive portfolio includes iconic brands such as L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Garnier and NYX Professional Makeup.

In 2022, Gerschtein was awarded the Women’s Leadership Achiever Award by Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), as seen in Happi.

Gerschtein took time to chat with Happi.com on what’s next for these leading beauty brands for 2023.

Happi: What are the biggest beauty trends for 2023 in makeup, skincare and haircare?

NG: There are a number of exciting trends in cosmetics, skincare and haircare we’re seeing for next year. Consumers are maintaining or increasing their beauty product usage, and we expect that trend to continue into 2023. The lipstick effect is real!

As part of this, we’re seeing consumers are still willing to branch out and try new things when it comes to cosmetics. They want to be in-the-know on new techniques, looks and hacks, and aren’t afraid to experiment with and embrace newness. One trend we’ve been seeing in 2022 that we expect to grow is a focus on lips. In particular, we’re seeing a shift from matte to glossy as we head into 2023, and Gen Z is looking for products that helps their lips look fuller and pop more.

For haircare, we’re seeing consumers go beyond the basics. There have been upticks in interest in scalp care and hair oils that we expect to see continue in 2023. 

Skincare really thrived during the pandemic, as people focused more on treating and taking care of their skin. We’re still seeing a strong focus on efficacy – more than anything else, we find that skincare shoppers want a product that will work for them. We’re anticipating a continued focus on moisturizer and daily UV protection, as well as products that help treat skin imperfections.

With this greater focus on healthy skin, we’re seeing strong dynamism on primers and finishing products that help hydrate and provide benefits for your skin.

Happi: How is L’Oréal meeting these trend demands with new products?

NG: For cosmetics, our biggest lip launch of the year was our Maybelline Super Stay Vinyl Ink Longwear Liquid Lipcolor. It shows the greater interest in glossy lips, and it really helps make your lips pop! Lip products are my personal favorite type of cosmetics, so I’m excited to see this trend continue and see people using and loving more of our lip products.

When it comes to skincare, our latest launch, L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Micro Hyaluronic acid + Ceramides line-plumping water creamis a game-changer.  It deeply hydrates and visibly re-plumps all types of fine lines delivering 50% more moisture.  L’Oréal Paris also just launched Revitalift 12% Pure Vitamin C + E + Salicylic Acid serum, a brightening serum with top derm-recommended ingredients that helps visibly correct the three key signs of early aging – tone, pores, lines.  It takes just eight weeks for skin to look 70% brighter, pores look 59% less visible and skin feel 83% smoother.  For our more engaged consumers who like to use toners as part of their skincare routine, we have an innovative formula in our Thayers Milky Hydrating Face Toner, which removes impurities and provides skin with 48 hours of hydration, even without a moisturizer.

We’re excited to continue to roll out new products in 2023 to continue to democratize the best of beauty for our customers.
 
Happi: How is social media impacting consumers today and how is your company tapping into this?

NG: Social media is making such a huge impact on consumers today, especially the younger ones, it’s a great opportunity to meet our consumers where they are already spending their time.

It’s also important to note how crucial social media has been for companies over the past few years, when consumers were not shopping in stores due to the pandemic. Social media was one of the only places we could interact with them, so we really doubled down on our social media focus during that time period.

At L’Oréal, we are tapping into social media to connect with consumers, push out new products and share product benefits and how to use them. We make sure we represent the diversity of beauty in our campaigns, including our work with influencers, to show how our products are for all and not only for some. This is especially true for the Consumer Products Division, which is really focused on making beauty accessible to everyone.

For example, we did a Maybelline activation on TikTok last year that was just incredible. Almost 70% of Gen Z uses TikTok, so anyone looking to reach those consumers needs to be using the platform. We launched our new Maybelline New York Sky High mascara on the platform with influencer partnerships that showed the dramatic before and after results of the mascara. The campaign created unprecedented demand from consumers, with many posting their own videos and claiming “TikTok made me buy it.”

This mascara was the biggest beauty launch of 2021 and is now the #1 mascara in the US – a tube is sold every three seconds! It just goes to show the power of social media to spread awareness, show results and even drive sales.



Happi: What will be the “next big thing” in beauty and why?

NG: I think the “next big thing” in beauty is all about tech and innovation, as seen here.

For example, virtual and augmented reality is changing the game when it comes to being able to shop for and try on products from home. We invested in a tool called Modiface, which brings the live shopping experience home with virtual makeup try-ons, virtual hair color try-ons, and touchless samples, enabling us to create immersive consumer experiences no matter where they are.
 
We’re also exploring how we can interact with our consumers in the metaverse. The L’Oréal family of brands – particularly NYX Professional Makeup – has a rich legacy of experimenting and engaging in the virtual, digital world, so evolving into a presence in the metaverse was a natural extension of this legacy. In fact, L’Oréal just announced a partnership with Meta and HEC Paris to launch a startup acceleration program dedicated to creativity in the metaverse – how exciting is that?

NFTs are another area that I think are going to be big in beauty. The intersection of art and technology is very interesting to us as a beauty company, and we’re finding NFTs as an important tool to advance our company purpose, support women and give back to our communities. For example, NYX Professional Makeup recently partnered with The Sandbox and People of Crypto (POC) to launch an avatar collection incorporating traits such as different color shades, ethnicities, sexual orientation and gender identification to further increase the focus on diversity and inclusion in beauty.

I’m so excited to see where technology takes us, because it's helping us unlock new ways we can interact with our customers and help support and empower them through beauty.

To register for Happi's wellness and beauty conference, click here.