Latest news with #beauty
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Hourglass Cosmetics expands into Saudi Arabia with vegan, purpose-driven line
DUBAI: A little while ago, I attended a masterclass for Hourglass Cosmetics in Dubai. As someone who does not wear much makeup — I do not own foundation or even basic tools — I was curious to see whether this much-talked-about brand could change my mind. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ As the class unfolded and the makeup artist demonstrated how to create their signature 'dewy' look, I wondered: Is this brand for someone like me? After the session, I browsed the range, got shade-matched, and tested a few brushes. A few days later, I received a curated selection of cult favourites: the Airbrush Primer, Skin Tint, a clump-free mascara, a richly pigmented liquid blush, a volumising glossy balm, and other treats. I decided to put it all to the test. The results surprised me. I did not look overly made up — my sun spots were still visible beneath the tint — but my skin looked fresh, and my cheeks had that light, rosy flush you usually only get from a good mood or better lighting. A post shared by Hourglass Cosmetics (@hourglasscosmetics) The next test was longevity. I applied the entire routine at 5 a.m. before a flight to Rome. By 11 p.m. local time, my friends were amazed that my makeup was still intact. It was time for a purge — ditch the old products and restock with what really worked. So I decided to learn more about the Hourglass brand; its philosophy, iconic products and their foray into the Gulf Cooperation Council region, especially Saudi Arabia. Founded by beauty entrepreneur Carisa Janes in 2004, Hourglass was born to challenge the traditional idea of luxury beauty. 'From the outset, my vision was to merge innovation with integrity,' Janes tells Arab News. 'I wanted to prove that you don't have to compromise on ethics to experience exceptional quality.' This philosophy has been at the heart of Hourglass since day one, setting them apart in an industry that, at the time, was not prioritizing cruelty-free beauty at a luxury level. The brand quickly carved a niche for itself by combining high-performance formulations with a cruelty-free philosophy — something rarely seen in luxury beauty at the time — and eventually made the bold move to go fully vegan. 'At the time, luxury beauty was so often synonymous with indulgence, with little consideration for animal welfare. I could not accept that performance had to come at the cost of compassion.' A post shared by Hourglass Cosmetics (@hourglasscosmetics) Every product they create is designed to push boundaries, both in innovation and impact. The Unlocked Collection, for instance, is rooted in the brand's commitment to animal welfare, with 5 percent of net profits supporting the Nonhuman Rights Project's work to secure fundamental rights for animals. 'The collection embodies the fusion of luxury and performance, offering high-impact, radiant formulas that feel as indulgent as they are purposeful,' Janes said. Equally groundbreaking is the Ambient Lighting Collection, inspired by the transformative power of light. 'I wanted to develop powders that could recreate the most flattering lighting effects — whether it is the soft glow of candlelight or the diffused radiance of golden hour,' she says. The result was a finely milled, photoluminescent formula that enhances the complexion in an almost ethereal way — subtle yet transformative, and now one of Hourglass's most iconic innovations. A staple among celebrity makeup artists and celebrities alike, the brand is now fast extending its presence within the GCC, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia. A post shared by Hourglass Cosmetics (@hourglasscosmetics) Janes said the Kingdom 'is an incredibly exciting market. There's a distinct appreciation for artistry, luxury, and innovation — qualities that are intrinsic to Hourglass.' As Saudi consumers increasingly seek brands that align with their values, Hourglass's cruelty-free, vegan philosophy feels especially timely. Janes notes that Hourglass has seen strong momentum across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the expansion into Saudi Arabia is a natural step in their global strategy. 'The Kingdom represents a key market in our global expansion, with a beauty industry that continues to grow at a remarkable pace,' she said. Janes' ultimate vision for Hourglass is to redefine luxury beauty for the future — to prove that artistry, innovation and ethics can coexist at the highest level. 'I hope that when people think of Hourglass, they don't just see a brand, but a movement — one that proves luxury can be transformative, not just for those who wear it, but for the world at large.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kristin Cavallari Teases Uncommon Beauty Expansion and Talks Glowing Skin Goals
Kristin Cavallari is betting big on her beauty line. The 38-year-old reality star-turned-entrepreneur and podcast host revealed plans to focus on expanding Uncommon Beauty — the skin care subsidiary of her jewelry brand, Uncommon James — during a discussion at ShopToday's Stages summit on Thursday. More from WWD The 13 Best Tinted Moisturizers With SPF for All Skin Types, Tested by Editors and Experts Bold Beauty Looks Seen at the Men's Spring 2026 Shows in Milan Global Beauty Giants' Early Bets on the Eastern Fragrance Wave When asked what's next for her and her brand, Cavallari was coy, careful not to reveal too much. 'I'm really focusing on my beauty line,' she hinted. Cavallari went on to chronicle the evolution of the Uncommon business, from its original start with jewelry in 2017 to the debut of her clean product line four years later, which now includes a few body care essentials. 'Honestly, how the [beauty] aspect came about was that my team noticed a few years ago that people's number-one question was actually what my skin care routine was,' she said. 'And so I never really thought about doing skin care, but I thought, 'Well, you know, may as well just explore this and see.'' Creating clean product alternatives was, at the time, not the norm, Cavallari recalled. 'I thought I was using clean skin care, but then we sent it off to the lab and came to find out, it wasn't clean at all. We think the products we use are doing a good thing for our skin, but they're affecting the opposite when there are all these chemicals and everything in them,' she said. 'So, that was actually kind of alarming to me, and that made me want to do skin care.' The market for clean beauty has certainly grown since Cavallari debuted her first round of face essentials. However, there were a few preexisting brands such as Youth to the People and Jessica Alba's Honest Beauty, both of which launched in 2015, followed by Summer Fridays in 2018. Sasha Plavsic founded Ilia Beauty back in 2011. While there may be an oversaturation of clean brands now, Cavallari said she has no reason to back down from the beast that is the beauty business, or any product industry for that reason. ' There are a million clean skin care out there now. But we've evolved from just being 'clean' and now it's more that we're taking a stance on being really hydrating and going after that glowy, radiant skin. Clean is a bonus,' she explained. At this point, reinvention is second nature for Cavallari, a now mom of three who was catapulted into the spotlight at just 17 years old as a pioneer reality star on the MTV series 'Laguna Beach.' The chance to be on-screen as a teenager was an opportunity Cavallari jumped at and still doesn't regret to this day, she said, likening the decision to starting Uncommon James with no business plan all by herself. 'Learning what not to do is valuable,' she noted. Cavallari has since opened up four Uncommon James stores and entered the fragrance market with a unisex scent called Hard Feelings. The formula fuses notes of rose, hibiscus, incense, tobacco, pepper, bergamot, cedarwood, sandalwood and orcanox. Launch Gallery: Kristin Cavallari Has 'Hard Feelings' Modeling in New Uncommon James Fragrance Campaign [PHOTOS] Best of WWD Stores Closing in the U.S. in 2025: Joann, Kohl's, JCPenney and More Companies Facing Financial Challenges The History Behind the World's Most Expensive Hats: From Princess Beatrice's Royal Wedding Headpiece to the $2.7 Million Chapeau D'Amour and More Every Winner in Miss World History: Opal Suchata Chuangsri, Priyanka Chopra and More
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lauren Sánchez's Glam Squad: Meet the Style Architects Behind Her Signature Look
Lauren Sánchez is about to become a Bezos. The 55-year-old journalist was spotted out in Venice on Wednesday ahead of her wedding to the billionaire Amazon founder, scheduled to take place sometime between Thursday and Saturday. For the outing, Sánchez sported her signature glam; loose waves, highlighter on her cheekbones and a layer of gloss coated on her lips. Sánchez has always maintained the same hair coloring (dark brown with golden streaks), arched brows, shimmering shadow and a pink lip shade combo — all thanks to her beauty team. Although she has worked with a range of hair and makeup artists over the years, a few have stood out as the trusted team behind her bespoke aesthetic. More from WWD Global Beauty Giants' Early Bets on the Eastern Fragrance Wave From Dominique Ropion to Mona Kattan - Eight Fragrance Makers Tell the Inspirations Behind Your Favorite Scents How Fragrance Became a Burgeoning Subculture For hair, Sánchez has continuously collaborated with Los Angeles-based stylist Sophie Rose, whose client list includes on-air sports reporter Malika Andrews, actor Jon Lovitz and model Rochelle Aytes. Rose has also worked on the coiled curls of Melanie Hamrick, Mick Jagger's girlfriend, for several red carpets. The hair artist, herself, became the face of big, bouncy curls, partnering with drugstore brand Zotos Professional to launch its 'All About Curls' campaign last year. Oppositely, Rose styles Sánchez's hair straight, adding volume in the body of her medium brown mane with much tamer, drawn-out beach waves. Lighter highlights have been invited into her deep coloring over the years and are often on full display around her face. Sánchez also prefers a side part — a controversial choice nowadays, considering much of the beauty community tired of it after its nightmare heyday in the early 2000s. Ocassionally, the media personality will wear her hair pinned back in a low bun with front pieces purposefully spilling out (see her hairdo for U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration in January). Her makeup is divided among two talents: Buster Knight and Laura Mele. Knight — who works with Paris Hilton, Kris Jenner, Selma Blair and Millie Bobby Brown — teamed with Sánchez for a night out in Paris in May. Mele, on the other hand, painted Sánchez's countenance for her Blue Origin trip to space, which saw her travel in a rocket with Katy Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen and Kerianne Flynn for a total of 11 minutes this April. Whether it's crafted by the hands of Knight or Mele, her aesthetic toes the line of 'natural makeup.' The product isn't dramatic, but it's also not completely subtle. Think Ines de Ramon, Brad Pitt's girlfriend. Sánchez's eyebrows are always darkened to match her hair (like de Ramon), and her cheeks are usually contoured and bronzed, putting her bone structure on full display. Not dissimilar to her hair, Sánchez occasionally plays with Y2K makeup trends. Carved brows, smoky eyes, shimmer shadow, wispy lashes and smudged waterlines comprise her late-night looks. She also rarely strays from pink hues on her lips, adding only mauve browns around the edges. After their two-year-long engagement, Sánchez and Bezos are tying the knot in what will likely be a sumptuous affair attended by the upper echelons of Hollywood; Washington, D.C.; Silicon Valley, and Palm Beach, Fla. Influencers, A-listers and billionaires alike have already flocked to Venice for the ocassion (the Kardashians included, of course), partying on Bezos' superyacht, the very spot in which he first popped the question to Sánchez in May 2023. For the most part, the details of the weekend's festivities have been kept close-lipped. It's certain that the pair will exchange vows during a ceremony on Friday, but everything from the menu to Sánchez's wedding dress, makeup and hair remains an enigma. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Wedding Photos: All the Celebrity Guests in Venice Best of WWD Lauren Sánchez's Fashion Evolution Through the Years: From Her Days as TV News Anchor to Today Labubu vs. 'Lafufu': How to Spot the Differences Between Real and Fake Bob Haircut Trend: Leslie Bibb, Halle Berry & More Looks [Photos]
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Coty Reportedly Weighs Strategic Split of Luxury and Consumer Divisions
Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) is one of the 10 best-value penny stocks to buy, according to analysts. On June 16, WWD (Women's Wear Daily) reported that Coty (NYSE:COTY) is exploring a potential sale, possibly splitting its business into two parts—luxury and consumer. Sources suggest the move is in early discussion stages, with no formal statement from the company yet. Africa Studio/ Coty, known for brands like CoverGirl, Rimmel, and Kylie Cosmetics, has been undergoing a transformation under CEO Sue Nabi, emphasizing premiumization and skincare expansion. If pursued, this strategic split could mark one of the beauty sector's most significant deals in recent years. Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) is a global beauty company known for its fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products portfolio. It operates in luxury and mass market segments, selling products in over 130 countries and territories. While we acknowledge the potential of COTY as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Cyril Chapuy Made L'Oréal Worldwide Leader in Prestige Beauty
Cyril Chapuy's title may be president of L'Oréal's Luxe division, but a more apt moniker would be cultural anthropologist. While he has a large and beautiful office in L'Oréal's worldwide headquarters in Paris, filled with art, books and assorted bibelots, it is not here where he's strategized L'Oréal's rise to be the leading seller of prestige beauty products globally. It's out, in the field, in the markets of the world, be it a hot new restaurant in Kuala Lumpur or Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, New York, where Chapuy has honed his understanding of what constitutes luxury for consumers today — and how that should translate for the 27 brands that fall under his purview. More from WWD Global Beauty Giants' Early Bets on the Eastern Fragrance Wave Queen Rania Embraces the Unspoken Black Dress Code With Prada Sandals Ahead of Jeff Bezos' and Lauren Sánchez's Wedding in Venice 'F1' Star Damson Idris Is Ready for Takeoff 'In our business, if you don't understand culture, forget it,' said Chapuy, the son of a doctor and an artist who thrives on the operational and emotional aspects of the business. It's an approach that has garnered great success. Over the last five years, L'Oréal has solidified its position as the worldwide leader in fragrance, with five of the top 10 global bestsellers in the women's category in 2024 and four in the men's. Overall, the Luxe division's sales reached 15.59 billion euros in 2024 and it is the leading player in every key geography save travel retail, where, said Chapuy, L'Oréal deliberately pulled back amidst the ongoing challenges in that channel. According to the company, it sold four fragrances every second in 2024. But Chapuy isn't content to rest on such laurels. Instead, he's laser-focused on driving uniqueness and desire across all categories, especially fragrance. That might mean olfactive innovation, for instance, or driving L'Oréal to be the leader in refillable fragrance bottles. 'Luxury is about permanently surprising, permanently disrupting, permanently enchanting consumers,' he said, during a wide-ranging interview in the company's New York headquarters, 'so even for fragrance growing by double digits, if you don't keep bringing exciting stuff, consumers will get bored. We don't want them to ever get bored. We're the worldwide luxury leader in beauty and in fragrance, too, and we always want to keep this category very enchanting, very experiential and very surprising for consumers.' What does it mean for L'Oréal to be the number-one luxury beauty player? C.C.: It's an incredible source of pride for our teams, because L'Oréal as a company is number one in beauty, but we were not number one in luxury, so that is what we were all dreaming of and we have been very strongly working on that for years. It also gives us a great sense of responsibility. As a leader, you have to take a position that helps the market stay very dynamic, inspiring. It's not — OK, we are the leaders and we're happy. It's — we're the leaders and we want to keep developing this market and recruiting new consumers. The potential of the luxury business is still immense. If you look at the penetration rate of categories there's a lot of room to grow. What's your assessment of the global market and the factors that have enabled you to get to this point? C.C.: 2024 was the 14th year in a row where we gained market share. It's been a lot of work by the teams. Why did we become leader? First, we have an incredible portfolio of brands — extremely complementary in terms of price levels between 20 euros and 500 euros, consumer targets we want to address and in geography. I'm a very strong brand believer and my teams are brand builders first. In luxury, the brand comes before anything. Secondly, we have very strong innovations. When you have beautiful brands you need to innovate. If you have a beautiful brand that rests on its laurels, it can fade. Then there is the team. Luxury is about being very creative, about being obsessed by excellence and details, and for this, you need teams. You can have teams that are enhanced by tech and AI, but you need talent, people who create, who design, who formulate incredible juices, who choose incredible materials for the bottle. You need beauty advisers — we have 26,000 around the world — who create this incredible one-to-one relationship with consumers that is the epitome of luxury. On top of that you need a strategy to become the leader and where our strategy paid off is because we are very balanced across categories and regions. We're number-one worldwide in fragrance and number two in makeup and skin care. We are number one in three of the four major regions. We're also balanced by channel — offline and online. We're not ultra-dependent just on offline or purely dependent on online, i.e., a relationship which might be more transactional and less experiential — we're well-balanced between the two. Some of my colleagues and competitors are not as balanced between the channels. Finally, our culture. L'Oréal Luxe is 35,000 people around the world and for the last three years I've been distilling this cultural obsession of what is luxury in beauty. When you have a big company you need a common language, a common currency, common criteria to look at when we discuss a new product, a new store opening, a new retail design. We're not just a conglomerate of brands. We have a philosophy of luxury beauty on culture and creativity which is the way we work and think. What are the emerging markets of the future for luxury? C.C.: All emerging markets are booming in luxury because the upper middle class is growing. When the upper middle class increases, the luxury market increases, because there is a desire to indulge more in products that have a higher level of quality and excitement. So the Southeast Asian countries, Asia, Mexico — Mexico has become one of the top 10 countries in the world in luxury beauty now. Brazil and even Africa are growing very strongly. This desire for more quality, more elevation, more inspiration is very strong across all emerging markets. The market is at plus-10 and we are at plus-14 in emerging for L'Oréal Luxe. I love to go to these markets and figure out how we are going to win there. I spend a lot of time traveling to countries like India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines. I love visiting to decipher and decode what we need to do, what brands have the best appeal for consumers, what specific innovations can we do — for instance, in fragrances, in emerging markets, there are certain olfactions that are preferred, certain ingredients. So you need to understand and decipher that if you want to succeed. It's not just copy and pasting what you do in gigantic markets like China and the U.S. What does a typical visit look like for you? I would imagine that you have an official schedule you have to keep but that you also like to go off sometimes. C.C.: My routine is always the same. I spend the first day and a half in the field — not in the office. We go to stores, malls, home visits. You need to feel the market, understand the consumer in the field, not only through facts and figures. Then I have strategy meetings with my teams where we discuss the quarter, the future, the building of the brands and businesses long term, what we need in terms of talents and investment. In the evening I love going to the places that are hot in the city to understand what is edgy and trendy right now. What's the hottest restaurant in Kuala Lumpur? What's the next rooftop you need to visit in Bangkok. You understand a lot when you go to these places. On top of that — it's great team-building moments. I love to spend the time in the evening getting to know our leaders and teams better, asking them to explain their culture to me. Because in our business, if you don't understand culture, forget it. If you don't understand the kabuki theater culture in Japan then you don't understand makeup in Japan. You don't understand why they want to use eyeliners, which are the most precise on the planet. Or why do young Chinese have 10 fragrances at home when their parents have zero. Why do they? C.C.: Because for years in China everybody had to look the same, because if you stood out it was the opposite of the accepted approach. The young generation today are dying to be different, and fragrance is a way for them to express their personality. Just as makeup has been used as a form of self-expression in the U.S. for years. C.C.: Absolutely. More recently, that's the case with fragrances in the U.S. with the young generation. They love to have a fragrance wardrobe. When I go in the sun I have my Sol de Janeiro, but when I go out at night, I have my Born in Roma. It's all about self-expression. Do you think we'll see a levelling off of fragrance this year? C.C.: I don't think so. The penetration of fragrance in Europe for women is 70 percent. In the U.S. it is 52 percent and in China it's 40 percent. In Europe — fragrance is very cultural — ever since Versailles it has been part of the beauty routine, so fragrance is extremely high in Europe, but it's catching up in other regions. For men, the penetration is 56 percent in Europe, 38 percent in the U.S. and 29 percent in China. If we do a proper job to recruit new consumers, the category has a lot of potential and that's why I challenge the teams to invent new ideas, new olfactions, new gestures. There are many ways to do fragrance and if you want to optimize penetration you need to cover all of these segments. You have everything from accessible luxury to the very high-end. Is growth coming from one segment of the portfolio more than others or are you seeing it equally spread out? C.C.: The segment of accessible fragrances is growing very fast. Some of our competitors are doing great work — Sol de Janeiro has done an amazing job with the fragrance mists. It's accessible, fun, tasty. But all in all — all categories are successful. High-end collection fragrances are the most dynamic, but it starts from a smaller base. Today, the top of the market, collection or artisanal fragrances, are around 22 percent of the market worldwide. The middle section, blockbuster prestige fragrances like La Vie Est Belle, YSL's Libre and Dior's J'Adore — are around 45 percent, and accessible fragrances comprise the rest. So the market is pretty well-spaced across price levels, and as a leader, we want to play in all three segments. When you look at luxury — especially in the U.S. — what's your assessment of the distribution landscape? C.C.: The very top of the pyramid needs the highest levels of quality and service. Take a brand like Aesop. We have around 90 doors in the U.S. and they are the top of the pyramid luxury experience. The design is exquisite. The location is always in the best streets, and the service, the quality of the time the consultant spends with you, is very high. We need experiences like that to keep developing the market. Department stores have understood that. Nordstrom and Macy's have understood they need to elevate to attract the top of the market. They were slower to move in that direction versus what I've seen in other parts of the world, but I see it happening. It's a fantastic opportunity for them — valorizing what they can offer to consumers to differentiate from the very dynamic self-assisted distribution of Sephora and Ulta, which is very buoyant, energetic, incredibly trend-driven and exciting. But the quality of the service there — it's not the number-one element of their strategy. You don't sit down with the consumer for 20 minutes to choose a juice. At the end of the day — when you want to buy a fragrance at $350 like Valentino Sogno in Rosso — you don't do it in two minutes in front of a gondola because it's exciting. You need to have story telling about the way it has been formulated, the ingredients, you need to try it on your skin. Amazon has become a leading prestige beauty retailer in the U.S. What are the implications of that and how do you think about creating a luxury experience on the platform? C.C.: We were first movers with Amazon and we went because we truly believe they understood what luxury online has to be. It took us three years of top-to-top discussion and partnership to discuss what kind of experience and service the consumer should have, so it doesn't feel like a downgraded luxury experience. They did a great job and consumers are happy. It's not yet top-end luxury because that is very much for a physical experience and when you buy a product for 300 euros or 500 euros, the physical experience is fundamental, but for the rest of the luxury market, they did a great job and we are very happy to be their partners. Luxury is not about promotions all the time — it is about service, explaining the superiority and performance of a product, and all of this Amazon does really well. What stores have you visited on this trip to New York? C.C.: I started my day at Roosevelt Field, visiting Sephora, Ulta, Macy's, Nordstrom Aesop, Kiehl's. It's interesting to see the way the U.S. team is expressing the brands and what the competition is doing. You cannot stay blindfolded in this business, you need to always know what your competitors are doing. Looking at competition is fundamental to me. That's why I don't like doing my job in my office. My office is nice to answer emails, but if I spend too much time there, I lose connection with consumers, the culture, the competition. You cannot discover competition in the Circana data. You can't be like — 'Oh my god! I didn't know this brand was working.' You better have spotted it when you were out in the field, especially since we keep being pretty active on acquisitions. Any coming up? C.C.: My job is to make sure we are crafted to win. So I'm always permanently looking at what brands could be interesting additions to our business. We just signed a long-term partnership with Jacquemus. I've been very excited and intrigued by what [designer] Simon [Porte Jacquemus] has created in the world of fashion. He is independent in an incredibly competitive field with powerful groups, he has incredible DNA, he brings a new take on fashion that is very refreshing that young consumers love. He is a very interesting man. Before I acquire a license or brand, I spend a lot of time meeting the people in charge, because for me the human factor in luxury is fundamental. When we acquired Youth to the People we spent almost three years talking to them. Looking at potential new brands is an important job and not something that you do in a hurry. You take your time, you observe, you see if brands have a real potential or if it's just a temporary success. You've spent all of this time getting to know Jacquemus. How will you translate that into commerciality? C.C.: The way we work is based on a permanent dialogue. We take inspiration from them because they know their brands better than anyone, but we know beauty better than anyone. So my team visits Simon, sometimes with me, most of the time without me. Simon explains to them what he dreams of, shows them images, shares scents from his childhood that he likes. Taking inspiration from everything he tells us, we create and come back to him and make propositions. It's a creative process back and forth, made of surprise, made of moments where we have doubts, where we get very excited. You have to take time to create good stuff. So it's going to take us two, two-and-a-half years to create what we want to create together with him, the same way that when we started working with Madame Prada before Paradox was born. We want to make sure that what we do is very creative and different. Luxury takes time. Luxury is not (snaps fingers) something that should be in a hurry. Which is somewhat paradoxical, because today we talk so much about speed and agility. C.C.: You need speed and agility, but you need to launch in luxury when you think you have reached a certain level of creativity, excellence and excitement. Luxury is not a business in which you should launch tons of stuff just to launch stuff. The consumer is very smart and if they look at a product and ask, 'why is it more expensive than what I can buy from mass market brands or dupe brands, why should I buy it?' — well, your launch is useless. What's the most luxurious purchase you've made recently? C.C.: I love fashion and design, so probably the most luxurious is my kitchen made by Boffi. It takes time to design a beautiful Boffi kitchen. Fashion-wise, I love this Saint Laurent bag — it looks like a women's bag because you can put so much stuff in it but it's a men's bag. I love fashion, accessories, design, it is part of my culture, my passion. My mother was an artist, my father was a doctor, so I have the rational facet and the emotional facet. I love visiting the designers I work with, but I love going to the factories, too, spending time on the lines, talking to the workers who are producing the products. I love spending time with the finance guys. In my job I need to have both. Best of WWD Which Celebrity Brands Are Next for a Major Deal? Lady Gaga, Beyonce and More Possible Contenders for the Next Corporate Prize The Best Makeup Looks in Golden Globes History A Look Back at Golden Globes Best Makeup on the Red Carpet, From Megan Fox to Sophia Loren [PHOTOS] Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
