The tinted window of a limousine lowers to reveal Ed Westwick as his iconic “Gossip Girl” character, Chuck Bass.
“They say sequels disappoint but I’ve never been one for conventional wisdom,” he smolders. “True legends don’t stop at a single triumph. They expand the empire.”
The clip wasn’t a promo for the show that made the actor famous. Rather, it was created by Lancôme as part of a marketing plan for the launch of Lip Idole Juicy Treat Lip Gloss and the OG that spawned it, Juicy Tubes lip gloss.
Related Articles
It became one of social media’s most viral moments of the summer with 115 million video views, and was the most shared prestige beauty post to boot. Not bad for a brand that is celebrating its 90th birthday this year and more than 50 in the U.S.
At a time when it seems like every day brings a new beauty brand, Lancôme is winning in North America by talking to its core consumers and capturing the attention of new ones, too. “You have to stay relevant. You can be modern and cool with different age groups,” said Silvia Galfo, the president of L’Oréal Luxe USA. “You’re not cool because you’re young. You’re cool because you understand culture and what people are interested in.”
Since being acquired by L’Oréal and entering the U.S. in 1964, Lancôme has adeptly tapped into the prevailing mores of the time, establishing itself as a paragon of French luxury and quickly becoming one of the “big three” in the department store market, vying for supremacy with Estée Lauder and Clinique through much of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
During the rise of the indies and the growth of the specialty self-select channel and DTC in the early 2000s, Lancôme lost ground. But more recently, the brand has regained that lost ground. It was one of the first luxury players to enter Ulta Beauty, and it was also a first-mover on Amazon, all while doubling down on key franchises in fragrance, makeup and skin care.
The momentum continues to build. According to Ramzy Burns, general manager of Lancôme USA, the brand is the second largest prestige beauty brand in the full measured market in the U.S. year to date, up two ranks from 2024. “Our vision is to be the number-one brand,” Burns said. According to Circana rankings, it is the fourth largest brand, however Circana doesn’t measure Lancôme’s own DTC channel or Amazon.
“When you really connect and mirror the brand to key moments in life, like weddings and things happening in culture, it works,” Burns continued.
L’Oréal executives call Lancôme a brand of “transmission” — meaning one generation of users shares it with another. “Lancome is our number-one brand in the Luxe division in the U.S.,” Galfo said. “It is the most important in terms of size of the business and also strategically. It is our only brand playing in all three axis — makeup, skin care and fragrance, and it caters to a broad audience of women. From mother to daughter, there is always someone who recommends it, and that’s what gives it strength.”
What’s been particularly effective in the U.S. is the cross-generational approach to ambassadors, ranging from Olivia Rodrigo to Julia Roberts to Isabella Rossellini, with pop-ins like Westwick, Paris Hilton, Halle Berry and even Kris Jenner making appearances on social median campaigns. “What Lancôme does successfully is have spokespeople in younger generations whose values connect with the brand,” Galfo said. That, combined with activations like the Idole House pop-up and the aforementioned Juicy Tubes campaign “is an authentic, original way to connect youth culture and established consumers through common values,” she said.
Longtime ambassador and face of La Vie Est Belle, Julia Roberts personifies one of the key cross-generational attributes of the brand: happiness and positivity. “One common thread of what Lancome brings to women is this happiness, joy, feeling good about yourself and being positive about who you are,” Galfo said.
La Vie Est Belle launched in 2012, and remains a key fragrance franchise, with the newest iteration, Vanilla Nude, launching this fall. In skin care, Lancôme has found strength in North America with franchises like Absolu, Génefique and Rénergie, whose C.R.X. Triple Serum Retinol that delivers a triple whammy of peptides, vitamin C and retinol.
Makeup-wise, Lancôme has continued to double down on its category dominance in mascara, has a top three foundation with Teint Idole Ultra Wear and resonates in lip with Juicy Tubes and beyond.
Despite the challenging macro conditions and the overall slowdown of the market, Galfo and Burns are confident that its product innovation will help Lancôme continue to capture market share. “What’s working is when you have an innovation that really delivers on the results you’re claiming,” said Burns, citing mascara as an example. “We have so many mascaras, but there is serious science behind the formulas and the brushes. Same with lip,” she continued. “We saw the trend happening where people want gloss, oil, all different formats. When you bring that innovation to market, it works.”
“Consumers want value in the sense of what are they getting from the brand — performance, quality, service experience,” Galfo added. “The emotional piece of beauty is as important today as the functional, transactional one. You probably don’t need another cleanser, but if it smells good, works well and makes you feel good — it’s giving an emotional value to the consumer that enables us to continue to stimulate the market.”
Looking forward to the first half of next year, Lancôme will focus on innovation with a skin care launch based on L’Oréal’s latest research into longevity called Cell BioPrint. It will be the first brand in the stable to utilize the proprietary technology and will work in conjunction with a machine that can capture the biomarkers of a user’s skin. “Everyone talks about longevity — there’s a lot of marketing, but not a lot of science,” Galfo said. As part of the introduction, Lancôme will return to the annual American Academy of Dermatology conference for the first time in 15 years.
The brand will also continue to prioritize its beauty adviser education. “We’re number one in Macy’s and Dillard’s and it is due to our beauty adviser,” Burns said. “We’ve innovated in our education, so they are very well trained, and we have a strong recognition program.”
Executives are also focused on nurturing the in-store experience, whether that means installing more spa rooms in department stores or making sure that both online and in-store content are inclusive, whether that’s in terms of language or talent or even access, by livestreaming events.
Lancôme has found success with a cross-generational shopper at Ulta Beauty, and Amazon, where Lancôme launched in early 2023, has expanded rather than cannibalized the business. “It’s been a good success for us,” said Burns, noting that the brand’s own dot-com business is also very robust and ranks as L’Oréal USA’s top e-commerce business.
As for what’s next? Look for Lancôme to continue to hone its savoir-faire, connecting with consumers rather than chasing fads. “This is not a brand that needs to be trend — it’s how do you stay modern and relevant,” Galfo said. “Our loyal consumers and fans are coming back because they like the story we’re telling. We have a solid base of people who love and recommend the brand and are constantly challenging ourselves to stay relevant in the market. What we were doing 10 years ago is not what we’re doing today.”