Osiao: Unveiling true Asian beauty with traditional Chinese medicine and modern science

Having been experts in the beauty and skincare field since Estee Lauder and her husband Joseph founded their cosmetics company in 1946, the Estee Lauder Companies know that skin quality can vary vastly and that Asian skin has different needs from other types.

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To help Asian women nourish and revitalize their skin in a way that truly highlights their innate beauty, Estee Lauder introduced a new China-specific luxury beauty brand, Osiao, in 2012.

Osiao products, produced in Japan, combine plants typically used by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctors such as ginseng, asiatic pennywort (centella), and ganoderma (lingzhi) extract, with Western ingredients like argireline and sodium hyaluronate in order to reveal the skin's true radiance and beauty.

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In addition to these, Osiao also developed the Osiao Diagnostic Method which can be taken as a quick online quiz based on TCM principles where doctors evaluate the patient's "Hei Sik" based on the patient's resting and lifestyle habits as well as the body's inner and outer conditions. The test, found here, helps users determine their type of skin constitution from among the five types of skin constitutions and then find the right products and regimen for their unique skin types. Further diagnostic tests may also be found in Osiao counters in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong.

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With the Osiao product lines for cleansing, hydrating, detoxifying and maintaining the skin's light, among others, carefully concocted through the TCM tenets and ingredients, and Western dermatological technology, Asian women are assured that they're always getting the best of Eastern and Western skin care and protection from Osiao and Estee Lauder.

The Estee Lauder Companies' executive chair William Lauder welcomed Osiao to its stable of luxury cosmetics brands in 2012 in order to cater to the needs of Chinese women. Learn more about Osiao and other Estee Lauder brands by visiting this website.

Thumbs up: A strong performance by the Estée Lauder Companies

Buoyed by its recent product launches and an expanding digital presence, Estée Lauder Companies reported strong performance in the third quarter. Net earnings for the period under review rose 28 percent year-on-year.

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President and CEO Fabrizio Freda attributed the group’s excellent showing to “compelling product innovation, targeted advertising and marketing investments, and selective distribution expansion.” For instance, the rollout of contouring kits from Smashbox and the MAC collection inspired by Disney’s Cinderella fueled sales growth. The performance of its legacy brands such as Estée Lauder and Clinique also boosted the company’s earnings.

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Meanwhile, the company noted that its robust online sales, especially in China, its third-biggest market after the U.S. and U.K., were huge contributions to its healthy third-quarter performance. Online services that helped expand the company’s digital presence are how-to-videos and live chats with beauty experts, mimicking those seen in traditional counters.

Its social media marketing efforts also paid off handsomely for ELC, thanks in part to the hiring of rising model Kendall Jenner as Estée Lauder’s brand ambassadress. Jenner provides a powerful online platform for Estée Lauder to launch new products and attract younger customers. The certified “instagirl” has a 30-millon strong following across social media sites Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

 

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Looking into the future, ELC is optimistic that its recent wave of acquisitions will result in a stronger market performance in the coming months. It is also banking on upcoming brand collaborations and product innovations to drive sales growth. It also expects its online sales to grow steadily, pegging a 30 percent overall increase this year.

Executive chairman William Lauder is the unseen hand behind Estée Lauder Companies’ strategic moves that keep the company on top of the global beauty market. Learn how prestige brands power ELC’s portfolio here.

Bumble and bumble: Styling the hairdressing business from root to tip

Although now a part of luxury cosmetics giant The Estée Lauder Companies, Bumble and bumble still retains the same grounded, hands-on philosophy it had when Michael Gordon first opened the salon on Hairdresser's Row more than three decades ago.

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Taking its cues from the fashion houses back in the day where everything is done in-house, the creative teams at Bumble and bumble do everything. It's not just about concocting the latest hair products such as the recently-launched "Surf Infusion," a salt-in-oil re-imagining of the brand's popular salt-infused "Surf Spray," or performing expert hairstyling services in the Bb. Salons. Bumble and bumble's philosophy is to take a personal approach to designing product packaging, directing its films and ads, and even producing its own literature.

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Whether it's in the creative or the business side of things like PR, marketing, and financials, Bumble and bumble takes pride in the fact that it does everything firsthand, allowing the brand's trademark hands-on and innovative style to come through in every aspect of the company.

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Additionally, through its Bumble and bumble University program, the company helps members of the Bb. Network Salons improve their styling skills, learn new hairdressing techniques, and become better leaders and service providers, thereby spreading the same culture and philosophy that made Bumble and bumble the successful business it now is.  

William Lauder leads The Estée Lauder Companies as the beauty and luxury products conglomerate's chief executive. Visit this Facebook page for more updates on the company's ever-growing line of products and brands.

Real beauty is sustainable: Inside Estée Lauder's green initiatives

Real beauty transcends what meets the eye. As wonderful and laudable as the products Estée Lauder has purveyed all these years are its efforts to source out botanical ingredients and packaging materials with an utmost respect for biodiversity.

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To illustrate the company's efforts in responsible sourcing, Estée Lauder ensures that palm oil, an important ingredient for a few of its lotions, creams and similar products, are procured exclusively from suppliers that source the said ingredient from suppliers identified by the 2004 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. To further its commitment, the company has come up with a comprehensive statement of goals and actions to support sustainable palm oil sourcing.

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Meanwhile, when harvesting sea kelp for Crème de La Mer, the luxurious, ocean-based moisturizing cream, Estée Lauder only gathers blades that have reached the ocean's surface. To keep the plant growing and supporting marine life for generations to come, the harvesters never scrape algae from sea rocks.

But the company's environmentally conscious initiatives do not end in ethical and sustainable sourcing of ingredients.

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Boasting an 82 percent recycling rate in 2014, Estée Lauder has become increasingly known for its efforts in eliminating waste and reducing the carbon footprint of its products. In 2013, Aveda, its world-famous salon-grade hair care line, launched a recycling program that gathers packaging not accepted by municipal recycling programs, so it can build new packaging out of such materials. The packaging materials are also designed in a way that individual parts can be separated from recycling.

Crème de la Mer is one of the most coveted luxury brands under the Estée Lauder Companies. Headed by William Lauder, the beauty conglomerate offers a wide array of cosmetic, skincare, and hair care products for people of all ages and beauty needs. Visit this website for the a full range of its products.

The newest face of cosmetics: A social media star

Kendall Jenner has proven herself to be more than Kim Kardashian's half-sister. Last November, the social media it girl was named the new face of global luxury brand Estée Lauder. The details of her contract have remained undisclosed, but as it is known in industry circles, a cosmetics deal is considered the Holy Grail of modeling.

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As the beauty brand’s newest brand ambassador, Kendall joins the ranks of Carolyn Murphy, Elizabeth Hurley, and Karen Graham, the legendary "Estée Lauder Woman." Although the decision to sign Jenner in did not lend as much prestige and sophistication to the brand as the above-mentioned models did in the past, it was a very strategic and commercially viable move for the 69-year-old brand.

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A sprawling room for reinvention is what Jenner offers best as the newest face for the timeless brand. For one, her combined followers over Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram add up to 30 million, allowing the makeup brand to reach more consumers than simply putting out a glossy spread in a magazine. Jenner's fan base comprises of teenage girls and twenty-something career women who think getting her fresh, fierce, and selfie-ready look is the ideal way to doll themselves up. Hence, by introducing the brand to Jenner's legions of social media followers, Estée Lauder can anticipate sales to go notches higher than in the past decades.

The timing is also perfect: although its sales remain impressive, the consumer base of Estée Lauder Companies’ flagship brand is getting older, as younger women prefer the beauty conglomerate's relatively newer product lines such as MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Clinique (although ladies of the '90s who swore by its three-step system are definitely not getting any younger, too).

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Social media's influence to today’s buyers is undeniable, as the Jenner-Estée Lauder partnership demonstrates. Thus it will come as no surprise if more social media superstars will be tapped in the future to add some refreshing touch to the campaigns of makeup and skincare brands millions of women have dearly kept in their beauty arsenals.

William Lauder, executive chairman of Estée Lauder Companies, has been instrumental in the launch of innovative campaigns and strategies for the conglomerate’s multibillion-dollar beauty brands. Follow this Twitter account for the latest updates on the global luxury beauty market.

Strengthening the brand: Estée Lauder’s newest beauty acquisitions

From the period of October to December 2014, Estée Lauder Companies Inc. acquired two luxury brands: Rodin Olio Lusso, a skincare company with a potent face oil as its flagship product, and Le Labo, a high-end fragrance brand. In January 2015, the company finally completed its acquisition of the ultra-luxury fragrance brand, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle and the Hollywood skincare brand, GlamGlow.

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The acquisition spree was a dynamic momentum since the company’s hiatus in mergers and acquisitions in 2010 with Smashbox as its last takeover during that time. This focus on promoting luxury brands means that the company continues to target a very high-end customer base.

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Estée Lauder has been known in developing small brands into influential ones that drive the luxury beauty market. Its recent acquisitions are a way of maintaining high-end customers and attracting potential converts to luxury product lines. Estée Lauder is in a great position to grow the brands and strengthen their place in the beauty business.

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This is what William Lauder, executive chairman of The Estee Lauder Companies, stressed during the acquisition of Le Labo. “Entrepreneurship is at the heart of our Company’s heritage. One of the leading strengths of our Company is our ability to identify brands with unique positioning and nurture them to accelerate their momentum and realize their full growth potential.”

Clearly, Estée Lauder not only strengthens its image and reputation but it also helps the acquired brands to attract high-end customers ensuring a mutual benefit.

William Lauder, executive chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, considers growth in the luxury beauty business with its recent acquisition of high-end brands such as Rodin Olio Lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, and GlamGLow. Visit this Twitter account to see latest updates on the global luxury beauty market.

REPOST: Estée Lauder Acquires Rodin Olio Lusso

Beauty company Estée Lauder ended October with not just one, but two acquisitions. After announcing its purchase of perfume maker Le Labo on October 15, the cosmetics giant closed the month with the purchase of skincare company Rodin Olio Lusso. Fashionista.com’s Eliza Brooke has the details below:  

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After inking a deal to acquire Le Labo just a few weeks ago, Estée Lauder has added one more blue chip brand to its portfolio: Rodin Olio Lusso, the skincare company founded by stylist Linda Rodin whose flagship face oil has been winning over beauty aficionados since 2007. Not only is it Estée Lauder's second acquisition in the last month, but it's the second since the brand acquired Smashbox in 2010, ending a significant M&A dry spell.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, nor did a rep for the company respond to a question about Rodin Olio Lusso's sales figures over the last few years. Le Labo, which occupies a similarly known-but-niche spot in the beauty industry, reportedly generates $20 million to $30 million in sales each year.

Le Labo and Rodin Olio Lusso share a certain cushy status. Favorites of fashion and beauty editors, they seem niche but are ubiquitous in the press and are expensive but not as unaffordable as a brand like La Mer (also an Estée Lauder portfolio company). While Le Labo operates its own mixologist-type shops, Rodin Olio Lusso has a home at stores like Barneys, Colette and Liberty. Of course, it helps that Linda Rodin has been in the fashion industry as a model and stylist for quite a long time -- and that at 65, she is the pinnacle of aging with style.

As Estée Lauder President and CEO Fabrizio Freda put it in a statement, "Rodin Olio Lusso is the ultimate ‘insider’ beauty brand," noting that the team believes "it has the potential to be a high-growth global skin care brand that strategically enhances our portfolio." Basically: There's a lot of brand equity happening here, but not too much scale. Yet.

If this shopping spree continues, we'll be watching to see who Estée Lauder poaches next.

The recent acquisitions of Estée Lauder Companies further strengthen the conglomerate’s reign over the global beauty market, something that William Lauder vowed to uphold when he took the helm as executive chair. Learn more about the growing family of ELC here.