EUREKA MOMENTS
FOUR FABULOUS BEAUTY IDEAS
A CUSTOM IDEA “So much of what Clinique is about is custom fit,” says Lauder. “Our first ‘slide computer,’ which helps determine the right products for different skin needs, was created in 1968 after our founder, Carol Phillips, went to a store to buy a pair of shoes and saw a foot-measurement tool. [You put your foot on it, and it slides to your foot width and length.] She was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is the best way to tell the differences in different women’s skin.’ Our entire three-step system of cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize was created so that it can be used in different ways on the skin. It was not one-size-fits-all.” A HAPPY IDEA “How does a fragrance-free brand launch a fragrance?” asks Lauder. “At TEDWomen, [management consultant] Margaret Heffernan talked about how it’s people, not companies, who come up with ideas. In 1997, our then creative director, Jim Nevins, was an example of that. He’d been watching late-night TV, and Judy Garland was singing ‘come on, get happy.’ It clicked for him. When you have products that have a universal truth in them, the idea resonates. So we made Happy, our first fragrance. It has citrus and an effervescent quality that is energizing.” Clinique Happy Eau de Parfum Spray ($80 for 50 mL)
AN ARTISTIC IDEA “We launched a line of primers and lipsticks earlier this year called Pop Lip,” says Knapp. “Next spring, we’re coming out with a suite of products that is going to supplement that. One of them is a lip lacquer, which you use with a brush. Another is a lip oil that will give you a sheer sheen. All these different mediums got us thinking about mixed media and how artists work—how they build watercolours or how they use lacquer if they need an incredibly rich pop of colour. So that informs the advertising—it’s going to look like a pop artist’s canvas.” Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Punch Pop ($21)
A SMART IDEA “The premise for our Smart line started with insight from our R&D team and biologists about how to create a product that could read your skin and be a multi-tasking product based on you,” says Janet Pardo, Clinique’s senior vice-president, product development. “We thought, ‘If a woman can do five things at once, why shouldn’t her skincare be able to do that?’ The beauty behind the science and chemistry is formulating something that doesn’t cancel out the other active ingredients—that’s hard to do.” Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Eye Treatment ($59). For details, see Shopping Guide.