Hyper-individualism Defines Beauty Now, According to Symonne Torpy
Looking at the beauty category today and comparing it to even a decade ago makes clear that a lot has changed. That change, led by shifting consumer demographics and brands’ evolution, is in a paradoxical flux. More calls than ever are made to ban retouching, do away with the high-glamour aspiration represented by voiceless models, and showcase a diverse cast of people in line with our diverse populations. So how are brands and agencies navigating this shifting and complex landscape? LBB - in association with SHORTFILMS, a production company with a beauty specialism - is looking into it in an ongoing series: The Beauty Spot. We will be asking some of the industry’s experts the burning questions surrounding the new rules of beauty marketing and the strategy they’re using to lead - not follow - in this space.
SHORTFILMS’ director Stephen Mead and producer Holly Hartley add, "Teaming up with LBB has given us the opportunity to explore what other industry leaders feel about the portrayal of ‘beauty’ in the changing world we are now working in. It’s a time of flux with conflicting ideals sometimes leading to some messy compromises. It’s time to appraise the successes and failures of the past and develop a new path forward.”
BETC’s associate creative director, Symonne Torpy, is our latest interviewee. Symonne’s experience and expertise spans some of the world’s most recognisable brands: Lacoste, YSL Beauty, Dom Pérignon, Valentino Beauty, Givenchy, Prada Beauty, Sephora, Armani, L'Oréal Groupe, and Chopard, so she’s uniquely positioned to comment on the state of beauty advertising today. While acknowledging that beauty can never get away from fantasy and aspiration - she calls them “the key tenets of beauty advertising” - Symonne does note that these are now derived much more often from grassroots sources. After all, consumers are exposed to more beauty content than ever before; plus, they’re generating and sharing a lot of it too.
LBB spoke to Symonne about beauty’s production of normative images and how diverse creators are expanding on what that looks like; how shaky markets means beauty brands are choosing to play it safe; and why for gen z, beauty is an escape latch to luxury brands.
LBB> Symonne, thank you for taking part in this interview series! I’d love to know what your relationship with beauty has been like and how it’s changed, if at all, over the years?
Symonne> From a young age, I was very aware of fashion, makeup, and aesthetics. My own mother is a tomboy, which I openly disdained, meanwhile idolising other people’s mothers at primary school pick-up. As a kid, I only wanted to see women wearing the works — dramatic cat eyes, bright pink lips, perfect foundation, hair stacked up to heaven, heels stacked even higher. It was instinctual. I didn’t have Vogue or Fashion TV. I was simply born extravaganza.
Because of my mother’s proclivity towards bare beauty, makeup was never openly present in my childhood home. Our family hairdresser was my inspo for a long while. She was Italian, always wearing heavy eyeliner and a beauty spot that would change position every day, and moody, matte red lipstick. I loved breathing in the heady scent of her perfume mixing with her Elnett hairspray, and peeking at the chic, rose-scented older ladies with peach blush, coming in for their weekly perms. Time to time, I’d find a crusty mascara in the back of our bathroom cabinet, or a lipstick my mother had used just once for a fancy dinner. I’d steal them, furtively trying them on for hours in my room. Glimmers of inspiration and play were unlocked.
Of course, when I finally got my hands on my own paycheque and went off to university, I went wild. There were phases of brightly coloured hair, thicker than thick foundation, Noh-mask-like powder, colourful eyeshadows, and lips of every shade. I went to London and came back with the whole of Boots in my valise. I went to New York and fell for graphic black liner. I travelled to Paris and became obsessed with the drag scene. In parallel with my newfound geographical, financial, and artistic freedoms, the fashion and beauty scenes were burgeoning online. I’d spend hours watching series about style and curating my own.
It took me moving to Paris at the age of 23 and meeting real French women (not just drag queens), to finally begin appreciating a more natural approach to beauty (can you hear my mother screaming “hallelujah”?). I am still drawn to the big, the bold and the out-of-the-box, but I’ve ditched the super heavy foundations and powders, and see the merit in a pared back look.
Now I’m in my early 30s, skincare has become the obsession. And yes, I buy into it all — from facial massages twice a month, to collagen teas, hydration shots, and LED masks. Maybe in my mid-30s I’ll hit my Botox and filler era. Watch this face.
Above: 'Rethinking Beauty', Prada Beauty
LBB> The beauty category has - until very recently - used fantasy and aspiration to sell. Do you think this is changing and, if so, what are the catalysts for the shift?
Symonne> Fantasy and aspiration are the key tenets of beauty and advertising. So, they’ll never go away. However, their definitions have changed. That’s normal! Society shifts. Appetites evolve.
We’ve cycled through the all-desirable beauty crew into hyper individualism, COVID-inspired naturalism, kids bombarding Sephora with skincare obsessions, crying-as-beauty, aspirational environmentalism, quiet luxury, loud luxury, filters, no filters, the metaverse (where did that go?), AI… and the list goes on. Some of these (like the environmental wave) will stick around, becoming the baseline expectation. Others will fade away to be replaced by more relevant collective desires.
More than ever before, the luxury beauty category’s new fantasies and aspirations come from the grassroots. Creators, influencers, and communities are inspiring from the bottom up as the styles of the street strut straight back on to the runway. On the flip side, hyper-VIP fashion and beauty-focused events, including the Met Gala, the Oscars, Cannes Film Festival, and ever-increasing fashion weeks, still have a unique part to play. More eyeballs are on these events than ever before, and it’s their mantle to continue delivering on the vision. I believe in professional makeup artists and fashion designers to take us further, serving the avant-garde and the unexpected. Just look at the viral response to Pat McGrath’s looks for John Galliano’s Margiela Spring 2024 couture show. Traditional visions of pure fantasy are far from dead… but serve them with a twist, or else.
LBB> And how are brands responding to this shifting, redefined aspiration? How should they be responding?
Symonne> Brands want to stay in step with what beauty communities are saying, doing, and craving. Social listening is paramount, both quantitatively and (more importantly) qualitatively.
But beauty is also an art, and it’s important never to forget our role as fantasy creators. Beauty brands should take more risks. When markets are uncertain, they tend to make safe plays. But for me, the world needs them to lead the way with the escapism we all want.
Above: 'MYSLF', YSL
LBB> The beauty category is always going to be led by and associated with images - can the industry ever get to a point where the beauty image isn’t in some ways normative and/or idealising?
Symonne> It’s idealistic to say we can ever do away with normative imagery. Beauty reflects society, and society tends to fall back on its own tropes. In addition, we’re all living in our own little algorithm-curated echo chambers. So, I’m not sure we’ll ever reach a point in history where beauty standards do not exist. Just look at the recent, powerful rise of Ozempic. No matter what we’d like to claim about body acceptance and diversity, it’s clear that thin is still in.
However, let’s look on the bright side. Increasingly diverse photographers, directors, image-makers, artists, designers, agencies, and influencers shape what we think of as beautiful, each bringing their own eyes and their own perspectives to the table. That’s a wonderful thing.
LBB> In your work at BETC, what kind of messaging are you helping beauty brands to communicate now? What’s resonating with consumers today?
Symonne> Beauty brands are looking to emerge in a content marketplace that’s oversaturated, and in an economy of attention where people give less than two seconds' mind to each piece of media they consume. However, a lot of the storytelling is the same — just packaged differently, with brand-specific visual universes and lexical fields. The resounding message from luxury beauty brands across the board is “be yourself, treat yourself”, which of course is a message over-stressed, contemporary audiences living with the threat of global war, economic crises, and climate meltdown, resonate with.
At BETC Etoile Rouge, we’re actively trying to find new angles to capture this zeitgeist. We want to empower without feeling repetitive. We want to excite. We want to create luxury advertising that is an indulgence and lever of escapism in itself.
LBB> You work across luxury beauty brands which can feel out of reach for younger consumers (gen z/alpha). How are you balancing relevancy, aspiration, and the brand’s luxury DNA in the work you do?
Symonne> Beauty brands are often the most accessible luxury touchpoint for younger consumers. Despite their high price points, they’re far from what you’d pay for a fashion piece or accessory. So, they’re the gateway drug. Our job, more than ever, is to communicate brands’ connection with their fashion houses, their unique heritages, quality, and savoir faire. The stronger these links, the stronger the value proposition.
Luxury beauty also offers an unparalleled sensorial experience — something gen z is willing to put its money behind. When the world seems dark and dull, rituals of pleasure become all the more important.
Above: 'Believe in Your Wish', Sephora
LBB> Are brands/agencies creating aesthetic/beauty trends or are they responding to trends?
Symonne> I’d love to say that brands and agencies are creating their own trends. But for now, I think they’re playing catch up. The sheer volume of community-generated content, and the algorithm’s response to individual creators versus brands, mean that brands don’t often get a look in. We’re being reactive versus proactive, and we need to get back on to the front foot to start leading the way again.
LBB> Consumers want to see beauty campaigns that are diverse and representative – how are you working towards this? Are there any challenges?
Symonne> Diversity in luxury is a daily commitment, not a short-term goal. Every time we create a campaign, we must hold ourselves to a standard of representation that not only maintains but surpasses the previous strides we’ve taken.
There are big challenges. As I mentioned before, when markets are shaky, clients want to go back to what they see as safe bets (able-bodied, skinny, accessible personalities, high-hitting ambassadors from music or film, etc.).
In addition, each national market has its own expectations. Cultural beauty standards in markets like China mean we step straight off our diversity high horses, embracing heavy retouching, and restricted approaches to model race/ethnicity.
I wish brands battled more to expand beauty standards across the globe, not just on European or North American home turf, where they might already be expected and accepted.
LBB> What do you think the future holds for beauty advertising? Are there any changes you would like to personally see?
Symonne> One thing that needs to stop is the idea that everyone is an icon. Not everyone can or should be iconic. Leave the real beauty icons (Cleopatra, Madonna, Gaga…) alone!
