Louis Vuitton Releases a Transportative New Fragrance Line, Complete with Léa Seydoux as Muse

By Jane Larkworthy+, 18-08-2016, wmagazine.com

It's been 70 years since storied label Louis Vuitton last put out a fragrance. Now they're back, and they've recruited perfume genius Jacques Cavallier, who created already game-changing scents as Issey Mikake’s L’eau d’Issey and Stella by Stella McCartney to revive the Louis Vuitton line with French actress Léa Seydoux as muse.

Interestingly, high fashion brands launch at least one or two fragrances per season and Louis Vuitton stayed out of the business for so long. But Louis Vuitton hired its first in-house perfumer Jaques Cavallier-Belletrud in 2012, who finished his lab in Grasse this year with 7 luxurious and exclusive scents; a collection entirely based on flowers.

“The philosophy of my creations are to celebrate femininity,” Cavallier explained at a recent presentation. “A lot of people ask me if I think of a very precise type of woman when I create a perfume, and I always say no. Every woman is different.” So different, in fact, that two of the scents lean rather far into the classic men’s arena with notes of leather and woods (Contre Moi and Matière Noire, respectively).

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L'Oréal Paris' latest campaign breaks down racial barriers in beauty

By Perdita Nouril, 30-08-2016+, Telegraph, Lifestyle, beauty, Skin

It's no secret that the lack of diversity in make-up shades is the beauty industry's biggest flaw. This week, L'Oreal Paris has stepped up to the plate with its new campaign for the True Match Super Blendable Foundation. The beauty giant has enlisted 23 celebrities and influencers with a range of skin tones, including Cheryl Fernandez Versini, the beauty blogger Amena Khan, the fitness expert AJ Odudu and the philanthropist and TV presenter Katie Piper.

L’Oréal manages to match 98% of UK’s skin tones!

Finally a foundation for everyone, created by the number one beauty brand in the world with their mission to bring the best in beauty to every woman, no matter their ethnicity or background.

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By Fflur Roberts, 18-08-2016+,Senatus, Luxury Society

There is much discussion about what a slowing economy in China means for the luxury industry. Euromonitor highlights the latest numbers and what it means for the industry.

Over the past decade, China and moreover the Chinese have led the world in luxury shopping. As a By 2015 China offered more luxury retail selling space than Japan and was fast catching up on the US, and the Chinese accounted for over a third of all global luxury spending.

According to Euromonitor International’s latest travel data, the Chinese made almost 3 million trips to the US in 2015, an increase of almost 8% on 2014 and a massive 206% increase in the last five years since 2010. During the same year they made 2 million trips to France, 5 million trips to Japan and 285 thousand trips to the UK.

Overview of the Economy

However in 2014 and 2015, mainland China posted its lowest growth in sales of luxury goods since our records began (a real decline of -3% and +1% respectively). Therefore, Beijing faces some serious challenges. The government wants to change strategy by reducing its reliance on debt-fuelled investment in construction and heavy industry and boosting consumption.

Individuals aged 45-49 are the largest group amongst top earners

Although individuals aged 30-34 commanded the highest average gross income in 2015, the age segment 45-49 represented the largest proportion amongst Chinese in the top income band (ie individuals with an annual gross income over US$150,000) in the same year. By 2030, the age group 40-44 will have become the most prominent amongst the country’s top income earners, representing opportunities for luxury services and high-end family orientated goods (especially given the relaxation of China’s one-child policy).

Between 2015 and 2030, China is expected to add in excess of 3.4 million additional individuals to this wealthy population, making it the fifth largest market in the world in terms of HNWI’s.

Income gap is expected to remain wide over the long term

One of the main determinants of income inequality in the country is the condition of urban/rural households, which also affects migrant individuals working in the city, but whose household registration (or “hukou”) is in a rural area.

Luxury brands need to re-think their growth strategies

The impact of a weakening economy is unlikely to stop wealthy Chinese consumers from travelling to buy their luxury goods, but it might change their destination of choice as well as total in-destination spend.

China’s grey luxury goods market

The main players in the grey market are professional shoppers, known in Chinese as daigou, who travel abroad to buy luxury goods in bulk (in effect, by filling their suitcases). They return home to sell their wares either directly or online, and it has developed into a business worth billions of US dollars.

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LF Beauty: meeting Asian consumers' needs has 'never been more challenging'

By Lucy Whitehouse +, 13-Jul-2016, cosmeticsdesign-asia

The president of LF Beauty, a third party manufacturer and supplier, has spoken of the challenges and opportunities being posed for beauty by the Asia market.

The article outlines that it has never been more challenging, while there have never been more opportunities for brands to satisfy the customers’ needs. According to Raymond “Asian beauty is now setting the pace for the world”. China’s customers have a rising demand for K-beauty products, whereby Korean brands face the challenge of acting with insider knowledge of the Chinese market.

Indeed, the Korean International Trade Association found out that Korean companies accounted for 22.1% of China’s imported cosmetics in 2015, closing the gap with the French who have a market share of 30.6%. During the first seven months of the year, China’s imports of cosmetics products rose 36.1% to $1.67 billion.

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Luxe Pack Monaco will feature a new focus on digital luxury

By Simon Pitman+, cosmeticsdesign-europe, 06-Jul-2016

This year’s Luxe Pack Monaco event will feature a combination of highlighted show features from previous years, complete with a new focus on how to connect luxury through digital mediums.

Connect to Luxury (C2L) is the name of the showcase for the 2016 event, which will take place on September 21st at the Grimaldi Forum in the center of Monaco. Specialized on conferences and exhibitions, the three-day event emphasizes on digital transformation, the latest creative approaches and the promotion of luxury products, including fragrances and cosmetics.

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