IMAGE: CLARINS
She may have joined the family business just under a year ago, but Prisca Courtin-Clarins has been helping to build the Clarins brand all her life.
As the granddaughter of Mr Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who founded the French beauty brand 60 years ago, she has tested out new products before they hit the stores since her teens.
Some of those include the brand’s best-selling Double Serum and products within the Multi-Active range.
“My twin sister Jenna and our cousins Virginie and Claire would have lunch with our grandfather every Sunday and he would talk to us about everything from beauty tips to new products,” says the 27-year-old, who is the brand’s spa activities strategic projects director. As part of her role, she introduces new concepts and treatments for the Clarins Skin Spa.
The brand started out offering beauty treatments, such as massages, in 1954, before venturing into selling products a few years later.
While the global revenue from the Clarins Skin Spa is low at about 2 per cent, it is an important area for the brand, as it is where staff get to interact most with customers.
Prisca was in town in March to launch the Clarins Smooth and Firm Arms Treatment, which is offered at the spa here at Wheelock Place. A 45-minute session costs $140.
Dressed in black structured separates and with her nails painted in Clarins Red, there is an understated elegance about the beauty heiress.
Speaking in French-accented English, she says: “My grandfather always wanted our opinions on textures and smells because he had two sons.”
When her grandfather died in 2007, her father, Dr Olivier Courtin-Clarins, 59, and his brother, Mr Christian Courtin-Clarins, 63, took over. Her uncle is the president of the Clarins supervisory board, while her father is the managing director.
SOFT-POWER APPROACH
Prisca, her sister and cousins stepped into the public spotlight three years ago, when they turned up together at New York Fashion Week and were front-row fixtures at all the major shows. Their good looks and pedigree landed them in the pages of fashion and society magazines, which, in turn, proved to be a boost for the Clarins brand.
After making a name for themselves on the fashion circuit, the Courtin-Clarins cousins started BeautyFlashBlog.com in 2012, under the Clarins company.
It promotes the brand through a “soft power” approach by chronicling their glamorous lifestyles, as well as fashion and beauty trends. On it, there are videos of the quartet demonstrating how to use various Clarins products.
For instance, Prisca shows viewers how to use the brand’s BB Skin Perfecting cream. Another video shows Virginie and Jenna working out at the gym to complement their use of the Body Lift Cellulite Control cream.
The 28-year-old Virginie Courtin-Clarins is the director of development, marketing and communications at luxury brand Thierry Mugler, which is owned by the Clarins group. Jenna and Claire are not directly involved in the business.
The lanky Prisca says that the blog has helped the 60-year-old brand shake off its staid image.
“I’m not sure about Asia, but in Europe, it was seen as an older brand,” she says.
One of the first things she did when she joined the family business was to launch the Clarins Spa and Lunch concept in Lille, France, where customers can go for treatments followed by a healthy meal at the spa. There are plans to expand this spa concept around the world.
“Our spa business is really important to us. It’s where we get to really interact with our customers and teach them how to optimise the efficiency of a product,” says Prisca.
For instance, after each arm treatment, a therapist will demonstrate simple arm exercises that customers can do to tone their muscles. She will also show them how to apply toning products efficiently, by kneading them in with the knuckles to break up fat.
Prisca works closely with her father, who is also actively involved in the brand’s spa business.
“I think we complement each other, because I’m not scientific at all and he’s a medical doctor, who understands how all the products work,” says Prisca, who has a masters in business from the Queen Mary University of London.
This is not her first foray into the beauty business. In 2010, she opened Nail Factory, a chain of three nail salons in Paris. She still owns the chain and says that it is a “huge success”.
Her experience with the nail salon has served her well in her current role at Clarins.
“I learnt some operational things through my nail business. For instance, how to react to customers’ needs, which is useful now, ” says Paris-based Prisca, who is dating a restaurateur.
But as successful as her nail salons are, she says that working for the family business has always been her goal.
“Clarins is something that I really care about, but I wanted to start my own business first and make mistakes there,” she adds.
This article was first run in The Straits Times newspaper on May 23, 2014. For similar stories, go to sph.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. You will not be able to access the Premium section of The Straits Times website unless you are already a subscriber.
