Skincare Tips from Luxury Beauty Brand Expert, Sharyn Wong

The Estée Lauder Companies’ country manager shares what she learnt while working over the last three decades for some of the world’s best beauty brands

Above Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate

Please tell us about your journey in the beauty industry.

It has been a fulfilling (almost) 29 years with The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and there’s never been a dull moment in all that time! It all started in Malaysia in 1993 with a newspaper advertisement looking for a sales executive for the Estée Lauder brand. I was already an avid Clinique user and so I grabbed the chance to join such a respected and successful beauty company. During my time with the company in Malaysia, I was fortunate to have many opportunities to work on various brands in many different capacities. After 21 years in Malaysia, I took a leap and joined the Travel Retail Asia-Pacific team based in Singapore as regional brand director for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Jo Malone London and Tom Ford Beauty, in order to expand my channel knowledge. Thereafter, I moved to a corporate role as vice president and general manager of Travel Retail in Korea, Japan and Oceania.

Those five years in ELC Travel Retail Asia-Pacific were an incredibly rewarding chapter in my journey, as I had the opportunity to work with retailers and a diverse team while navigating different market dynamics and managing the many aspects of travel retail. In 2019, I took on a new and exciting challenge, uprooting from Asia to join the company’s global headquarters in New York City as vice president and general manager of Origins International.

Last year, an opportunity arose to return to Asia, and here I am—country manager, ELC Philippines affiliate. Thanks to ELC’s global mobility opportunities, guidance from my mentors and learning from all my talented colleagues, I have enjoyed incredible experiences in a multitude of roles within the ELC network.

What do you love most about this industry?

What I love the most and what continues to intrigue me is the consumer. Our ever-evolving consumers fuel demand and with consumer-centricity in everything we do at ELC, we always strive to innovate and find new ways to delight them. There is never a dull moment understanding our consumers and inspiring them to express their authentic beauty with our products.

In addition, I have always been inspired by our dedication to our Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign which was founded by the late Mrs Evelyn H Lauder in 1992, with the mission to raise awareness on breast cancer and to support research, education and medical services to create a breast cancer-free world. In 2022, we will mark the 30th anniversary of the campaign and I am so proud to drive this campaign in the Philippines. The dedication of our teams to our efforts here in the Philippines and in our many markets across the globe is truly inspiring!

Above Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector+

What are the challenges that beauty brands face now? What actions do you take to overcome these challenges?

One challenge for brands today is the ability to pivot and anticipate the next demand. Most critical is the speed to deliver this to the consumer. For example, we’ve seen how our ageless consumers have shifted to shopping online during the pandemic. To address this, we have ramped up our digital innovations while ensuring we delivered the high-touch service expected by our consumers.

Can you give tips on curating a skincare regimen? What are the things to consider?

My personal tip: Be disciplined and invest the time to ensure clean and healthy skin. Start with a make-up and a face cleanser. I use Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil and Origins Checks & Balances Frothy Face Wash. I follow this with Dr Weil Mega-Mushroom Treatment Lotion from Origins, La Mer Regenerating Serum, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate. and finally, a day or night moisturiser. I use Origins Dr Weil Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Fortifying Emulsion for day and Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond for Night in the evening. Keep this regimen morning and night. For serum, I also use two types—one for anti-aging as mentioned above and one for dark spot correction such as Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector+. Don’t skip on sunscreen during the day; face scrub at least twice a week; and treat yourself to a mask once a week.

Above La Mer Crème de la Mer

What are the beauty trends to watch out for this year?

I want to share two trends in skincare and make-up: For skincare, there is a growing focus on ingredients with consumers seeking powerful, multi-functional repair solutions such as vitamin C, CICA, moringa, sea fennel, among others. Consumers are driven by the desire for ingredients that are gentle and safe coupled with proven efficacy.

As for make-up, with the continued mask-wearing practice, eye make-up is still definitely a top trend. One is the growing demand for Sixties makeup, focusing on hyper-defined lashes. We can also expect to see industrial influences of steel, concrete and cement to inspire greys this season when it comes to eyeshadows, to help create a monochromatic look.

Which skincare/beauty items are worth the splurge? Which ones aren’t?

Face serums, eye creams and anti-ageing moisturisers are definitely worth the splurge for me. Products such as masks and scrubs don’t need to be very expensive in my opinion if you find effective ones based on your skin’s needs.

What are your summer skincare and beauty must-haves?

Apply sunscreen religiously, especially during the summer, glow with a great moisturiser and hydrate with a mist!

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