“Hollywood sign surrounded by beauty products and accessories.” – Image | ChatGPT
Beauty does not quietly launch anymore. It premieres.
A lipstick drop lands with the rhythm of a music release. A complexion campaign unfolds in episodes. A GRWM becomes something viewers return to weekly. The industry did not drift into this space by accident. It reorganised itself around attention.
The beauty industry is now operating at cultural speed, and Cécilia Turck has been operating within this pace for over a decade.
With 15 years of experience at global beauty companies, such as L’Oréal and LVMH, her experience includes brand, innovation, and digital transformation. In 2019, she relocated from Paris to Los Angeles, placing her at the intersection of the global beauty infrastructure and the entertainment capital of the world.
As she explains, “Being immersed in the world hub of entertainment as a beauty expert and from a foreigner’s lens gives me a unique perspective and point of view.”
Los Angeles is not simply another city on the beauty map. It is where production, distribution, and cultural momentum operate on a large scale. That proximity has shaped Turck’s view of the modern beauty brand, not as a product company alone, but as a content engine.
The Scroll Became the Store
There was a time when prestige placement defined desirability. Now discovery begins on a screen.
Turck describes the shift directly, saying, “Today, content is king; the sheer amount of volume of content you need to put out there as a brand to be noticed and talked about is insane. And the quality needs to be there, too. The content needs to be engaging, or let me say entertaining.”
The pressure is structural rather than seasonal. As outlined in the State of Beauty report by McKinsey, digital ecosystems and social media platforms remain key drivers of growth in the global beauty industry, with creator-driven discovery being a key factor in purchasing decisions.
Long before augmented reality filters became common, L’Oréal Paris introduced Makeup Genius, a real-time virtual try-on service that merged beauty and technology. As part of the team behind the first real-time virtual try-on app in global beauty, Turck helped usher in a new era of beauty-tech integration.
This was a turning point, as it showed that beauty was no longer static imagery but participatory media. Turck played an active role in shaping that evolution from within one of the world’s largest beauty conglomerates.
Entertainment Was Always Present
“Snow Tha Product ‘Stuck’ album cover.” – Image | NYXTAPE
Turck notes that “There always has been a connection between beauty and entertainment.” Backstage artistry, red carpet preparation, and editorial shoots have long tied cosmetics to performance and image-making. What has changed is scale and expectation.
During her six years at NYX Professional Makeup, she operated inside what she describes as a “self-proclaimed brand of entertainment.” This positioning was not only reflected in the messaging but also in broader cultural partnerships.
During her time at the brand, it partnered with some of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world, including Avatar 2, Barbie, Minecraft, Bridgerton, Wednesday, and Casa de Papel, merging product launches with movie and online moments that reached global audiences across cinema, gaming, and television.
In January 2025, NYX launched NYXTAPE, a mixtape created in partnership with independent female artists and TikTok. This project combined music culture with beauty storytelling in a way that was native to the platform. These moves signal infrastructure, not surface-level trend adoption.
Turck summarises the shift clearly when she advises founders to “Launch a beauty brand that acts like a media powerhouse.”
The language is deliberate. Media companies commission talent, build recurring formats, and distribute consistently. Increasingly, beauty brands are expected to think the same way.
Authority Became Personal
The rise of founder-led beauty has sparked yet another transformation in the sector. Turck highlights founders like Pat McGrath, Charlotte Tilbury, and Patrick Ta, who are expertise-driven founders whose brands are founded on visible expertise and aesthetic authority. In addition, platform-born founders like Negin Mirsalehi of Gisou and Patrick Starrr of ONE SIZE have also developed a following before developing products.
Expertise is no longer institutional; it is personal and visible. Consumers demand visible expertise and a point of view.
Turck’s own trajectory bridges multinational corporations and independent advisory work. Educated at HEC Paris Business School and shaped inside global beauty ecosystems, she later founded Cécilia Turck Consulting to support founders and executives across strategy, go-to-market, and content direction.
Her vantage point is international and cross-sector. Paris-trained. Los Angeles-based. Corporate and entrepreneurial. That range positions her within a small group of operators who understand both legacy infrastructure and emerging creator economies.
Proximity Drives Relevance
Remaining culturally fluent requires more than dashboards and data. Turck prioritises what she calls “Weekly power lunches with the creators who matter,” explaining that “inspiration and innovation come from outside your bubble.”
In a space shaped by creators, musicians, stylists, and digital editors, being close to cultural producers becomes a strategic advantage. She applies the same clarity to collaboration, noting that she will “Only work with people I’d actually have lunch with.”
Alignment and taste determine long-term coherence. Brands that feel fragmented often lack that connection.
Keeping Beauty Human
“Woman Looking at Herself on a Compact Mirror.” – Image | Pexels
As beauty adopts studio logic and media scale, it risks losing intimacy. Turck resists that drift. She emphasises the importance of perspective, advising leaders to “Keep beauty fun and purposeful.”
Even with advancements in technology and production value, beauty remains ritualistic and emotionally embedded in both everyday routines and cultural moments.
That duality is already visible across fashion culture. PAUSE recently explored this in its feature on why glueless wigs are the future of everyday hair, highlighting how hair has shifted from being a maintenance item to a statement. Beauty is no longer background; it is identity in motion.
The same applies to the makeup, skincare, and personal branding industries. The companies that are relevant in today’s market are the ones that understand how to tell a story without losing their humanity.
The beauty industry did not become entertainment overnight. The change was in line with how people were already consuming culture. For founders, marketers, and creatives trying to make sense of this transition, the takeaway is not to copy the spectacle. It is to understand pacing, storytelling, and visibility as part of the product itself.
For those who are passionate about fashion and beauty culture, the takeaway is clear. The future of beauty belongs to those who understand brand, technology, and entertainment simultaneously.
About the Author: Maya Carson is a fashion and beauty writer covering the intersection of brand building, culture, and digital influence.
References
- Turck, Cécilia. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/c%C3%A9cilia-turck-8985393a/
- McKinsey & Company. The State of Beauty Report: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/state-of-beauty
- PR Newswire. L’Oréal Paris Unveils Augmented Reality Makeup Mirror “Makeup Genius”: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/loreal-paris-unveils-augmented-reality-makeup-mirror-makeup-genius-263638951.html
- PR Newswire. NYX Professional Makeup Announces NYXTAPE Mixtape Co-Created with Independent Female Artists: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nyx-professional-makeup-announces-nyxtape-mixtape-co-created-with-independent-female-artists-302356913.html
- PAUSE Online. Effortless Style: Why Glueless Wigs Are the Future of Everyday Hair: https://pausemag.co.uk/2025/07/effortless-style-why-glueless-wigs-are-the-future-of-everyday-hair/
