Happy 40th Birthday Clé de Peau Beauté

It’s the 40th anniversary of Clé de Peau Beauté and, to mark the occasion, the brand has launched a limited-edition of its highly popular Key Radiance Care collection, marking four decades of excellence in skincare science. The gold-and-pink design of this exclusive range features motifs of flowers and plants with curved lines to express a journey of radiance; tagged #TheEmpowerOfThree, this signature trio distils 40 years of skin-cell science into three daily steps, formulated with the brand’s proprietary Skin-Empowering Illuminator complex. From The Serum to the Hydro-Softening or Hydro-Clarifying Lotion to the Intensive or Protective Fortifying Emulsion, each subsequent step complements the previous, and enhances the regimen’s overall effectiveness. We spoke with Mizuki Hashimoto, chief brand officer of Clé de Peau Beauté, to learn more. —Noa Nichol

Can you walk us through the brand’s four-decade history?

Clé de Peau Beauté’s 40-year anniversary represents a history of continuous evolution, but we have always been consistent in our commitment to unlocking the power of beauty and radiance in each individual. When it comes to the beauty of skin, Clé de Peau Beauté’s 40-year commitment to innovating within the realms of skin-cell science represents a pursuit to capture true radiance. Science that encompassed understanding skin from a cellular level was a journey that spanned four decades and evolved into philosophies that focused on the communication function of skin’s cells to boost its health naturally. Further study advanced toward Intuitive Skin Science that has led to the discovery of Skin Intelligence—an inherent mechanism that is recognized as skin’s innate ability to distinguish between good and bad stimuli. Today we continue to develop studies and research on Skin Intelligence. Today, as we have over the past 40 years, Clé de Peau Beauté is the embodiment of Key to Skin’s Beauty. We strive to be intelligent, depict supreme beauty and focus on intrinsic value. We continue to evolve as we constantly seek to pursue excellence in science and technology, craftsmanship and innovation. 

What have some of the brand’s bestsellers been over the years?

The jewel in our crown is undoubtedly La Crème. It’s a truly luxurious, high-performance face cream that perfectly embodies our brand’s DNA: intelligent, uncompromising and exquisite. It represents a culmination of unique insights, cutting-edge technology, meticulous craftsmanship and exceptional performance. Founded on Clé de Peau Beauté’s unique insight into Skin Intelligence, the skin’s innate ability to distinguish between bad and good stimuli, La Crème harnesses a deep understanding of skin-cell behaviour to deliver exceptional results. In addition, La Crème has been formulated to maximize skin’s natural function during the night by boosting the regenerative power of the skin. La Crème has actually been recrafted eight times since its launch in 1982, each version becoming more advanced with the latest discoveries from Clé de Peau Beauté’s ongoing research, and each is more potent and sophisticated than its predecessor. New La Crème features a highly potent blend of a proprietary complex: Skin-Empowering Illuminator in its highest concentration, that comprises a powerhouse blend of five key ingredients (Platinum Golden Silk Essence, Japanese Pearl Shell Extract, Theanine, Perilla Extract and Angelica Acutiloba) to help amplify Skin Intelligence especially at night and enhance skin’s ability to repair and defend itself from damage caused by various stressors. In addition, the revitalized formulation contains new CeraFerment Extract, crafted from a yeast that was discovered in Japan’s Akita Prefecture. It enhances skin’s ability to regenerate and become firm from within. Another firm favourite and bestseller is Clé de Peau Beauté’s The Concealer, which combines our deep skincare knowledge with advanced technology, the Light-Empowering Enhancer, to form a thin, comfortable layer that closely fits the skin. Not only is the result long-lasting, skin looks flawless and naturally luminous. The formulation has a weightless texture yet delivers full coverage because of Clé de Peau Beauté’s unique Thin Fit Layer Formula EX that allows it to smooth over imperfections and become one with skin. The Concealer is enriched with skincare ingredients like Light-Empowering Treatment Powder to simultaneously correct and perfect skin, and achieve a moisturized smoothness with continued use.

Besides the best in beauty, we know that philanthropy has always been at the heart of Cle de Peau’s ethos; can you tell us about the brand’s work in this realm?

Clé de Peau Beauté’s mission is to unlock the potential of all individuals. However, there are still barriers to gender equality in the world, and the problem of girls not having access to primary and secondary education remains a global concern. Therefore, Clé de Peau Beauté has forged a partnership with UNICEF, which is currently entering into its third year, and has pledged the single largest donation by a brand of $8.7million to support UNICEF’s Gender Equality Program. Together we aim to continue removing barriers that young girls may face by improving their access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and relevant skills to empower them with the tools to achieve a positive impact on their communities and the world. Clé de Peau Beauté donates a portion of global sales from The Serum, one of our most coveted products, to support UNICEF’s efforts in Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and Niger among other regions to educate and empower girls. In particular, we encourage STEM education and learning, and acquiring skills useful for the future, all of which girls have been kept away from due to stereotypes and gender discrimination. To date, we are proud to support UNICEF’s global effort of reaching up to 7.9 million through the various programs. The Power of Radiance Awards is also an integral part of Clé de Peau Beauté’s long-term philanthropic commitment to support girls’ education and empowerment. It is an annual award that recognizes exceptional women who have dedicated themselves to empowering girls within their communities through STEM education. We have just announced the fourth recipient of the Power of Radiance Awards, Amanda Simandjuntak from Jakarta, Indonesia, who has trained more than 10,000 girls and women in innovation and technology—coding, UI/UX design and product development—increasing the rate of girls in digital training to 55 per cent in only a year. The goal of Clé de Peau Beauté’s philanthropic efforts is to contribute to the world changing for the better.  We are continuously working to support the education and empowerment of young girls and women, who are the driving force behind positive change in society. By unlocking the potential of women around the world, we are creating a future full of diversity and brilliance.

With Cle de Peau’s recent expansion into Sephora, we know it’s going to be a big, beautiful year! What other exciting newness can we look forward to?

We are certainly excited by the challenges ahead! Clé de Peau Beauté has been steadily expanding our global footprint. This has been particularly rapid in Europe where we launched in the U.K. in 2019, Italy and Spain in 2020 and Germany in 2021. Philippines last year is our most recent market launch, and we are proactively pursuing opportunities in both the East and West. We are also optimistic with recovery trends in North America and will focus efforts on strengthening our position there. As you have commented, Sephora is a great new partnership. There are plans afoot to revamp our brand’s .com to include functions that will be helpful to our customers, such as a new online skincare analysis tool and virtual makeup applications.

What celebrations are in the works, to mark this momentous 40th anniversary occasion?!

At the beginning of this year, to mark the start of our anniversary, Clé de Peau Beauté unveiled three new exciting faces for our brand. We were honoured to introduce Dakota Fanning, Diana Silvers and Ella Balinska as our new ambassadors. Each one of these incredible women embody characteristics of the brand’s DNA—intelligent, uncompromising and exquisite—while representing a global community of women who possess an innate radiance that makes each one so extraordinary. We have many exciting plans ahead with our new ambassadors and look forward to revealing them in due course. We will also be unveiling a unique collaboration; I can’t say much for now but I can share that it is truly a celebration of the value of craftsmanship that we hold dear and I am confident that you will be dazzled!

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