Jerrod Blandino, Too Faced Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer joins Yahoo Finance to talk about how the beauty business is bouncing back amid COVID-19 and what he says is key to keeping the brand popular among Millennials fresh.
Video Transcript
JULIE HYMAN: All right, turning away from the world of food to the world of makeup now. As we've seen a lot of people stuck at home, are they still focused on making themselves look their best for Zoom calls, for example? Jarrod Blandino is joining us now. He is the co-founder and chief creative officer of Two Faced, which is now an Estee Lauder brand, but he started that after working at the Estee Lauder counter actually. Jared, thanks so much for joining us.
JERROD BLANDINO: Hi.
JULIE HYMAN: I know you have a big, the brand has a big, and you have a big social media presence. What are you hearing from your customers and people you're engaging with since the beginning of the pandemic as to how interested they are in sprucing themselves up right now? I mean, a lot of people maybe aren't wearing makeup when they're at home.
JERROD BLANDINO: You know, I think for a moment we all kind of took a pause and were like, hey, we don't have to get, we don't have to straighten our hair or put on a full face. Very quickly I think, we all missed it. Because I think there's a beautiful pageantry about getting dolled up every morning. You get to choose your outfit, get to choose your lip color, gets to put on your mascara, and kind of reinvent yourself for that day to express yourself from inside on the outside.
And I think very, very quickly, we all missed it. So it's really evolved into a kind of more personal kind of interpretation of where we are. So we'll see on some of my Zoom calls with my team, they're all wearing red lip. I noticed that they're all wearing this bold red lip. And I said, what, you guys, did you all get together? Did you call each other? Where's my lip? And they were like, no, we want to feel that power, we want to feel that glamour again. But also, when you're on a Zoom call, there are very few features that pop. So your lashes, your lips, some highlighter. It makes you look ready for the day.
MELANIE HAHM: Jerrod, you might have a captive audience here, because we have to be on camera for a living, I suppose. But it's interesting, Estee Lauder, your parent company, they had been notoriously known for the lipstick index, to your point. In previous financial crises, especially the financial recession in 2008, there was this uptick in trying to feel beautiful in small ways.
But now actually, the executives are saying it's the skin care index. That people are much more concerned, especially because they don't need to go outside as much. Is that an existential threat to Two Faced as people are trying to do, not only the more natural look, but also make sure that the underneath part is well taken care of?
JERROD BLANDINO: Sure. Absolutely not. In fact, it's a really exciting thing. We've always integrated a lot of skincare ingredients into our makeup. In fact, our best selling Born This Way Foundation, I kind of based it on some serums that I loved and used. The fact that coconut water I learned, is one of the closest thing to blood plasmon the planet, so your body accepts it. So we've been doing that for a very long time. And I just think it's more about self love and self care. And when we're looking in the mirror or getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed, we want our skin to look the best. We want to feel healthy on the outside.
So we feel healthy on the inside, because during this time, it's been very emotional, it's been very difficult. And it's not ending. I think we all have this hope, a couple months, we'll be out. So it's kind of become our reality. And we're going to take care of ourselves. We're going to eat better, hopefully. We're going to take care of our skin. And we're going to look for the positive positivity in life and look for the positivity in one another. Because I think unless we do that, just what are we doing here, right?
ADAM SHAPIRO: So Jarrod, I was glad to hear you use the word, glamour, because someone who's more comfortable in a suit, who likes to see people who get quote, dolled up, in the evolution that our society is going through right now, is there a negative impact on companies like yours and on the bigger, the Estee Lauders of the world if women start rejecting the things that used to be considered quote, glamour?
JERROD BLANDINO: No. I think that the cool thing about the world, is that in fashion and beauty, we're always evolving. So we're always redefining what it means to be glamorous, what it means to be trendy or whatever. And I think a brand like ours, we're at the forefront of that. We have to create trends, we don't follow them. So no. I just think it's really exciting and really beautiful that it's even, it's almost evolving faster now, because we're all on social media more. We're connecting with each other through our computers more. And no, I just think it's actually really exciting and I'm kind of energized by it.
DAN HOWLEY: Jarrod, I want to ask, as far as sales go for makeup during the pandemic, I mean, I'm sure initially it just kind of fell apart, because I mean, we were all in sweat pants. But it seems as you were saying, a lot of people kind of miss it and miss the idea of being able to dress up and look their best. Do you see more people now talking about that and trying to put makeup on or trying to get themselves looking their best as far as when they get on Zoom calls or different types of meetings along those lines? Is it more coming back?
JERROD BLANDINO: Yeah, I definitely think it is. I've seen it in my own life. I've seen it in my own meetings. I've seen it with my own friends and employees. Everyone's putting a little more effort in. And I just think we miss the pageantry of life. There was something so beautiful about fashion and about beauty and about just art and culture. And I think that we're having to work a little harder to make that happen. But I think that we're all feeling like we love it and we miss it and it's a part of who we are on the inside. It's expressing yourself, you know what I mean?
And Lululemon and T-shirts worked for a while. We felt good in it, right? But now it's time to put on your Yves say Saint Laurent jacket and pull it together and straighten your hair and feel good for that moment. And there's nothing wrong with the next day, putting your hair in a ponytail and leaving your pajamas on. But it really is just kind of feeling and expressing yourself how you feel in that moment and not forgetting to enjoy the fact that beauty is fun, and fashion is fun, and we're all just here to just lift one another up and inspire one another to feel our best and to have a good time.
MELANIE HAHM: Jarrod, that's a beautiful sentiment. I mean, I have a leadership question. As we alluded to, Estee Lauder acquired Two Face for about $1.45 five billion about four years ago. When you think about how you've been able to maintain a very good role within the organization, what are some lessons to be learned as other startups try to get acquired? Because we know Jo Malone, Bobbi Brown, they have left Estee Lauder after selling the company. How do you think about the way you can let go of your baby, but also stay part of the ecosystem?
JERROD BLANDINO: Well, kind of my secret to that, is you don't let go of your baby. You stay independent-minded. You use the assets you have at hand. But you just continue on the path as you always have been. I say, I want wings, not weights. So where they can give me wings, I'm totally about it. Where there's weights, I'm like, let's cut them all off. I feel like we all have individual companies and we built our brands in very unique ways.
My last job was at the mall, OK? So I did not grow up in corporate culture. So truth be told, I don't really fit very well into corporate culture. Luckily for me, Leonard Lauder is this amazing artistic man who just gets it. And there are some other great executives within the organization who understand that I'm not a typical, I don't know, corporate founder. I don't know what you would call that.
But I've become even more focused on my artistic integrity, on my individuality, and on the heartbeat of our brand. Because for me, there is, like you said, maybe this feeling that you can let go a little bit or take your foot off the gas a little bit or go take an extra vacation or something. I've done the opposite. Jeremy and I founded this company. He's my husband. We've been together 25 years this year. And we're even more passionate about keeping that love and that heartbeat and that feeling going.
Because it's more than makeup, guys. It's a movement. It really is about instilling self-esteem into these girls and guys now, and really hoping to inspire people to feel their best. So they look at themselves in the mirror and they feel good. So hopefully, they do better, they expect better, they're kinder, they're stronger, whatever that is. But it's my hope that through our brand, you feel the most yourself. And then go out there and get the life you deserve or do your absolute best. Meet your potential.
JULIE HYMAN: Jarrod Blandino, not just selling makeup, for sure. Thank you so much, and happy anniversary, by the way.
JERROD BLANDINO: Thank you!
JULIE HYMAN: Two Face founder and chief creative officer, appreciate your time.
