Zits, Bumps, Spots...What's Poppin'?

Acne is a touchy topic. People with acne know they have acne; it’s a literal pain point. How then should we respectfully broach the spotty issue of zits? It’s a bumpy journey, and three stakeholders — a makeup artist with an acne condition, a founder of a beauty brand with game-changing acne skincare, and a professional acne-skin therapist — share their thoughts

- Chelsea Tang

ON BEING AUTHENTIC AND EDUCATIONAL IN MARKETING ACNE TREATMENT PRODUCTS

MATHILDE THOMAS

Founder of Caudalie

As a brand that’s always been a problem-solving one, apart from intensely researching how to effectively clear the skin of acne with our Vinopure range, [the best-selling line for Caudalie in Southeast Asia], we also know of the emotional impact of acne. It’s more than a skin problem; having acne can affect your self-esteem, how you see yourself, and how you feel about yourself.

That’s the reason why we were adamant on finding a model with real acne problems to front our Vinopure range. It’s not fair to present an acne-treating collection to consumers with a campaign that doesn’t show actual blemishes and actual problems — we feel that’s not how marketing should be done. We wanted to run an honesty campaign.

The sourcing for an apt campaign model was quite a tedious and long-drawn process, and we chanced upon only one. It was through word-of-mouth, through someone at the office, through someone who worked in fashion, that we eventually found her, a model who’s struggling with acne. Red, severe, painful acne on her cheeks and jaw. It was important that we presented visuals that were as authentic as they could be to real life scenarios, to show that we sincerely relate to customers, and vice versa.