Is the beauty industry finally embracing age, not just ageing?

Brands are gradually being inclusive about age by showing, not just telling

The problem that the beauty industry has with age is that it doesn’t know how to include it in a conversation that’s not insulting. Until now, perhaps. Beauty sells to emotion, so how does that translate for a brand when we age in a time that’s anti anti-ageing, and when being inclusive and diverse are strategies at worst, inevitable at best? Brands are lauded today for acknowledging age, not erasing it. We want the brands that are embracing the lines, the loose skin, the pigmentation, the loss of elasticity as normal processes. Moreover, it’s a different conversation from the legacy brands who are casting older women like septuagenarian Martha Stewart for Cle de Peau and 86-year-old Joan Collins as the face of Charlotte Tilbury.

Inclusivity is about not seeing the separateness of age. It’s not about making categories based on age. Instead it’s about normalising a campaign that features a multitude of ages, and then not making a big deal about it. Representation isn’t only just about casting famous older models and actors. It’s about seeing the women around you, and yourself, in the lifestyle and the promises that the brand is making with its products. The process through which this has happened has been a personal journey that the brand owners and creators have gone through. When they realised there were missing faces in campaigns. Their own, and that of their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and friends.

A singular narrative

“When we were launching lipsticks, I had my mom be a part of the campaign,” says social media influencer and founder of beauty brand Wearified, Aanam Chashmawala. The launch campaign of Wearified in 2021 was quietly inclusive, featuring a range of skin tones, colours, age groups and genders. “I didn’t see many brands catering to people my mom’s age, who is 59. I’m not trying to separate anyone. I’m trying to have you be part of the same conversation I’m having with everyone, because I don’t see why I need to have a separate narrative for [age or gender],” she adds. The narrative that make-up is something playful and fun to indulge in at any age is a powerful one, especially when you see untouched and unfiltered photos of 60-plus human beings in a campaign with 20-somethings.

Cultural connotations

Age, or ageing, is tricky. Patriarchy has vilified it for women, and embracing each year as it whizzes past feels like an act of rebellion, especially in the face of wrinkle-erasing serums, face yoga and Botox. Choosing any of the options is encouraged—because we can, and should—age any way we want. That choice gets all the more refreshing when a complementary narrative unfolds—where conversations around beauty and ageing are about showing off your healthiest face.

“Beauty to an older Indian consumer is deeply embedded in culture and social relevance,” says Kavita Khosa, founder of Purearth. “Ayurveda mentions the three pillars of beauty—Roopam, Gunam and Vayastyag, which translate as outer beauty of form, good noble qualities and purity, and everlasting beauty respectively. For me, beauty is raw, free of ornamentation and earthy. It reflects the true nature of our being and is true to our personal dharma. While there is a lot of social media attention on celebrating ageing, I don’t see it enough in practice. Inclusivity and diversity need to be a conversation around age as well. Embracing and celebrating age needs more discussion,” says Khosa.

So far, beauty brands have addressed age in the following ways: ‘Older’ women featured as faces of legacy brands that have a wide range of products including those targeted specifically towards an older demographic; older women cast as faces of brands that create skincare and make-up only for the older demographic; and as faces of an inclusive campaign that features diversity across skin tone and colour, gender and age, and includes representation of marginalised sections.

It’s the latter that needs to grow, and brands should be called out for missing out on age, just like we do now with skin tone. Gen Z and millennials might be the ones driving the trends and sales, but Generation X (the 40-50 age group) and baby boomers are sizable segments to address. The challenge lies in engaging with them, because the channels of communication are limited.

Ways of representation

Older consumers also have different concerns and therefore demands of the beauty industry, especially when it comes to skincare. “I want to feature products that are good quality—price is not important—it’s about the ingredients and where it’s made. Most products I use are an investment but I believe in the ethos and results,” says Rosemin Madhavji, a TV presenter and former host of Bazaar Beauty for Harper’s Bazaar, Arabia and skincare enthusiast. Skincare is a different beast when it faces age. “Older consumers have different skin concerns, we cannot give them the same advice as we do to our younger consumers,” says Khosa. “When consulting them we need to understand their skin and common problems like mature dry skin, pigmentation, loss of tone, elastin, collagen and so on. Millennials and Gen Z are conscious about making informed, responsible decisions, but older generations usually wish to inquire about results and ingredients.”

But colour cosmetics embrace age easily. “Of course mature skin takes a lot more prepping,” says Chashmawala. But while showcasing the 10 shades of her lipstick range, “I wanted to show it on everyone, because I never want to have anybody look at a particular campaign and say, ‘Oh, but someone like me wasn’t in it.’,” she adds.

Smart brands have found great ways to embrace age. Ilia Cosmetics has recently been held up as a gold standard when founder Sasha Plavsic worked with beauty influencers and real women of different ages and skin colour for her campaigns ‘Shades of Us’ and ‘It’s Between Us’ in 2021. Laney Crowell, the founder of Saie, cast her 99-year-old grandmother Helene Simon as the face of her high-performance make-up brand that speaks Gen Z (the campaign for their hero product Glowy Super Gel in Starglow, a bronze-y highlighter, featured freckled Black model Salem Mitchell).

Throwing off the shackles

As far as established brands setting the tone is concerned, in 2019, Gucci cast 76-year-old actor Stanislas Klossowski Da Rola and Olimpia Dior in the campaign for their genderless perfume launch that was fronted by Harry Styles. Lancôme recently re-cast 66-year-old Isabella Rossellini after firing her 20 years ago for not being aspirational enough for a younger generation. Closer home, 41-year-year old Neha Dhupia is the face of Dermalogica’s Age Smart range. Sure, these are age-specific campaigns for age-specific products, but it’s progress, considering most anti-wrinkle creams cast the smooth, unlined faces of 20-somethings.

According to a Mintel report, when it comes to beauty/grooming advertisements, 86 per cent of beauty product users look for realistic signs of ageing. We want to age naturally, but also want to look ‘good’ while doing it. We expect brands to do more than just sell us the product that will aid us in doing so. We want them to drive social change, be the narrative that points towards a better way of thinking, not just living. Is that too much to ask of a lipstick or a cream? Maybe not, if we consider how impactful an image can be. How it might feel to find someone looking like you, with open pores, laugh lines and wrinkles staring back from a beauty campaign? And how powerfully that one image can drive a change in thought and behaviour. Maybe even change the world?

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