Counter Intelligence: Beauty, Grooming & Scent Edition
Counter Intelligence: Inside the products, the people, the playbook.
Our lineage is confessional—It Happened to Me, Say Anything, “Confessions of…” —but our beat is business: insiders, receipts, and the plays that actually move units and services. Some interviews are anonymous for candor; roles verified.
This edition’s featured insider: A.W., beauty, grooming & fragrance trend forecaster, former P&G innovation lead, and fragrance/flavor specialist.
Tell us about yourself. How did you enter the trends, beauty, and fragrance space, and what sets your perspective apart?
I found my way into the world of trends after studying Art History, French, and Fashion Design. While taking a graduate course in Paris, I attended a presentation by Trend Union that changed everything. This was 2004, and I had never seen Anything like it: beautiful, thought-provoking imagery and storytelling that seamlessly blended art, fashion, and culture. When I returned home, I immersed myself in trend forecasting—attending trade shows, breakout sessions, and sending my résumé to anyone who valued this intersection of creativity and insight.
At one of those trade shows, I received a life-changing call from Procter & Gamble’s Beauty & Grooming division. I began creating snapshot reports on emerging beauty products, experiences, and services, which led to a career spanning marketing and R&D forecasting global socio-cultural, color, fashion, and fragrance trends.
Later, my work in fragrance and flavor trends opened the door to a perfumer training program—an experience that deepened my understanding of how art, science, and culture converge to create truly unforgettable consumer experiences.
Finish the sentence: “In five years, the beauty counter will look like ______.”…a paradox — emptier yet more personal. AI will reshape how we discover and customize, turning the counter from a product display into a relationship hub. Consumers will want fewer, better options and seek unbiased guidance from human experts or virtual assistants. Personalization will replace excess, with smarter tools and a renewed focus on trust.
One industry buzzword in beauty/grooming you’d kill—and the word you’d swap in.
Anti-Aging to Beauty Privilege. I know this isn’t new, but as I’m easing into my mid-forties, I am doing my best to remind myself how grateful I am to have reached this age. I see so many hardships around me that friends and family have experienced. When I start to notice the extra chin that is developing, I try to remind myself, ‘Wow, you’re so lucky that you get to see how you evolve into this next phase of life.’ I mean, of course, I don’t want to see the extra dark undereye circles and changes in my skin and hair. However, finding the positive side is something I am hopeful the industry can genuinely help us move towards.
Fragrance notes: timeless vocabulary or lazy marketing shorthand?
The use of fragrance notes feels like timeless vocabulary. However, it has been fascinating to watch how brands continue to embrace creative storytelling and licensing. I think it’s working too—look at all those tweens and teens jumping in on the wave!
Refillables in fragrance—real sustainability lever or luxury shelf theater?
Ha! I don’t think consumers have fully adjusted to the shift in habit yet, and it may take some time. Cost and sanitation remain real hurdles: the infrastructure just isn’t there. Many brands have tried, yet it remains a niche market. How many reports have we read about refillables, and still, we haven’t cracked scale? It ultimately comes down to systems and cost.
Rumor control: one industry whisper that’s 100% true, and one that’s total fiction. Here’s a fascinating truth: only a handful of top-tier suppliers are actually behind many of your favorite products. Even in the celebrity fine fragrance world, brands often choose from a few pre-developed scent options — sometimes without the celebrity themselves in the room. The competition to land “the” scent is far more limited and more revealing than most people realize.
Flavored beauty: fun innovation or sugar rush gimmick? It’s been around for quite some time (a la Bonnie Bell, right?), but it generally feels more like a sugar rush gimmick.
What’s the prettiest packaging detail you obsess over because it secretly moves units?
Colorful packaging that plays with texture. Color always draws me in. If there is a matte/glossy element to the type or pack design, I’m always going to check it out. Must Touch!
Most overhyped beauty/grooming ingredient right now vs. the quiet MVP no one’s talking about. The hype of beef tallow moisturizers took me aback a bit. From what I understand, it involves using rendered beef fat, which is considered rich in vitamins and fatty acids, for its moisturizing properties. I’ve always been intrigued by ingredients associated with the baobab tree. Known as the “tree of life,” it feels like a natural connection between the functional benefits and the desire for a fountain of youth, often associated with beauty aspirations.
Keep / Kill / Scale: celebrity brands, master perfumers, collab capsules.
I’d actually kill celebrity brands as they stand today and continue to evolve them by pairing them with unique collab capsules. I would scale master perfumers—rare talents with unique life experiences and abilities in craft, art, and science.
The most shameless “dupe” you’ve seen lately—and what the original did better. I’ve recently tried the Good Molecule’s Hyaluronic Acid because I ran out of The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid. I just felt that The Ordinary delivered a more noticeable moisturizing lock-in benefit, both in terms of appearance and texture.
What’s your spiciest beauty take—in five words or less?
Trust the tried and true with just a splash of new.
A buzzy category you’d kill tomorrow—and a sleeper you’d double budget on.
Some of the food beauty offerings. Drinking collagen. It may totally work, but something about drinking something that I connect to a chemical filler put into skin with a needle really confuses me. I’d double budget on beauty that protects and prevents stressors from environmental changes.
A glamorous flop you knew was doomed by week two—what tipped you off? Blake Lively’s haircare brand, Blake Brown. There were a number of signals pointing towards a flop. But my first one, about the brand name, doesn’t make sense to me. As one of the most gorgeous blonds, using a brand name that indicates a color opposite her own and/or suggests a color-enhancing focus confused me. I later learned that the brand is a tribute to her father’s name, which is quite lovely, but that is not an immediate association that the average consumer would make. Additionally, as a stunning celebrity with high-fashion associations, I would expect the product to look and feel luxurious. However, the plastic packaging feels inexpensive. Ultimately, Lively’s negative press in pop culture significantly harmed the brand, in addition to these other brand touchpoints.
Ban tomorrow: one “clean” beauty trope, one packaging cliché, one fragrance marketing myth.
“Clean” Beauty Trope: That ‘clean’ automatically means a product is safe or effective. It may not necessarily mean your skin or hair will love it.
One packaging cliché: A simple, minimalist glass jar with a lovely white label means instant luxury.
One fragrance marketing myth: Top notes define the entire experience. In reality, longevity and how the scent interacts with skin chemistry over time matter far more.
Celebrity scent: who actually moves units vs. pure vanity play? (Name names or go blind.) I am fascinated by how Marc Jacobs’ Daisy and its new iterations have transcended generations. That original eye-catching, tactically engaging pack yields longevity. I remember learning about the importance of fragrance during my training. Now, to see and hear my eleven-year-old twin girls and their peers interact with the product and discuss adding it to their birthday or holiday lists is truly interesting.
Fill in the blank: The next category bubble is ______.
This may not be a hot take, but I believe brands are primed to really and finally integrate active ingredients into more mainstream body care. This category is often inspired by skincare, but I think that brands will increasingly incorporate the functional benefits of ingredients in facial skincare into the body care category.
Do you get high on your own supply? Name the product/service you personally use weekly—and one you skip, and why.
I once had a facialist suggest I get jojoba oil from Trader Joe’s and slather it on my face right before bed. I try my best to be diligent in using it, incorporating guasha as part of my nightly routine. Retinol creams are ones that I go back and forth on all the time. I’ll go through a phase applying it and thinking my skin can handle it. Then I get nervous because years ago, a dermatologist told me how sensitive your skin can be when you use it and when you’re in the sun. So I catch myself pausing to use it when I know I’ll be in the sun for a while.
Last confession: one true thing about this industry that would get you yelled at in a meeting—and the receipt that proves it. Fragrance is proof that the story sells harder than the formula. Side-by-side blind tests can make it pretty apparent that packaging and experience often win.
We’re gathering intel from the people who actually keep beauty moving—product developers, sales teams, educators, artists, practitioners, and anyone working in the beauty industry. Got receipts, confessions, or a truth from the front lines? Send it to gingergeisty@gmail.com.
