The AERIN Brand…Exhibits Her Effortless, Luxe Style In all of her Collections for Lauder

Aerin Lauder, whose heritage is that of a long line of the many talented, successful family members that have brought us decades of fine products that began with her famous Grandmother,                                                                                                                                        Estee Lauder.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to chat with Aerin Lauder, as she came to Houston for a whirlwind day that included a stop at Neiman Marcus Galleria to promote her beauty and home decor line, AERIN , then off to Circa Lighting to share her newest AERIN Lighting collection and finally, it was about her furniture collection at an event at Longoria Collection. Quite a full day but one I suspect has become quite routine for the multi-talented lady who she says, travels quite a lot to spread the word of all of the awesome products she has created in her newly founded brand. I found it so interesting to chat with Aerin and hear the story of her brand, which was only formed in 2012 and her amazing accomplishments in such a short time. It’s really no wonder, when listening to this poised, articulate and very confident woman, who comes from a family dynasty that we, seasoned retailers, would expect from what we have known to be Retail Royalty.

I have captured here some of the highlights of our conversation, as we sat at the all-so-familiar Lauder counter at Neiman Marcus where her color and fragrance collection, Aerin, which she has built on simple elegance, sits with many of her sister Lauder brands.

MRG:  How did you get started with your own brand, it seems that you have done so much, so fast?

AERIN:   In college, I worked every summer with Prescriptives and then when I graduated, my uncle felt that Prescriptives would be a great place for me to start…it was small and I could learn and develop products/collections. From there I went into product development at Lauder where I was involved in all areas such as Creative, Marketing, Advertising and was eventually named the Creative Director, which is a position I held for 7-8 years.  It was then that we realized there was a great opportunity for a simple, luxury brand that would be a nice compliment to Re Nutriv. I was always being asked what was in my make-up bag? ‘Estee Lauder is your grandmother, you must have exposure to the greatest make-up artists, what are you must haves?’ So, I listened and from there we started  a capsule collection.

MRG:   I know that it seems obvious, but it must have been helpful being from your family and starting a beauty collection and also, could you also tell us what you have learned from your Grandmother?

AERIN:  Working at Lauder, I saw a void for a modern, luxury beauty collection that would compliment other Lauder product and all members of my family, some of the most talented in the industry, lent a helping hand. My sister, Jane picked helped the colors, my Dad, the logo and my Uncle with the branding. As for my Grandmother, she taught me to have PASSION and FOCUS. She said, ‘Do what you love and do it well.’

Aerin Beauty…effortless, stylish and easy

MRG:     Tell me about your AERIN Essentials  Collection?

AERIN:   We started with just a few products….there were a few lipsticks, a lip conditioner  bronzer, body cream, compact foundation. We wanted to give a feeling of lifestyle, luxe, effortless style. Not a lot of products…two glosses, two eyeliners. Keep it very simple. Having grown up in the world of beauty, I’ve had access to an incredible array of wonderful products, making me the ultimate beauty editor. I believe you don’t need a complicated, time-consuming beauty routine to look beautiful. The beauty collection is a carefully selection of products that I simply can’t live without. (I must say that she radiates a beautiful example of what she believes in. Her style as I observed is minimal, effortless beauty!)

MRG:    Do you change seasonally?

AERIN:         There are certain ‘essentials’ that we always have in the collection but we may add such products as our new lip balm, which is based on the same concept as vaseline, very luxurious while healing. Our brushes are something else we have expanded upon. (I love her  her kabuki brush??)

MRG:   Please let’s chat about your fragrances? 

AERIN:  All of my beauty is built around feminine elements, primarily flowers. All of my fragrances were developed to compliment the beauty collection. There are wonderful  stories behind each note.  Roses are my favorite flower, which I have running throughout the beauty collection and all of my fragrances are floral-based. As you may know, roses are very much a legacy for me and my family, the Bulgarian Rose was my grandmother, Estee’s favorite flower. I introduced Fragrances with a wardrobe of five in November of last year…idea being something for a woman’s every mood and/or need.  We are now introducing two more to that original collection and more to come in Spring. 

Aerin Home….Decor

MRG:   How did you evolve into Home Decor? 

AERIN:  My first venture outside of Beauty was scented candles for the holidays. From there I just began expanding with what was to become what I considered ‘Home essentials’ that told the same cohesive statement that was the key to my brand built on effortless, modern luxury. Continuity amongst all categories is most important to me.

AERIN Home….Furniture

MRG:   How you feel about the relationship of Fashion to Home?

AERIN:  I think that it all connects. Home products are simply accessories for your home. There is a lot of overlap as to what is going on in the ‘fashion world’ and in the ‘home world’.  If you take this Fall for example, there are many deep colors and fabrics that translate beautifully. There has been a return to Grey and Lavender in fashion and they are definitely dominant in home.  I feel that the fashion magazines that have showcased many of the designers at home have done an amazing job of tying the two together….people want to see the designers in their home environment and be able to relate to us what that says about their total style.

AERIN Home…Lighting

MRG:   In closing, now that we’ve seen such an array of such exquisite product, please tell us where we can purchase?

AERIN:  All of my collections can be found online through my website. However, we have a strong presentation with our retail partners.  Beauty is available in most specialty department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s as well as many small stores, nationally and internationally, around the world. In Houston, AERIN home product is available in Neiman Marcus for decor, lighting at Circa Lighting and Furniture at Longoria Collection.  For those interested, in the trade, most of Aerin Home is sold through showrooms and her best total representation of her product and brand can be found in her Southampton retail store.

AERIN’S GOT A BRAND-NEW BOOK!

 

Aerin’s new book, as described by the author, is not just a beautiful book, which it is, but is also a great read with some great insights into family history. Click HERE to buy it.

photos courtesy of lauder companies and aerin.com