Carol Hamilton is the first to admit that she knew very little about fragrance when she took over as head of L’Oréal USA’s Luxe division in 2008.
“Nada. Rien!” she said, as she was being inducted into the Fragrance Foundation’s Circle of Champions on Wednesday evening in New York. “I grew up in drugstores — my métiers were makeup, skin care, hair care and hair color.”
But in characteristic Hamilton fashion, the executive, who today is group president of acquisitions at L’Oréal USA, didn’t just fill in her knowledge gap, she parlayed it into a big business opportunity by choosing the then-newish Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb as a project to learn the ins and outs of fragrance marketing in the prestige sector.
“I loved the juice and its message of femininity and empowerment,” she said of why she chose that fragrance in particular. At the time, the scent ranked number 20 in the U.S. market. Five years later, it was number three.
While it sounds easy, Hamilton emphasized it was anything but. “It’s extremely difficult to make scents come to life — I’ve realized it’s the most difficult of métiers,” she said, to a packed crowd of more than 200 beauty executives who came
“Nada. Rien!” she said, as she was being inducted into the Fragrance Foundation’s Circle of Champions on Wednesday evening in New York. “I grew up in drugstores — my métiers were makeup, skin care, hair care and hair color.”
But in characteristic Hamilton fashion, the executive, who today is group president of acquisitions at L’Oréal USA, didn’t just fill in her knowledge gap, she parlayed it into a big business opportunity by choosing the then-newish Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb as a project to learn the ins and outs of fragrance marketing in the prestige sector.
“I loved the juice and its message of femininity and empowerment,” she said of why she chose that fragrance in particular. At the time, the scent ranked number 20 in the U.S. market. Five years later, it was number three.
While it sounds easy, Hamilton emphasized it was anything but. “It’s extremely difficult to make scents come to life — I’ve realized it’s the most difficult of métiers,” she said, to a packed crowd of more than 200 beauty executives who came