On the next big experiment, letting the marketing manager unplug and ending influencer brands

Lauren Bliss, Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Experiment

Lauren Bliss has been in the beauty industry for the past 12 years, previously at amika, and cocokind. She got her start working at MAC as a makeup artist, just like Trixie Mattel and Patrick Ta. She is currently the Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Experiment, a chemist-founded beauty brand fresh on the scene; you may recognize them for their iconic reusable silicone mask.

🎨 On prioritizing creativity

When I left my role as Director of Social Media at cocokind in early 2024, I was super burnt out and started to question whether the beauty industry was still for me. Looking back, I realize I was questioning it because I wasn’t working for a brand that prioritized creativity. No shade, but the emphasis on community without equal investment in creative just wasn’t scratching that itch.

I started sharing my thoughts on my personal socials about how beauty brands had lost their way, how creativity felt deprioritized, and how fearmongering had started to replace inspiration as a sales tactic. Turns out, a lot of people agreed!

Through that very public vent session, I started discovering brands I wasn’t as familiar with, brands that brought me back to that same feeling I had in my teens and early 20s. One of those brands was Experiment, where I now lead the brand marketing team. It’s been such a joy to work for a brand that cares just as much about visuals and storytelling as it does about science.

🧪 On the next big experiment

We’re less than 3 weeks away from our biggest product launch of the year at Experiment, and this one has been a fun challenge. It’s the brand’s first treatment for breakout-prone skin, and anyone who’s worked in skincare knows how hard those can be to sell. People, understandably, want results: before and afters, clinicals, all of it. We’ll have that (duh, we’re a chemist-founded brand!!!!), but being Experiment, that’s not enough. We always have to bring the smart AND the hot. Our CEO and co-founder, Lisa Guerrera, really set the tone for a fun creative world, and it’s been exciting to help bring it to life across different parts of the marketing funnel. This will also be the brand’s first A-tier launch at Sephora, so there’s a lot riding on it, which honestly just makes it even more exciting.

💄 On C-beauty

I’m absolutely obsessed with Kaleidos. They’re a makeup brand based out of Shanghai, and their packaging and formulations are so unique. Their new Glassload Lip Melts come in these refillable glass and metal capsules that you can mix and match to make your own. There’s a nice weight to them which makes it feel super luxe while staying at an accessible price point. Packaging aside, I really appreciate that they’re making makeup that feels fun to play with: metallic, loud, and often in unexpected shades.

I’m generally really into C-beauty makeup brands and would love to see them get more hype in the States (like how K-beauty is for skincare).

🏡 On taking an extended vacation at the cottage

I know it’s been months, but I’m still at The Cottage. I didn’t watch Heated Rivalry until weeks after the finale aired, and honestly, I can’t believe I was so late to it. This year has been an emotional rollercoaster, and watching Connor and Hudson rise to fame, watching that show, reading the books... it has become a bit of a safe place for me. I read all six books in the series within the span of weeks back in February. I am specifically obsessed with the rise of Hudson as a modern-day heart throb (Shout out to Aika Flores his Groomer, she really knows how to do his hair and skin). My TikTok FYP is still filled with Heated Rivalry edits...I hope it never stops and I have no shame about it. Okay I’m rambling now...;p

📵 On letting the marketing manager unplug!

I recently took a month off from social media, and while I initially thought it would be detrimental to my work, like I needed to stay tapped into trends and what other brands are doing, it actually had the opposite effect. I felt like I had more creative ideas because my brain wasn’t bogged down by endless content (and constant bad news). It also pushed me to finally film a couple videos for my personal socials that had been sitting on my to-do list for way longer than I’d like to admit. While I can’t always take breaks that long, I always try to read a lot, which naturally leads to less screen time.

🤳 On ending influencer brands

No more influencer brands. Please, I’m begging. Influencers who are actual experts in their field, like makeup artists turned creators turned founders, are one thing. But 90% of the time, these brands feel like cash grabs. They don’t offer real innovation for consumers, and at that point, it’s just more…stuff.

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