This weekend it was announced that Kendall Jenner will be the new face of Estée Lauder— Estée Lauder—a match made in, well certainly not heaven. It’s a game changing move that shows the company—which has been snapping up independent beauty brands over the last few months—is ready to break into a whole new market. And truth be told, it’s not a bad idea. It looks like Jenner is already bringing something new to the table as the brand has reportedly gained 50,000 followers on Instagram—since Saturday. Ah, the power of a Kardashian. The reality star turned model is the youngest face the brand has ever worked with, and even her campaign co-star supermodel Joan Smalls is seven years her senior.
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“How did you feel when you found out about [joining Estée Lauder]?” Smalls asked her in a brand interview. “I was so excited. I found out backstage in Paris and they told me I couldn’t say anything. So I saw the text and I was like, ‘Oh my God! I have to keep this to myself.’ When I got to my room I started freaking out,” Jenner gushed. “My mom was the only person I told. She was crying, but then she cries at everything.” And of course Jenner wasn’t the only one excited about the new campaign. "Bridging the worlds of high fashion, entertainment and social media, Kendall is a modern beauty who represents a whole new generation of women who live, breathe and share beauty, fashion and life 24/7, on their own terms, in a visually compelling way," Jane Hertzmark Hudis, global brand president of Estée Lauder, said. "She is the ultimate instagirl, and we are excited to leverage her image, voice, energy and extraordinary social media power to introduce Estée Lauder to millions of young women around the world."
We’ll have to wait to see exactly how this pans out for both Estée Lauder and Jenner, but the instant boost in followers combined with the model’s fast-track career makes it seem like this was the right move for the brand. And if they’re looking to restructure for a younger generation (which seems almost a given considering their latest acquisitions and casting of a 19-year-old) they found the perfect woman for the job. While there’s been no news on which products she’ll be the face of or when we can hope to see her in television or print (she already has a landing page on Estée Lauder’s website), we’re hoping to see something before the Christmas holiday. Besides what teenager is going to want a stocking full of Benefit when she could get a selection of Jenner’s personal Estée Lauder faves?
