L’ÉTOILE.
About the brand
L’ÉTOILE is one of Russia’s largest beauty retailers, with more than 25 years in fragrance and cosmetics.
If this were my brief
Restore emotional closeness and strengthen loyalty among women aged 45–56, while raising awareness among younger women.
Context · Insight · Solution
Context
L’ÉTOILE tries to speak to different generations of women at once: Gen Z trends and memes sit alongside older bloggers and younger influencers. It is visibly seeking a stronger presence among younger audiences, competing with Golden Apple for their attention. Yet these messages lack a unifying communication idea. The result feels fragmented: the brand addresses different generations without defining its shared role in modern women’s lives.
Observation
For a long time, age dictated not just how a woman should look but how she should behave. Those boundaries are fading. A mother and her adult daughter can follow the same trends, share cosmetics, recommend products and inspire each other without trying to be the same age. As the daughter grows up, a parent–child bond can become a relationship between two adult women, and “mum” can also become a friend.
Insight
I’m an adult now, and I want my mum to see me as an equal, not just her child. But being independent doesn’t mean pulling away. I want us to find shared interests, exchange experiences and get to know her as a woman, not only as my mum.
The solution
Bring both audiences together through one emotional territory: the relationship between a mother and her adult daughter. One communication idea answers both objectives: restoring closeness with women aged 45–56 while bringing L’ÉTOILE into younger women’s consideration.
Social media special project
Observation
As daughters grow up, influence becomes mutual: mothers and daughters adopt each other’s buying habits, shop together and shape each other’s style. Shopping becomes a way to exchange experiences and stay connected, not just buy things.
Insight
I used to think my mum and I had completely different tastes and she couldn’t teach me anything new about beauty. But I increasingly notice us choosing similar products and learning from each other. I want to share my discoveries and try her favourites, without dividing everything into “for my age” and “for hers”.
Idea
Turn their mutual influence into an experiment: swap mother and adult daughter’s beauty bags, filled with L’ÉTOILE products, and see what each wants to keep.
Execution
Launch an episodic social reality series featuring well-known mother–daughter pairs. Each puts together a beauty box of her favourite products for the other. They swap bags, try each other’s choices, share reactions and tell personal stories. At the end, we find out which products each decides to keep.
Why it works
Their personalities, reactions, disagreements and personal stories give the project the appeal of a mini-series worth following. L’ÉTOILE naturally connects both audiences and weaves its range into genuine interaction: the products come to life through the participants’ choices and experiences.
While You Were Growing Up
Insight
I pick up a familiar perfume or lipstick and remember not the product, but who I was then: a first date, my mum letting me wear makeup, an argument over a bold colour. Back then I wanted to grow up fast; now these small things remind me how we both changed. I want to hold on to that connection with our shared history.
Idea
Tell the story of a daughter growing up through beauty products that hold specific memories. Familiar moments reveal how her relationships with makeup, her parents and herself changed, while L’ÉTOILE remained by her side.
Execution
Create the brand campaign While You Were Growing Up, based on real stories of mothers and adult daughters. A grown-up daughter chooses familiar products at L’ÉTOILE, each sparking a memory: her mum’s perfume secretly borrowed at 15 before a first date; the mascara her mum first let her wear; a first red lipstick and an argument with her dad. The stories form one coming-of-age narrative. Extend it on social media by inviting women to share the stories and products they forever associate with their mother or daughter.
Why it works
Familiar beauty rituals trigger personal memories: viewers do not just watch someone else’s story, they remember their own. L’ÉTOILE becomes the brand that accompanied women as they grew up.
Beauty Exchange
Observation
Discounts, promotions and brand trust encourage repeat purchases, some of which go unused. Yet throwing away an unopened product is difficult: it means admitting the money was wasted.
Insight
I bought beauty products on offer or wanted to try something new, but some are still unopened. I no longer want to use them, yet throwing them away feels like admitting I wasted money. I want them to have a useful purpose so the purchase doesn’t feel pointless.
Idea
Invite people not to buy something new, but to bring in products they once bought and never opened. Give unused cosmetics value rather than leaving them on a shelf.
Execution
Launch a service where customers bring unopened beauty products to L’ÉTOILE. After checks, they go to redistribution, recycling or charity projects where safety requirements allow. Each product earns points exchangeable for a gift certificate for someone else. The more products returned, the higher its value.
Why it works
Reverse the familiar beauty-retail role: instead of another “buy and try something new”, the brand helps address accumulated overconsumption. L’ÉTOILE gains a social role, another reason to visit and a way to attract new customers through a clear personal benefit.
13 Going on 30 · 30 Going on 13
Insight
I’ve lived my own life and made my own decisions for years, but one comment from my mum can make me feel like a teenager again. I value her care, but I don’t want another lesson in how to live. I want us to talk as equals without losing our closeness.
Idea
Show recognisable moments when two adult women talk almost as equals, until mum unexpectedly becomes the teacher and the grown-up daughter briefly becomes a teenager again.
Execution
Launch short sketches called Mum, I’m Nearly 30. Each starts as an ordinary exchange between two adult women and ends with a classic unsolicited piece of motherly advice. Beauty is the natural setting. The project can grow into a sitcom about a mother and her adult daughter.
Why it works
This tension needs little explanation: viewers recognise themselves and their mothers. It gives L’ÉTOILE a territory for recurring social content, not just a one-off placement.
That Bag
Observation
Research into brand conversations and archived women’s forums revealed particular loyalty to a 2010s activation that gave away branded beach bags with purchases. Interest in nostalgia and that decade lets one recognisable object speak to two generations at once.
Insight
I recognise that L’ÉTOILE bag and remember when my mum or I used to carry it. I like revisiting familiar things, but I don’t want to look as if I’ve just pulled an old bag out of the cupboard. I want that feeling of recognition in something I’d enjoy wearing today.
Idea
Bring back L’ÉTOILE’s recognisable 2010s beach bag and give it a new life through a different format with a Gen Z fashion brand.
Execution
Create a limited-edition remake with a Gen Z brand such as Befree. Keep the original floral print, but rethink the shape, materials and details for 2026. Launch the drop in both brands’ stores and online, supported by urban fashion photography, influencers and content comparing the original with the new version.
Why it works
Reviving a recognisable product creates a natural media story. With nostalgia and the 2010s back in focus, one object can resonate emotionally with two generations. The collaboration makes an archival brand code relevant again and attracts organic interest.