ColourPop brand president Vivian Weng on the pace of change in beauty retail

To say that Vivian Weng is a colourful player in the global beauty industry would be an understatement. 

Weng is the brand president of the leading colour cosmetics brand ColourPop, known for its viral, pop-culture-influenced collaborations and accessible price points. 

Inside Retail connected with the beauty executive to learn more about her path to joining ColourPop and her thoughts on the current state of beauty retail. 

Inside Retail: Prior to your current role at ColourPop, can you walk us through your career path in retail and how it has prepared you for your current position?

Vivian Weng: I’ve spent the last decade of my career in the beauty industry, specifically within colour cosmetics, and focused on the digital sales and marketing space.

Before ColourPop, I held roles at L’Oréal and Anastasia Beverly Hills in digital leadership. Prior to that, I was a consultant at McKinsey, where I served clients in the consumer and retail sectors across a variety of strategic and operational areas. 

I think the combination of operational experience at these companies combined with the strategic thinking and problem-solving I learned at McKinsey have allowed me to take a balanced approach to running the business here at ColourPop.

In addition to the above, I co-founded a startup back in 2009 – a marketplace for indie fashion designers. While this was almost 15 years ago at this point (seems crazy to say!), the learnings from that experience have stayed with me throughout my career. The mindset of truly owning a business end-to-end gave me a unique perspective that has been extremely valuable working at founder-run companies. 

IR: How did you land your present position with ColourPop?

VW: I was working at L’Oréal in 2015 when ColourPop first came on the scene. I remember learning about the brand and seeing all the innovative things they were doing compared to the rest of the industry – both from product development and marketing perspective. When ColourPop reached out to me about the open role, I was so excited to speak with the founders, as I already had so much admiration for what the brand was doing and what they had accomplished. 

IR: You have been in beauty retail for over a decade, working with big names like L’Oréal and Anastasia Beverly Hills. What is it about beauty that has captivated you for so long? 

VW: I have always been drawn to the consumer and retail industry because I’m fascinated by consumer behavior and understanding why consumers buy what they buy. 

Beauty is such a fascinating category within the consumer landscape because it’s such a creative space. To me, beauty is all about self-expression and giving people the ability to show up as their best self… and the definition of ‘best self’ is unique to everyone and can change daily! 

ColourPop has been so compelling and captivating to me because the brand’s core values are rooted in accessibility and making beauty fun. We strive to bring next-level quality products to consumers at an accessible price point.  We like to say we’re “priced to play” – we want to offer products that consumers can get excited about, and afford to play and experiment with. 

IR: What have been the most significant shifts you have seen in beauty retail since first entering this industry? 

VW: Beauty has always been a fast industry, but the speed has only increased over the last 10 years. The time it can take for a new brand to launch and become a new staple in the space is incredible, facilitated by social media and also the adaptability and open-mindedness of today’s consumers (particularly younger consumers).

Consumers today are also so much more educated, informed, and demanding than ever before, which raises the bar for marketing. However, I do believe, that at its core, beauty is about creating amazing products paired with amazing storytelling.

IR: What does an average day look like for you?

VW: The fabric of my days changes daily depending on where the big opportunities or pain points are on that given day! 

I try to spend my time “on the polars” – where is the business excelling slash where do we think there is more opportunity, and on the reverse, what are the parts of the business that need extra attention? 

In general, I try to spend a good chunk of every day looking at sales performance, on social media (reviewing engagement/comments on our own platforms and other brands in the space), and reviewing customer service reports. I also make it a priority to go in-store to our Target and Ulta Beauty retail partners at least a few times per month.

IR: What is your approach to trying to maintain a work-life balance?

VW: I have two young children, a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old, who help me put everything into perspective.

I try to take the view of work-life balance over a period of time, versus thinking that I can achieve that on a daily basis.  So, for example, over a three-month window, asking myself the questions:

• Have I spent sufficient quality time with my family?
• Have I been able to prioritize and drive those priorities at work to impact the business?
• Have I had enough “me” time – investing in my own physical and mental well-being?

While I can’t say the answer is always an astounding “yes”], reflecting on those questions on a consistent basis inspires me to continue pushing for that work-life balance – adjusting to accommodate both my personal and professional goals.

IR: The items in my toolbox that make me feel prepared are… 

VW: Reading, listening to podcasts, and “sitting with the data”. I’m constantly consuming business news – both in the beauty industry and outside of it – which I think is really important to understanding shifts in the landscape. 

I’m also extremely data-centric, so I like to start with the data and work my way out to the “so whats”.

IR: Outside of work, I’m passionate about… 

VW: Wellness and food! 

I love hiking and generally staying active, and I’m lucky to be married to an Italian who loves to cook (hello pasta!) and experiment with new recipes.

IR: This may be a hard question, but what is your current go-to product from ColourPop? 

VW: I love our new So Juicy Plumping Gloss Balm and So Juicy Plumping Lip Oil, as well as our Shadow Stix (perfect for on-the-go makeup!).

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