EXCLUSIVE: Armani Men Skin Care Set to Launch

PARIS — Armani Beauty’s new skin-care line is surfing two swelling trends: that of grooming for guys and consumers’ quest for sustainable products.
The launch of Armani Men, starting in June, is also part of Armani Beauty’s evolution.
“Armani Beauty is completing a successful transformation, from a mainly fragrance-driven business to a , global, three-axes beauty brand, well-balanced between fragrances, makeup and now skin care, with a strong acceleration of the Crema Nera range, in particular, due to a boom in China and more generally in Asia,” Véronique Gautier, global president of Giorgio Armani Fragrance and Beauty, told WWD.
The formulas for Armani Men’s three products have up to 99 percent of their ingredients derived from nature and are highly biodegradable. The products also come in eco-designed packaging.
There’s the Face Wash, the Toner and the Moisturizer Face & Eyes, each billed to have only ingredients that are essential and efficacious, to give moisturizing and antipollution effects.
The Face Wash, which has 99 percent of its ingredients from nature, includes jojoba pearls and birchbark extract, plus the MAG C vitality complex to protect skin. The 98 percent biodegradable formula purifies, smooths and softens skin.
The Toner is said to soothe, moisturize and energize all types of skin. Ninety-four percent of its ingredients come from nature, such as baobab leaf extract and birchbark extract. It also contains a vitamin cocktail. The Toner is 97 percent biodegradable.
The Moisturizer Face & Eyes is meant to fight against signs of age and fatigue, and rebalance skin. Ninety-eight percent of its formula’s ingredients are derived from nature.
The products’ white outer packaging uses less material than a traditional cosmetics box and is made of FSC-certified and controlled materials. There are no plastic foil or paper inserts.
Armani had already launched a skin-care line for men, in 2008, which is being discontinued.
“The new Armani Men line is conveying Giorgio Armani’s DNA simplicity and naturality, and taking it to the maximum, from formulation to to efficacy,” said Gautier. “The challenge was to create high naturality without compromising on sensoriality and efficacy.
“The biodegradable formulas are unique within our brand segment and luxury skin care because of the combination of high naturality and cleanliness. Armani Men is formulated without controversial ingredients — no silicon, paraben, mineral oil, sulfate, MIT, EDTA and PEG,” she continued.
Armani Men will launch exclusively online in the U.S. in the first week of June, then in Canada and Europe later that month. Asia, outside of China, will start selling the range in the second half of this year, and China is set to begin in 2020.
In the U.S., the 150-ml. Face Wash will retail for $30; the 100-ml. Toner for $45, and the 50-ml. Face & Eyes product for $60.
Armani Beauty executives would not discuss sales projections, but industry sources estimate Armani Men will generate $10 million in retail sales during its first year.
“Business-wise, this men’s skin-care line aims to consolidate our leading positions on the men’s market — where Armani is the first men’s fragrance brand worldwide — but also further our voice on skin care, so as to expand beyond women’s,” said Gautier.
She explained Armani’s natural beauty philosophy is relevant to males today, when it comes to skin care, as well as to makeup. The executive noted the Armani range has color-cosmetics products used to enhance a natural look, such as Maestro foundation, High Precision Retouch concealer and Ecstasy Balm, which are becoming increasingly popular among men.
L’Oréal is Giorgio Armani’s fragrance and beauty licensee.
Source: Read Full Article