The CEO of L'Oréal - the largest makeup company in the world - has been criticised after an interview in which he said Instagram and the effects of pollution were good for the makeup industry.
Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive and chairman of the parent firm of Maybelline, Garnier and Lancôme, said that Instagram and the filters that people use on it has boosted makeup sales, as more people try to recreate their digitally enhanced appearances in real life.
Despite dwindling beauty sales in the United States recently, Agon told MarketWatch that sales have actually increased because of apps like Instagram and Snapchat.
"The more you make yourself look really great online," he said, "the more you have to work on yourself when you go out, because if, when people meet you, they discover that you are completely different from what they thought, then you have a problem.
"If they want to use filters to look better online, they have to do something in real life also to look better, and that is why they use more cosmetics, more makeup, more skincare, more everything."
On pollution, Agon said: "When you live in a city your skin, your hair is challenged more than if you were living in a rural area, so you need more shampoos, conditioners, skincare, hydrating creams, anti-UV, etc. Urban life means more socialization, and more socialization means more beauty consumption."
He stressed, however, that the company is not promoting pollution, saying instead that their goal is to "protect" their consumers.
Agon summed up L'Oréal's position in the makeup world by saying the makeup industry is "immune to crisis", adding "investors and analysts acknowledge the fact that, whatever happens, L'Oréal will be able to keep growing, keep developing, and keep increasing its profitability".
His comments drew harsh criticism from British MP Bambos Charalambous, who told The Telegraph: "It's an admission that [L’Oréal] are very happy that young people feel pressurised to look good and they are very willing to use that as a marketing ploy for their products.
"There are enough pressures on young people as it is and the idea that people are happy to make money on the back of a fake life is really sad."
