Face to face with Paul Slavin

It occurred to me as I sat in the lobby lounge of the hotel, waiting for the VP of Clinique Asia Pacific (I was about 15 minutes early for my interview and was tempted to take a picture of myself — next to a clock, natch — to prove to my mother that, no, I’m not always late) that men in the beauty business make for perfect spouses. It was just on the cusp of Valentine’s Day and I was in a contemplative frame of mind. Imagining all the amazing gifts I could potentially receive from a hypothetical significant other with an equally hypothetical post at some imaginary beauty company put me in a serious mood. Which is why when I finally met Paul Slavin, VP and general manager of Clinique Asia Pacific and a friendly, talkative Scot currently based in Hong Kong, I instantly went for the hard question.

Let me get this out of the way. You’re a dude working in the beauty industry. Are you married?

Yes, I am, with two young children.

I can imagine someone marrying you just for the free products. Not that you don’t have a winning personality.

You know, my wife loves the free products. She hasn’t bought skincare or makeup or fragrance in a number of years. She’s very happy.

I can imagine. Who needs love when you have tons of beauty freebies?

(Laughs uncomfortably.)

That’s actually a really good dating tip. Search for your soul mate in the beauty industry.

Exactly! Find someone with my kind of job and you’ll have a lifetime supply.

And then you’re golden!

And any skincare problems, he can help you with.

Well, I didn’t say I wanted to marry a facialist. Just upper management at Clinique.

(Laughs.)

Did you have bad skin growing up?

I’m actually one of the few lucky ones who breezed through those awkward years with just one or two blemishes a month.

So do you try the products yourself?

I try most of the skincare line. We have a men’s line but it’s not as popular as the ladies’ line. So I use a lot of the ladies’ products.

And you’re not ashamed to admit it.

Absolutely not.

Even the makeup?

(Laughs.) Not so much. You ask all the hard questions.

Come on. How about some blush during the winter months? It could add much-needed color to a pale face.

Oh, I don’t need blush. (laughs) Maybe foundation to hide my skin sometimes.

So, how’d you end up in the beauty industry?

I actually worked for a number of years for this company in the UK called Boots the Chemist. I ended up working in their department store and a lot of their business came from the beauty section. I just really liked the way the premium brands behaved, structured and marketed themselves.

I got friendly with the general manager of Clinique in the UK and he talked about me joining that side of the business. I did that four years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

Is there a difference between how Asian and European women approach beauty?

Very differently. European women want two things: speed and practicality. Asian women are a lot more about prevention and taking time to get things right. So a European woman will say, “I have to deal with this now, and then I move on.” A woman in Asia will say, “I have my skincare regime that I want to keep and I want to look after but I also want to take care of this (points to lines) and prevent that from happening.” They spend a lot more time and effort in Asia. And they are incredibly knowledgeable about skincare.

You’re currently launching Superdefense.

Yes, it’s one of our best-selling products worldwide and it’s been in existence for four years. But we have completely reformulated it, giving it a more creamier, smoother texture than it had before. We’ve launched it in other Asian countries before the Philippines over the last five months and everybody is saying how it’s so suited for Asian skin.

The technology that went into it is fantastic. There’s an SPF 25 there. It’s got UVA and UVB protection.

What’s the difference between UVA and UVB?

UV sunlight gives you two problems: one ages your skin and one damages it. Aging, in itself, is a damaging process, but it can accelerate the damage process. It can go into your skin and work into the cells of your skin and ruin how skin reproduces and protects itself.

The recommendation between UVA and UVB is a three-to-one protection ratio which is

present in Superdefense.

Legally, that is not required in Asia but that is what we want to provide because that is what dermatologists tell us what we should have in a moisturizer.

A lot of women don’t like putting on a lot of creams because it’s humid and the products can weigh heavily on skin. What’s your recommendation?

We recommend you use 3-Step plus protection. (Clinique’s 3-Step is the label’s signature skin regimen that involves cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing skin.) That protection can be in whatever form you want that. If you want a moisturizer with SPF that works, or it could just be an SPF product. As simple as that. Or it could be a foundation with SPF built in to simplify it.

3-Step is about getting your skin balanced the right way so that whatever you put on after, be it sun protection, moisturizer or foundation, will fit on your skin correctly and disappear into it, almost becoming part of your skin. You don°òt want to produce layers that create this caked feeling.

What are common fallacies in skincare?

Well, someone will say, “It’s a bit cloudy out, no need to put on my sunblock.” No, matey. We need to use SPF every day of our lives, no matter the weather.

Another popular myth is when people put on a moisturizer with SPF 15 and top it off with a sunblock with 25 that makes them a 40. It doesn’t add up. You’re just a 25. You need to reapply SPF, especially if you sweat. You can’t just swipe it on in the morning and expect it to last the whole day. Regular application helps.

Another fallacy is that dark-skinned people don’t burn. They do, it’s just not as obvious to the eye. They can get skin cancer just as easily as the palest of people.

What’s the deal on SPF? Some friends believe you need at least 50 to arm yourself properly against harmful rays while others are okay with their moisturizer that comes with SPF 15. What’s the bare minimum?

We recommend as high as you can wear that does not cake or layer your skin. I believe 25 is the minimum.

Over the years, I’ve heard experts advising consumers to use anti-aging products as early their early 20s. My mom only started using those things in her late 30s. Now the figure gets smaller and smaller. Do I really need to start lathering on cold cream at night like my mother? God forbid.

No, absolutely not. A good daily skincare regimen with sun protection is itself anti-aging. In your 20s, with people who’ve got beautiful skin like you, no lines, unblemished skin...

Thanks, but you don’t have to say that. You scored points with me anyway.

No, I wasn’t. I was talking about Kay’s skin (points to brand manager across me who’s giggling like a schoolgirl). You guys genuinely have nice skin. It’s glowing and neither of you are heavily made up. If you do the 3-Step, you are already protecting your skin. So you don’t need to go to the counter to buy the kind of creams your mother wears. You certainly don’t need anti-wrinkle cream in your 20s. A good skincare regimen in your teens onwards is the best solution. My kids are 10 and 12 and they do not step out without sunscreen on their faces.

Gun to your head, what is the one thing you need to put on before leaving home? You need to whittle down a skincare regimen to one necessary product.

I want to say 3-Step plus but gun to my head I would have to say moisturizer with SPF.

Okay.

But a moisturizer on unwashed skin won’t work as well. So it would work without the 3- Step but it won’t be as effective.

You have a gun to your head, you don’t get to add qualifiers!

I still have to. It’s just not as effective, I’m sorry. If you don’t exfoliate, the products just lie on the top of your skin, over the layers of dead skin cells, unabsorbed.

Okay, we get it.

I’m glad. Trust me, your skin will thank me for it.