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SMART, FRESH, AND NATURALLY GORGEOUS, PRISCA COURTIN-CLARINS IS CONTINUING HER FAMILY’S LEGACY AND REDEFINING BEAUTY.

Even as a child, Prisca Courtin-Сlarins was at the forefront of the luxury beauty industry.

During summer holidays she spent with her family in Saint-Tropez, the fashionable Parisian — along with her twin sister and cousins — was among the first to try the prettifying formulations crafted in the lab by their grandfather, Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who founded the family-owned skin-care company that bears his name.

«He would try all the products on us,» explains Courtin-Clarins, who is now 26, «and wanted to know what we thought of their scents and their textures. Then he would give us lessons on how to apply the creams, which for him was the most important thing.»

NEXT GENERATION

Those childhood focus groups gave Courtin-Clarins a grounding in the business she would take up as an adult. As a trail blazing entrepreneur with an MBA, she founded Nail Factory with two partners in Paris. The chain of easy-in, easy-out American-style mani-pedi bars ha been a previously unheard of concept i the French capital. (Unsurprisingly, they have been a huge success.)

Now, as a member of the supervisory board for Groupe Clarins, Courtin-Clarins is focused on expanding the brand, with cosmetics in new colors and textures aimed at appealing to a younger audience, and projects to broaden the company’s scope. She’s currently working on a spa concept that will take a holistic view of beauty, from facials to food, with a gourmet restaurant that will use ingredients such as antioxidant-rich goji berries, designed to coordinate with the anti aging regimens in the treatment rooms. The first branch is set to open in Lyon later this fall.

It’s no accident that Courtin-Clarins adopts a holistic approach to well-being herself. The willowy brunette eats healthfully and exercises regularly, but her discipline has a higher goal. When a woman is confident and happy, she is beautiful.»