There’s a moment in the life of almost every successful beauty brand when growth gets complicated.
More consumers. More channels. More creators. New leadership. New generations. New expectations.
And suddenly the question isn’t simply how do we grow? It’s what do we protect as we grow?
This week, Carmine sits down with Irena Kojouharova, a senior beauty marketing executive, brand strategist and fractional CMO whose experience spans P&G/Wella, Moroccanoil, GLAMGLOW, Estée Lauder, KEVIN.MURPHY, Freeman Beauty and emerging skincare and wellness brands.
Their conversation begins with a deceptively important distinction: not every marketing problem is actually a marketing problem.
Irena explains how she looks at the consumer journey — awareness, consideration, purchase and loyalty — to determine whether a brand needs more visibility, better distribution, a stronger product or an entirely clearer reason for consumers to care. If people know a brand exists but still aren’t choosing it or returning, throwing more money at media may simply amplify a weak position.
From there, Carmine and Irena turn to one of the central tensions in brand building: how do you evolve without erasing the very things that made the brand distinctive?
For Irena, that begins with understanding the brand’s DNA — its promise, purpose and distinctive assets — and separating those enduring elements from the creative expressions, channels, creators and cultural references that naturally need to change over time.
Carmine brings the conversation back to his own seven years as the voice of Kiehl’s, where even seemingly minor decisions were filtered through a fiercely protected brand identity. From the skeletons and motorcycles to the language inside the stores, the question was always the same: Is this part of what makes Kiehl’s Kiehl’s?
That kind of stewardship gets considerably harder as a brand grows.
More agencies, retailers, markets, creators and internal teams mean more people interpreting the brand. Irena argues that a brand deck alone isn’t enough. Brands need what she calls an operating system for decisions — a framework strong enough that the people executing the brand eventually become stewards of it themselves.
That becomes especially complicated in the creator economy.
Brands want the authenticity and creative instincts that make creators compelling, but too much control can flatten the very thing they hired them for. Too little control can turn a creator partnership into something almost unrecognizable from the brand itself. Irena explains why the answer often lies in distinguishing between what a creator must communicate and where they should be given genuine creative freedom.
Then the conversation shifts to another increasingly difficult challenge: how do beauty brands attract younger consumers without making longtime customers feel like the brand has left them behind?
Irena points to Sephora as a company that has repeatedly expanded its relevance — first with Millennials and now with Gen Z — without abandoning Gen X. Rather than replacing one generation with another, she argues, strong brands find ways to invite additional audiences in.
That thinking becomes particularly interesting in skincare and longevity, where the same product proposition can mean something entirely different at 20 than it does at 50. For a younger consumer, longevity may be about prevention. For an older consumer, it may be a mix of prevention and correction. The brand doesn’t necessarily need a different identity — but it does need to understand the different problems consumers believe they are solving.
Finally, Carmine asks what allows certain brands to endure for decades while others disappear.
For Irena, longevity doesn’t mean refusing to change. It means repeatedly returning to the fundamentals: consumer sentiment, competitive context, cultural shifts and the brand’s own purpose — then asking whether the way the brand is showing up still reflects what it intends to mean.
And in the episode’s closing conversation, Irena reflects on something she believed early in her career: that being a great marketer meant knowing everything herself.
Today, she believes almost the opposite.
The work is better when you know how to listen — to consumers, agencies, colleagues and different points of view — and use those perspectives to make smarter decisions.
It’s a conversation about brand DNA, growth and relevance — and why the strongest brands may not be the ones that reinvent themselves most often, but the ones that know what should never be reinvented at all.
Key Takeaway
Brands don’t stay relevant by constantly reinventing themselves.
Irena Kojouharova argues that enduring brands know the difference between what must evolve and what must be protected. Creative expression, channels and cultural references can change. The brand’s core promise and distinctive identity should be much harder to abandon.
Growth makes that harder — which is why strong brands create systems that turn employees, agencies, retailers and creators into stewards rather than simply more voices.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Irena Kojouharova moved from traditional marketing into brand strategy and fractional leadership;
How to determine whether a struggling brand has a marketing problem, positioning problem, product problem or distribution problem;
Why awareness without conversion or repeat purchase can signal a deeper positioning issue;
How brands can distinguish their enduring DNA from the creative expression that needs to evolve;
Why consumer research, social listening and even platforms like Reddit can help marketers understand what consumers actually value;
How scale can dilute a brand as agencies, retailers, creators, regions and internal teams add more voices;
Why Irena believes brands need an “operating system for decisions,” not simply a brand deck;
How brands can give creators enough freedom to make compelling content without surrendering the brand identity;
Why attracting Gen Z doesn’t have to mean abandoning Gen X or Millennials;
How the same longevity proposition can mean prevention to a younger consumer and correction to an older one;
What enduring brands do to remain relevant without constantly reinventing themselves;
And why Irena no longer believes being a great marketer means knowing everything yourself.
Connect with Irena Kojouharova on LinkedIn to follow her work in beauty brand strategy, positioning, marketing and growth.
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Follow Skincarma on Instagram and on TikTok. Catch product reviews of Carmine’s top picks of the best skincare on the Skincarma Blog. You can also connect with Carmine on Substack and LinkedIn – and explore his extensive work in beauty on the Carmine Montalto INK website here.
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Product reviews on the Skincarma Blog:
Explore the Best Sunscreens for Face here.
Explore the Best Retinol Face Creams and Serums here.
Explore the Best Vitamin C Serums here.
Explore the Best Niacinamide Serums here.
Explore the Best Acne Treatments here.
Explore the Best Anti-Aging Creams and Serums here.
Explore the Best Face Creams for Dry Skin here.
Explore the Best Face Creams for Oily Skin here.
The Skincarma® Pod is where indie beauty meets fearless curiosity. Hosted by Carmine, his podcast pulls back the curtain on the beauty industry with sharp insights, candid interviews, and a healthy dose of irreverence. From deep dives into ingredient science to raw conversations with dermatologists, brand founders, and industry insiders, each episode is a no-BS exploration of what really matters in skincare: how to attain and maintain healthy skin. If you’re obsessed with products, passionate about transparency, and love calling out hype, this is the place to learn, question, and glow smarter.
The Skincarma® Blog is written and curated by skinfluencer, skincare junkie and Brooklyn writer Carmine Montalto. With 25 years of expertise in beauty across every category, Carmine has helped build multiple consumer brands from the ground up. He’s named 100s of skincare, haircare & makeup products – some of which are probably in your bathroom cabinet right now! And, he’s tested 1,000s of products, the best of which can be found reviewed on his blog at skincarma.com.
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