L’Oréal Travel Retail has unveiled Journey for the Senses, its vision for elevating experiences in the channel.
Built around six key strategic pillars – Sense of the Unexpected, Sense of Time, Sense of Service, Sense of Gifting, Sense of Ultimate Luxury and Sense of Place – the beauty powerhouse presented the strategy during its annual media briefing at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes on 1 October.
A record 3.7 billion people made international trips in 2024 (source: Air4cast 2024), a figure driven by rising demand from emerging markets. According to L’Oréal Travel Retail, this shift is reshaping airports into “vibrant hubs of life, culture and shopping” – with beauty remaining one of the channel’s most powerful growth engines, forecast to serve over two billion consumers by 2030.
With 45% of shoppers citing in-store experience as a key purchase driver (source: m1nd-set B1S data), L’Oréal Travel Retail’s mission is focused on delivering distinctive, engaging and memorable brand moments that forge authentic emotional connections with travellers.
The rise of Gen Z is central to this transformation. Set to represent 35% of the global beauty market by 2028, this consumer group is defined by an experience-first mindset, with 43% saying airport experiences influence their choice of travel destinations (source: Travel Predictions 2025 research commissioned by Booking.com).
L’Oréal Travel Retail demonstrated how each of the six pillars is brought to life across its portfolio with a series of dedicated brand showcases, featuring Kérastase, Lancôme, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl’s, Aesop, L’Oréal Paris, YSL Beauty, Miu Miu, La Roche-Posay and others.
As reported, L’Oréal Travel Retail President Emmanuel Goulin announced his appointment as President of L’Oréal Europe during the annual media briefing. Eva Yu, currently President and Managing Director of L’Oréal Hong Kong, will take his place to head up Travel Retail.
Goulin imparted two messages during his final Cannes media briefing. He said, “The last two years have reinforced two convictions I hold about the future of this channel.
“The first is that if we want to fully harness the appetite for travel and address our conversion challenge, we must re-enchant travel retail and elevate the level of experience we offer. The channel has been too transactional in the past, and we are now focused on making it more emotional and experiential. The travellers of tomorrow – with Gen Z expected to represent 35% of all global travellers by 2028 – demand experiences and we at L’Oréal Travel Retail aim to deliver.
“We need to reinvent our offer, our travel retail exclusives and our experiences. What we are showcasing today gives tangible examples across our portfolio of how we are reimagining the channel and transforming travel retail into a true entertainment destination.”
Goulin continued: “The second conviction is that the solution lies in our ability to innovate together as an industry. Travel retail has operated too much in silos, but we have one of the most exciting and data-rich ecosystems in the world. We need to activate the travel retail Pentarchy in a more efficient way to elevate the passenger experience and make a real difference.
“This is something we have been building over the past 12 months with Pentarchy partnerships in Singapore, Doha, Buenos Aires, Istanbul and beyond. We are now beginning to see what is possible when we collaborate as an industry to transform the airport into an entertainment destination.”
Sense of the Unexpected
At the Cannes show, YSL Beauty debuted The Beauty Kiosk, an interactive concept that transforms the airport into a playground of discovery and self-expression. Travellers can explore destination-inspired looks, curated playlists, exclusive travel sets and signature fragrances, as well as capture YSL selfies.
Armani Beauty brought its cinematic heritage to life with In The Spotlight, an activation inspired by Hollywood glamour. It offers personalised services and immersive experiences, and showcases the brand’s hero products.
Miu Miu debuted Miutine, a fragrance built around a wild strawberry top note with gardenia heart notes and a brown sugar and vanilla base. The scent, which embodies the brand’s playful, fashion-forward energy, introduces a new word into the Miu Miu lexicon: Miutine, an individual who defines life on their own terms.
Sense of Place
Aesop’s Three Rooms installation invites travellers into a sensorial journey inspired by diverse climates. The animation comprises a trio of vignettes in the imagined daily life of a traveller and Aesop aficionado.
Kiehl’s debuted Bones Around the Globe, its first-ever destination-centric pop-up concept. The experience offers skincare solutions tailored to travellers’ destinations. It is divided into four themed zones – Summit Hydration, Jungle Rescue, Travel Recovery and Dune Defence – each spotlighting targeted routines for different environments.
Sense of Service
Helena Rubinstein presented the First Class Recovery concept. It offers bespoke consultations, expert treatments and tailored product recommendations that address travellers’ skin needs.
The concept is anchored by a Luxury Travel Repair Set and Travel Prescription Kit, designed to address skin concerns linked to travel. Each kit features a customisation element inspired by an aircraft seatbelt, complete with pre-printed messages.
Kérastase showcased the K-Scan, an AI-powered diagnostic tool that analyses scalp and hair health, enabling beauty advisors to deliver highly personalised care routines based on data-driven insights.
Lancôme presented The Absolue Longevity Travel Clinic, a high-speed-train-inspired capsule designed to “reverse five years of ageing in one month”. Travellers can access two skincare experiences at the pop-up: the Absolue PDRNTM and Absolue Gold longevity. Visitors can also enjoy skin-diagnosis and discover Absolue MD, a new range developed with medical doctors.
L’Oréal Paris introduced the Fly & Glow beauty bar, which offers skincare and makeup discovery alongside playful experiences such as LED light therapy. The pop-up showcases key glow-centric products: Lumi Glotion, Lumi Liquid Blush, Glass Skin and Plump Ambition.
Sense of Time
La Roche-Posay spotlighted its sunscreen innovation, UVAir, which delivers lightweight, effective sun protection for travellers heading to sunny destinations. An interactive UV camera demonstration at the Cannes show revealed its protective capabilities, while a discovery bar showcased the complete Anthelios suncare range.
Maison Margiela Fragrances introduced Never-Ending Summer, a citrus-spice scent featuring the brand’s signature Italian Spritz accord, bitter orange and vetiver.
Sense of Ultimate Luxury
Underlining the diversity in its portfolio, L’Oréal Travel Retail presented the multi-brand Haute Parfumerie concept, which brings together six luxury fragrance houses in one retail space.
Sense of Gifting
A dedicated gifting space showcased exclusive travel editions and gift sets from across the L’Oréal portfolio. These included L’Oréal Paris Parisian Look Trios, Biotherm Sun Drops, Lancôme Travel Essentials, Helena Rubinstein Travel Like Helena trunk, La Roche-Posay Skin SOS kit and Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Refill-to-Go.
In line with L’Oréal Groupe’s long-term commitment to delivering more sustainable solutions for consumers, refillability has become a central pillar of its travel retail strategy. The company’s best-selling products are all now available in refillable formats, with more than one-third of L’Oréal’s travel retail sales set to feature refillable options by the end of the year.
According to the company, using one refill of Prada Paradoxe fragrance in place of two standard 50ml bottles reduces carbon emissions by -74%. To further drive adoption, L’Oréal is introducing competitively priced travel-exclusive refill sets. ✈
