“We want to sell reality, not just dreams.” Lena Mahfouf signs an unprecedented collaboration with Caudalie

When Lena Mahfouf recalls her first meeting with Caudalie founder Mathilde Thomas, she didn’t expect to be welcomed into the family apartment over homemade apple pie. “I couldn’t believe that he managed to take his brand to this international level and that he continues to manage it while maintaining family values,” recalled the 26-year-old social media star. She discovers a connected woman trying to understand Gen Z and their way of consuming. The mutual understanding between the two women is immediate. And the partnership was sealed. They envision a unique campaign anchored by the zeitgeist for Vinoperfect Serum, the brand’s bestseller. “I liked the idea of ​​creating a narrative that shifts from traditional advertising, where everything is flat and out of reach. Sell ​​reality, not just dreams. And that’s why Kodali had courage,” says Lena.

After the casting organized on Instagram, which involved hundreds of candidates, three finalists and Lena’s subscribers were selected. Matilda, Nasrine, Julia. all do affect pigmented spots. Further proof that “this new generation wants to participate in the conversation, not just be a spectator to what others are having,” adds Lena. The result? An unprecedented online and social media campaign that will appear now on the brand’s Instagram account, as well as public screenings and a TV movie that will be released immediately. But there is no question of making it something exceptional under the name of humor. “Even if that’s my preferred way of saying it, we shouldn’t take everything as a joke. “Especially when we’re talking to someone who has blemishes or who’s feeling unwell, risking highlighting their injuries.”

A voice that carries

A young woman admits that her teenage acne left its mark without being a complication that ruined her life. “Probably because I was focused on other issues, like my hair. He also knows that his voice and his platform allow him to communicate the various issues of his large community (4.5 million subscribers on Instagram, almost 3 million on YouTube). One of the advantages of social networks, if even they can also give place to collective lynching. He who has been filming his daily life since 2016 knows this better than anyone. she had to face a wave of body shaming after appearing at the last Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. A storm he weathered thanks to his surroundings. “I’m more comfortable with myself as I move forward in life. I mourned perfection.’ But he acknowledges that not everyone has the necessary perspective. “Negative commentary should not be minimized because it also affects those who read it. I don’t want to trivialize the ripple effect of this hate, especially on the youngest.”

Show yourself naturally

However, we cannot deny the fact that Instagram, YouTube or TikTok have also helped impose a new vision of beauty. A small revolution, particularly led by Lena. “I’m often told that it’s refreshing and even feminist to see a girl with no hair or makeup in her videos. It’s still crazy to put such big words and values ​​on expressing yourself naturally. Social media has finally put women in control of their stories and how they want to present themselves.” Which, however, doesn’t mean Lena is always comfortable with her image, which we see everywhere from the Met Gala to Cesar’s red carpet. “The more we look at each other, the more we find things to complain about. I like to see myself in my mirror from time to time, but I don’t like to focus on it.”

This hyperactive person has also learned to listen to his skin better in his daily life. “After too much sun exposure or dietary habits, the skin speaks for itself, it expresses itself for us.” He also learned how to take care of it. “Controlling what we put on our face and analyzing compositions is one of the only things we have 100% control over,” she emphasizes. If she sometimes closes her eyes to indulge herself, especially when it comes to makeup, she sticks to her essentials, which are mostly found in drugstores. A demand that further strengthens the weight of the collaboration with Caudalie, the brand has revised all its formulations to be more transparent and clean. The young woman has also decided to take better care of her body from the inside after being hospitalized for an ulcer last year. “I take supplements, I drink my collagen every morning, I box, I try to eat healthy, and I even gave up the sugar I was addicted to.”

A new approach

However, she readily admits that her relationship with beauty is always ambivalent. “I would like to approach the issue of makeup in a different way. I often used it for camouflage. Now, above all, I would like him to put me forward. And although she sometimes sleeps at night without removing her makeup, she conscientiously uses sun protection products every day. “I give advice that I try to apply myself. Is this hypocrisy or push us together? I don’t know.” An honesty that has made him successful, and which today allows him to host Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya on his podcast, Six-seater sofa. Until, probably, one day he met Rihanna, who in his eyes “has the gift of rediscovering himself”. Another inspiration for the business woman speaking to an ever-expanding audience. The key message is the idea that we can “multiple projects at once, make mistakes and, above all, never allow ourselves to be put in a box.”