Dior Makeup's Peter Philips On How The House Is Flipping The Script In The Beauty World

Grazia USA

30-07-2025

Photo: GRAZIA
I've set my phone down after a 15-minute doom scroll on TikTok. At this point in time, and algorithms, I'm finding myself immersed in the so-called 'beauty blindness' side of the app. This is by no means a new concept in the world of TikTok, nor, in fact, in the beauty world in general – well, perhaps the name, but that's about it.
For decades, we have long been embracing trends; with time, they fade away, and we look back more often than not, thinking the same thing: why on earth did we do that to ourselves? In the '90s, it was paper-thin eyebrows, followed by foundation lips in the 2000s, which was then succeeded by the 'full beat' in the 2010s. And now? Well, it's hard to pinpoint; we're in a world of micro trends, making it all but impossible to keep up.
So, it poses the question, as a consumer – and someone who is on the periphery of the beauty industry – how are brands able to stay ahead of the curve? According to Peter Philips, creative & image director of Dior Makeup, it's about 'challenging' the market, which is exactly what he did eight years ago, launching the now-famed Dior Backstage line.
At a time when, as Philips notes, many indie brands were emerging, Dior looked at creating a 'line to attract and seduce a younger audience that was maybe a bit too intimidated' by the house's more luxurious collections.
'We needed to really do something, to not become an old brand,' he tells me, sitting down together in Dubai. 'So, the idea of the Backstage line was created as almost a no-brainer line, as if a makeup artist was doing your makeup. The palettes were made in a way that you couldn't make any mistakes. We had a mistake-proof foundation with a guaranteed makeup result.'
That was all back in 2018, of course. Fast-forward to 2025, we're in a very different landscape across the board, but particularly in the beauty space. Now more than ever, consumers are more educated about the makeup they are wearing, how they are applying it and what a great product is (and what it isn't), which is a stark change to the rationale originally behind the creation of the Dior Backstage line.
'The younger generation, they change, and they are now so knowledgeable, they know everything,' Philips notes. 'We don't have to give them an easy, no-brainer and makeup line anymore, because they want to be challenged. They want to be excited. They know they know how to do makeup.' Dior Addict Lip Glow Butter in 101 Glazed Pink, 103 Toffee, 105 Lychee, DIOR, SHOP NOW
Enter a new era for Dior Backstage, bringing more playfulness and colour into the line, which Philips describes as a 'yummy, less professional and a bit more fun' iteration.
The latest addition to the Backstage family is a vibrant trio: the Rosy Glow Stick, an updated Rosy Glow Powder Blush, and a nourishing Lip Glow Butter. While the original Rosy Glow blush has long been a cult favourite – thanks to its pH-reactive formula that adjusts to the skin's chemistry – the new stick version brings the same smart technology in a buttery cream texture that melts into skin for a dewy, g lowy finish.
A sign of the times indeed. A mere eight years ago it was a matte finish that was all the rage. No glow in sight.
'The beauty landscape has been evolving constantly,' Philips highlights. 'It's very organic. It's very diverse. There is so much happening. At Dior, I feel we've been really good by staying in touch without losing our credibility as an established house.'
For Philips, it's been about finding a balancing act between the house's loyal clientele over generations, while also attracting a new audience.
'We don't want to be estranged from our loyal clients, but we always try to seduce young, younger generations to discover Dior so they don't feel that they have an old brand,' he says. 'It's just by, first of all, being constant and delivering your quality. Because of social media and because of the openness around makeup, there's no mystery about the product.'
Which takes us back to my initial question: How do you really stay ahead of the curve?
'[By] keeping your ears and your eyes open with respect towards your clients and your possible clients, you stay relevant,' Philips affirms. Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Stick, DIOR, SHOP NOW.
Following trends, though? Absolutely not.
'It's not about trying to create a trend or trying to be hype, because that's not up to us,' he adds. 'It's the people who use your products that will create a trend or make it hype. All we have to do is make sure that we deliver and give a good tool for them to check and they can experiment and have fun with it.'
Well, if the last decade at Dior Makeup is anything to go on, Philips is continually on the money about what will deliver the next global success. In fact, after having a quick scroll, I see the Rosy Glow Stick is firmly on my feed. Touché.
topics: DIOR, dior backstage, Dior Beauty, dior makeup, Christian Dior, 2025 beauty, Backstage Beauty, GRAZIA 14, GRAZIA, Beauty, featured