Meet the Brand Empowering Girls Beyond Skincare and Makeup

The only thing better than using your favorite serum is realizing that the brand that created it does more for the world than provide radiant skin. As society evolves, so do the brands on the market. But some beauty companies were founded with a deeply ingrained mission to make inner beauty just as important as outer beauty—enter Clé de Peau Beauté.

On the surface, you have a youth-defying serum that's perfectly packaged in a glass bottle that will look beautiful on your vanity. In reality, you have that youth-defying serum and the opportunity to contribute to girls' bright futures in STEM. Since 2019 Clé de Peau Beauté has donated $3 from every purchase of The Serum to UNICEF to support the organization's work in educating and empowering girls around the world.

Over the last five years, as part of a global partnership, Clé de Peau Beauté has donated over $11 million to UNICEF to support millions of girls worldwide. From 2019 to 2022, the partnership benefited more than 3.5 million girls, and now aims to reach 5.7 million girls by 2025. This is just one way in which Clé de Peau Beauté is redefining what it means to be a thoughtful brand in the luxury beauty space, and its work is far from finished.

Founded in Japan in 1982, Clé de Peau Beauté put research and skin cell science at the forefront to create exceptional skincare and makeup products. The team's research revealed that skin has an innate ability to differentiate between positive and negative stimuli to not only achieve but also maintain its ideal condition. Clé de Peau Beauté later coined the term "Skin Intelligence" and has been striving for—and achieving—excellence in the field ever since.

Some of the brand's best sellers include the Eye Contour Cream Supreme and the award-winning Concealer SPF 27, which are currently topping the wish lists of shoppers across the globe. But The Serum—which was reformulated this fall based on new scientific findings—has our full attention. It's designed to hydrate and visibly improve your complexion, resulting in smoother, plumper skin. While The Serum is an essential first step to radiant skin, Clé de Peau Beauté believes that education is the first step to preparing the next generation of women to unlock their fullest potential. Here at Marie Claire, we're proud to add these highly coveted and effective beauty products to our carts, especially when that means contributing to the philanthropic landscape as well.

In 2019, Clé de Peau Beauté created the annual Power of Radiance Awards to honor and celebrate women who are breaking barriers in their communities through educational advocacy work. Among the trailblazers recognized for 2024 is Reshma Saujani, whose nonprofit organization, Girls Who Code, has been revolutionizing the tech industry. With an incredible goal to close the gender gap in entry-level tech jobs by 2030, Girls Who Code is dedicated to increasing the number of women in computer science fields.

Saujani began her career as an attorney and political activist, and she later made history in 2010 as the first Indian-American woman to run for U.S. Congress. It was during this groundbreaking congressional campaign that Saujani became acutely aware of the stark gender disparities in computer science classrooms, which ignited her passion for bridging this gap. To date, Girls Who Code has created the largest pipeline of female and nonbinary computer scientists, empowering over 670,000 girls with essential technical skills and mentorship.

According to Saujani, "The future will be written in code, and we can't let that future be written without girls." To keep girls in STEM at the center of its mission, Clé de Peau Beauté joined forces with Girls Who Code and Saujani to launch the 20 Under 20 campaign, which is dedicated to empowering the next generation of women in STEM. The most significant drop-off of girls in computer science happens before the age of 20 due to societal pressure to adhere to gender roles. Many girls don't think that being a computer scientist is inherently beautiful, and Clé de Peau Beauté is here to shift that narrative. The 20 Under 20 campaign provides 20 exceptional young women with unparalleled opportunities to cultivate their skills, offering them a platform and community to discuss ideas, as well as grants to support their STEM goals. The three grand prize winners receive exclusive access to Clé de Peau Beauté's advanced research facilities, along with numerous mentorship opportunities.

This year, the three grand prize winners selected from the 20 Under 20 campaign received an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top scientists at Shiseido Americas Innovation Center. With incredible opportunities to meet female role models and envision their lives as STEM professionals, the 20 Under 20 campaign brings young girls so close to their dreams that all they can do is plan for their futures.

On October 2 in New York City, Clé de Peau Beauté and Marie Claire hosted an inspiring luncheon dedicated to sharing the stories of powerful women making a difference in the world. Guests included Clé de Peau Beauté's Power of Radiance 2024 Awardee and Girls Who Code founder, Reshma Saujani, and Marie Claire editor in chief, Nikki Ogunnaike.

This article was originally published on Marie Claire US.