In a selective perfumery or the beauty floor of a department store, two advisors working side by side do not always have the same employer. One is employed by the retailer and advises on every brand in the store; the other is employed by a brand and only presents its products, sometimes on a counter reserved for it. This organisation, specific to beauty, changes targets, training, career moves and the way you write your CV. This article explains who employs whom, describes the duties at the point of sale, useful training, the indicators tracked and career moves into training or management, before detailing what the CV must show.
Brand or retailer: who employs the advisor
Three situations coexist in selective perfumery.
The retailer’s advisor. Employed by a perfumery chain or a department store, they advise on all the brands present, guide the client, handle payments, and take part in the set-up and operations of the retailer. Their targets concern the sales of the store or of their category (fragrance, make-up, skincare).
The brand advisor, sometimes called beauty consultant or brand ambassador. Employed by a fragrance or cosmetics brand, they work in a point of sale that is not the brand’s own: a department store counter, a dedicated space in a perfumery. They represent the brand, know its entire range and gestures, and their targets concern the brand’s sales in that point of sale.
The advisor in a brand’s own boutique. Some fragrance and beauty houses have their own boutiques: the advisor is employed by the house, working in a way close to fashion or jewellery boutiques, clienteling included.
In addition, there are roles of mobile beauty consultant, who rotates across several points of sale for a brand, and brand trainer, who trains retailers’ advisors on the products.
This distinction matters from the application stage: you do not apply in the same way to a retailer’s offer and to a brand’s offer, and the CV headline must reflect the target.
Duties at the point of sale
Whoever the employer, a beauty advisor’s duties are similar.
Welcoming and diagnosing. Understanding what the client is looking for: a fragrance for themselves or as a gift, a skincare routine, make-up for an occasion. In skincare, advice often starts with a skin diagnosis; in fragrance, with exploring olfactory families.
Advising and letting clients try. Applying a skincare product on the hand, a make-up trial, presenting scent strips: the gesture is part of the sale.
Selling and completing. Offering the right product, then a coherent complement (an associated skincare product, a travel size, a gift set). Add-on selling is at the heart of the targets.
Building loyalty. The retailer’s loyalty programmes, client records, invitations to launches, reminders when a product needs renewing: clienteling also exists in beauty, in adapted forms.
Running events. Launch days, make-up workshops, express treatments, brand events.
Keeping the space. Setting out testers, cleanliness and hygiene, restocking, inventories, following the brand’s presentation guidelines.
The job requires real technical knowledge. The Onisep 🔗 job sheet on the beautician-cosmetician, published by the French public guidance agency and one of the jobs that lead to these roles, recalls that you can work in an institute, a spa, a perfumery or a parapharmacy, and that advising on products is part of the job.
Useful training and diplomas
Several routes lead to beauty advice.
The CAP in aesthetics, cosmetics and perfumery, over two years, trains in treatments and product sales. Onisep presents it as the entry point to the beautician-cosmetician job.
The vocational baccalaureate in the same field, over three years, deepens techniques and client relations.
The BTS in aesthetics, cosmetics and perfumery (MECP), over two years after the baccalaureate, trains both in treatments and in the commercial side of products. Its management option 🔗 adds management (cash flow, stock, human resources) and commercial communication: it is the programme for future managers.
Commercial training (sales BTS diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, business schools) also leads to advisory roles, especially in fragrance, where technical knowledge is acquired through brand training.
Perfumery and cosmetics schools, such as ISIPCA 🔗, rather lead to technical and marketing jobs in these industries.
France Travail 🔗, the French public employment service, recalls that the beauty sector brings together very varied jobs, from treatments to sales and the cosmetics industry, and that the BTS makes it possible to aim for team management.
Targets and indicators tracked
A beauty advisor’s targets vary with the employer, but the same indicators often appear:
- revenue of the brand or category in the point of sale;
- average transaction value and units per transaction, which measure add-on selling;
- conversion rate of clients advised;
- sign-ups to the retailer’s loyalty programme;
- sales of featured products during a launch or promotion;
- mystery visit results, from the brand or the retailer.
For a brand advisor, the brand’s sales in the point of sale are often compared with those of other points of sale in the area. Our article on boutique sales indicators explains how to present these figures on a CV without disclosing confidential data.
Career moves into training or management
Beauty advice opens several career moves.
Management. Department or category manager, assistant manager, store director in a retailer; counter manager for a brand, then area manager covering several points of sale.
Training. Brand trainer or educator, who trains retailers’ advisors on the products, gestures and brand messaging. It is a frequent move for advisors who excel at passing on knowledge; our article on retail excellence presents a similar function in luxury houses.
Professional make-up, for the most artistic profiles: brand make-up artist at launches and events.
Head office. Operational marketing, merchandising, trade marketing, client relations: brands readily recruit people who know the field.
What the CV must show
A beauty advisor’s CV must answer four questions from the recruiter.
Who did you work for? Specify whether you were employed by a retailer or a brand, and in which category (fragrance, skincare, make-up). A brand recruiter looks for an advisor who will be able to represent it; a retailer’s recruiter, a versatile advisor.
Which gestures do you master? Skin diagnosis, applying treatments, make-up, fragrance advice. These are the technical skills that distinguish a beauty advisor from a general salesperson.
With what results? One or two indicators, tied to a period and a point of sale.
How do you build loyalty? Loyalty programme, client records, reminders, invitations: beauty has its own forms of clienteling, presented in our article on clienteling in luxury.
A few before-and-after lines:
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Before: “Beauty advisor, selling cosmetics.”
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After: “Skincare and make-up brand advisor on a department store counter: skin diagnoses, express make-overs, running 6 launch days a year.”
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Before: “Sales in a perfumery.”
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After: “Multi-brand advisor in selective perfumery, fragrance category: olfactory advice, gift sets, sign-ups to the retailer’s loyalty programme.”
If you come from a fashion or jewellery boutique, the sales advisor CV analysed on this site shows transferable sales and follow-up gestures. Our article on becoming a luxury sales advisor also presents the qualities common to all sales jobs in luxury houses.
A beauty advisor’s CV is read quickly, often on a phone, and sometimes goes through the screening software of a retailer or brand. The LuxeCV editor produces a clear page and a PDF that these tools read correctly, so that your gestures and results are not lost in the layout. You can create your CV for free.
Sources
- Onisep, job sheet Beautician-cosmetician 🔗.
- Onisep, BTS in aesthetics, cosmetics and perfumery, option A management 🔗.
- France Travail, Beauty jobs 🔗.
- ISIPCA 🔗: perfume, cosmetics and flavour programmes.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a beauty diploma to be a beauty advisor?
Not always. In fragrance and make-up, commercial profiles are recruited and trained by brands. In skincare, a beauty diploma (CAP, vocational baccalaureate, BTS) is often appreciated, because it guarantees mastery of diagnosis and gestures.
Is it better to work for a brand or for a retailer?
It depends on what you are looking for. A brand offers in-depth expertise on a range and career moves into training or area management; a retailer offers a broader, multi-brand view and career moves into store management.
Is the brand advisor subject to the retailer’s rules?
Yes, within the point of sale: hours, dress code, till procedures and operating rules apply to everyone working there, even those employed by a brand. The precise arrangements are set between the brand and the retailer.
Can you move from selective perfumery to a fashion house boutique?
Yes. Advice, add-on selling and client follow-up transfer well. The CV must then stress client relations and product knowledge, and show curiosity about new categories.