Jeremy Lowenstein is a veteran of the beauty industry.Having worked with multiple beauty giants including Estée Lauder and Coty, Lowenstein is now running the marketing show at Milani Cosmetics as its chief marketing officer. Inside Retail sat down with the forward-thinking CMO to learn about his journey throughout the beauty industry and his thoughts on what the retail industry at large needs to get about marketing. Inside Retail: How did you get your initial start in the retail industry?Jeremy Lowenstein: It goes all the back to high school when I thought I was going to be a lawyer. In the last two years of high school, I ended up joining the yearbook [committee] as a business manager. Then in my senior year, I was editor-in-chief of the yearbook, which started to solidify my interest in marketing and business. I quickly walked away from wanting to be a lawyer and ended up at Boston University’s Questrom School of Management. Fast forward through college, where I ended up majoring in marketing, to when I landed my first internship at Staples. After my next internship with Showtime, my cousin, Diane Ackley [a 40-plus year executive with the Estée Lauder corporation] suggested that I apply to their internship program. I was placed with Aveda during the internship in the summer of 2002 when men’s grooming was just starting to take off as a category. My summer assignment was to research this new category and ask, ‘What does this new consumer look like?’ and ‘Does Aveda have the tools, resources and product to speak to that consumer in its current format, or did they require something new and unique?’I put together a test program and [after presenting it to the company], they asked me if I would be willing to stay on post-internship and I never left.IR: You’ve been in the beauty industry for 20-plus years working with brands like Aveda, Sally Hansen, Kopari Beauty and now Milani Cosmetics. What has kept you so loyal to this industry?JL: I think what’s interesting about beauty is that it’s super dynamic. It is a category driven by innovation, passion and emotion, but there is still a lot of strategic thought that goes into how you develop and bring products to market. It is truly the art and science of storytelling that meets strategy.I’ve now touched on categories like hair care, men’s grooming, fragrance, color cosmetics, nail care, body care and personal care. While there’s a lot of commonality between them, there’s also a lot of uniqueness, but all of it is grounded in consumer insights. There’s just a lot of things about consumer behavior that constantly changes. The channels are always changing, but rooted in everything that we do is asking, ‘What does beauty do for you, the consumer, at the end of the day?’ So that’s what keeps me going.IR: What has been something surprising that you’ve learned along the course of your retail journey? JL: I think everything has surprised me along the way and you’re always learning something new, that’s what keeps it interesting.What’s not surprising is that the fundamentals of marketing do not change. We are here to surprise and delight consumers based on their wants and needs. But what’s surprising, or what is interesting, is that the tools by which we have to do that have evolved at a pace unlike any other.Direct-to-consumer operations and Amazon have changed that dynamic, but also social media and the way consumers are interconnected. The community is no longer just this insulated bubble within a single hometown, the community can spread far and wide.IR: What does a day in the life look like for you?JL: A lot of zoom calls. My job is interesting because it has evolved from when I was a pure-play marketer. Now I have product development, marketing creative and the Amazon and DTC channel, as well as our international business. My day-to-day changes and that’s actually what keeps me going. If my day-to-day was the same, I’d be bored. There are always new challenges and new conversations to be had. Everything I do is rooted in brand strategy, our brand ethos, our footprint, why we are who we are. I see the role of a CMO as to able to string the red thread between all of the functional areas of the business that drive sales and profit, but ultimately your consumers’ interest. Because without your consumer, you have no brand. IR: What are some strategies you use to maintain a work-life balance?JL: It takes a lot of self-discipline and thinking about setting boundaries.Though it is also about being realistic since this world happens in real-time and there are only so many hours in the day. So how do you find moments of joy and relaxation for yourself in a way that gives you time to recharge? For example, I’m a road bike cyclist, and I find that is one thing that I can do for myself, where I’m outside. My phone goes in my back pocket and I can’t check it while I’m biking, since that’s not safe. I can just be on the road and sort of drift off a little bit in my brain and give myself time to recharge and think about new ideas and give myself some space. IR: What are the items in your business toolbox?JL: Honestly, one of them is my community.These connections that I have with peers have lasted for years, even decades, and we keep each other informed. It’s the same thing with my team, who help me keep everything in perspective. IR: Outside of work, I’m passionate about…JL: My dog, who’s a four-and-a-half-year-old mini Goldendoodle and who kept me sane during the pandemic. I’m also passionate about my family, my Judaism, cycling and things that go beyond my work, that inspire me, and give me opportunities to use my passions and my skills for.I’ve done volunteer marketing jobs for nonprofit organizations and I want to use my skills beyond just driving profit. There are ways that we can do drive passion from work and from our personal life. How you infuse them together ultimately brings happiness.IR: What is the piece of advice that you wish you could give yourself before starting your journey in retail?JL: Take more vacations!