As the lines between beauty and health blur, consumers are seeking trusted sources to help them navigate a new whole body beauty movement — and CVS Pharmacy, a name synonymous with convenience and reliability, is emerging as a key player in this space. With the recent appointment of Michelle LeBlanc as Vice President of Merchandising for Beauty, Personal Care & Hispanic Center of Excellence, the retailer is implementing new strategies to make it easier for consumers to grasp the ethos of this emerging trend and achieve their beauty, health and wellness goals.

“I’ve been in retail at CVS for 20 years, and most of that time was within healthcare,” says LeBlanc. “This gives me a deep institutional knowledge of the health landscape and how consumers define health and wellness.” She points to this background as a key factor in her ability to reshape the way CVS Pharmacy markets its personal care offerings. “I’m bringing a healthcare lens to beauty, which allows us to create solutions that not only make people look good but feel good as well.”

“CVS provides a mix of convenience and access; we’re within 10 miles of 85% of the population, and consumers can generally get in and out of a CVS store in about seven minutes. We have the ability to answer multiple missions in one shop, which is totally unmatched,” she adds. To that end, LeBlanc’s goal is to infuse the convenience, trust, and authority that CVS Pharmacy has in healthcare into its beauty aisles too. “It’s about connecting the dots between the two.”

How CVS Pharmacy defines whole body beauty 

For LeBlanc and CVS, this new trend starts and ends with the consumer. Today’s beauty routines are no longer just about achieving a specific outward appearance; they’re deeply intertwined with wellness, mental health, and self-care. “What we’re hearing from consumers is that beauty is becoming more connected to mental health and well-being,” LeBlanc says. “I recently saw a poll about why people are putting on makeup, and they’re saying that they do it for themselves over others. That’s a profound shift in how people view beauty.”

This change is evident in the growing demand for products that address not just one’s external appearance but also internal well-being. LeBlanc points to the upward momentum of fragrance products, which many consumers now use to enhance their mood rather than just for scent. She also calls out the rise of products that are taking an inside-out approach to maintaining healthy hair and skin.

Why CVS Pharmacy is poised to be a leader in this movement 

At CVS Pharmacy, LeBlanc sees an opportunity to serve this new consumer need by leveraging the company’s deep roots in health and wellness. “We have a natural equity in health that other retailers don’t, which allows us to bring whole body beauty to shoppers in a way that’s both trustworthy and accessible,” she explains.

A key insight driving the whole body ethos at CVS Pharmacy is the blending of functional beauty with health. “The consumer is looking for products that are both functional and backed by science. What excites me most about this space is that we’re growing the beauty pie — not stealing from it,” she says. “There’s so much room for innovation in health-driven beauty, and CVS is at the forefront.”

LeBlanc and her team also recognize that there’s a lot of fun that comes with beauty, and they closely follow what’s happening in the beauty space to ensure consumers are also able to discover and play with popular, social beauty brands and trends in real life while shopping.

At the same time, CVS Pharmacy recognizes the challenges of misinformation in the beauty space, particularly on social media. “Social media is a double-edged sword,” LeBlanc says. “While it allows consumers to interact with products in powerful, tangible ways, it also has the potential to spread misinformation at a rapid pace. Our role at CVS is to provide consumers with accurate health and wellness information they can trust.”

To meet the growing demand for whole-body beauty solutions, CVS Pharmacy is relying on multiple promotions and tactics across all its channels. Some of those strategies include:

Expanding skin health solutions: CVS Pharmacy is doubling down on its skin health offerings, starting at the scalp and including the whole body, says LeBlanc. “We’re building on our existing authority in healthcare to offer a comprehensive skin health experience.”

Training beauty consultants: In-store beauty consultants are receiving enhanced training about skincare products to provide informed, personalized guidance to shoppers. “Beauty is overwhelming for many consumers,” LeBlanc acknowledges. “Our consultants are part of the consumer’s community, helping them navigate their skincare choices with confidence.”

Streamlining the shopping experience: “Large stores can be overwhelming, so we’re working to simplify the shopping experience,” LeBlanc explains.

Leveraging social media for education: CVS Pharmacy is using its social media channels to educate consumers about holistic beauty, including tips on how to de-stress. “We’re using social media to connect with consumers on a deeper level, offering them valuable insights and product information,” LeBlanc says.

Blending beauty with healthcare services: CVS Pharmacy is exploring ways that it might be able to better connect its healthcare services, such as MinuteClinic and the pharmacy, with its beauty offerings to provide a more holistic approach to personal care. “Skin health doesn’t end at the front of the store,” LeBlanc says, adding that CVS Pharmacy will be integrating learnings from its five Skin Care Centers into the consumer journey in store.

What’s next for CVS in this emerging space: The commitment by CVS Pharmacy to whole body beauty is rooted in its long-standing focus on health and wellness. “We’ve always made bold moves with our consumers’ health in mind,” LeBlanc says, citing the retailer’s decision to stop selling tobacco products years ago and to remove concerning chemicals from the company’s branded sunscreens as examples. As CVS Pharmacy continues to challenge the traditional notion of beauty, LeBlanc sees the future of beauty as more inclusive, clinically-driven, and focused on mental and physical well-being. “We are challenging the notion of beauty to go beyond face value, it’s mental, inside out, it’s inclusive — now and into the future,” she says.