Original Coverage & Source Attribution: theindustry.beauty
From a childhood spent saving for lip balm to leading beauty at TikTok, Holly Harrison’s career has been shaped by an unwavering passion for the industry and its power to inspire confidence.
Now in her seventh year at TikTok, she reflects on the mentors who shaped her journey, the power of community and creativity, and why the future of beauty lies in embracing innovation, championing emerging talent and daring to dream bigger.
From Harrison’s early working days at MTV, where she served as International Account Manager across core Viacom (VIMN) brands, including MTV.
Have you always had an interest in beauty? Why does it appeal to you and why did you want to work within it?
I think a love for beauty is both innate and learned. I was collecting coins to buy the latest lip balm for as long as I can remember, and I also recall vividly how much my mother and grandmother took care of themselves – always getting quarterly facials and really allowing themselves those little luxuries as working women. The Lipstick Effect is clearly an age-old concept, as my Grandma June just turned 90 and she won’t be seen dead without a touch of coral “lippy”. From being a little girl to becoming a teen discovering my first skincare routine through Dermalogica, to being a beauty-obsessed bride a few years ago with a savings pot for mandatory monthly facials, I have always been extremely passionate about beauty.
Beauty appeals to me as it has the ability to give everyone the tools and products to become more confident and educated individuals, a mission close to TikTok’s heart, too. From fragrance-led luxury like Parfums de Marly’s Valaya or Diptyque’s Orphéon to more accessible but dermatologically minded masterpieces like Medicube’s Zero Pore Pads or La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Balm, there’s a product for every person that has the power to push them forward.
This summer, I felt my glowiest and best self by turning to the hacks that have graced my TikTok FYP – adding By Terry’s Brightening Serum in Sunny Flash or Drunk Elephant’s Bronzing Drops to my foundation or tinted moisturiser. The very essence of this is why I wanted to work in beauty. Being a part of adding to people’s wellness rituals or helping them master make-up routines fills me with joy because that small part I played could be the difference between giving them the confidence to conquer anything or recoiling into comfort.
Tell us about your first job in beauty. What this experience was like?
My first job in beauty was working on the luxury skincare brand Natura Bissé at a PR agency, where I did a summer-long internship as a teenager. I was enamoured with the opportunity to explore how a brand’s heritage and product efficacy could be translated into compelling narratives. What drew me to the role was a genuine curiosity about the mechanics behind beauty trends (before we had TikTok to fuel the latest beauty trends!). I wanted to know how a high-end product could transition from a skincare breakthrough to a cult must-have.
The experience was incredibly fast-paced and eye-opening. Immersed in a top-tier agency environment, I was given hands-on exposure to media relations, press events and product seeding to influencers. It taught me the importance of meticulous attention to detail and gave me a foundational understanding of how to build brand desire. More than anything, the energy of that summer solidified my passion for the industry and confirmed that a career in beauty was my definitive path.
What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?
As it was before I “officially” entered the corporate world, I think the lesson would be not to be afraid to put yourself out there and show your passion. Both my PR role and my role at Glamour Magazine came about because I shared my obsession with the world of beauty, media, PR and advertising. I always made it known to peers and people I met at networking events (or even on holiday) what I wanted to do and had the courage to ask to use their networks to get my break. In life, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I think this can often be a bit of a roadblock, especially as a woman in the industry, but if you ask in the right way, coming from the right place, then curiosity and clout will win through.
What do you most enjoy about your current role?
It is odd to think TikTok didn’t even exist when I started out in beauty, but that is the very essence of what I adore about my role: this incredible platform has democratised beauty and allowed everyone to be a skintellectual in their own right, empowering the community to educate themselves on the latest trends, technologies and beauty innovations. In my seventh year at TikTok, I am still learning every day – from a new product or a fresh, founder-born brand about to launch to new beauty creators showing off their creativity and passion.
TikTok is a platform where we can lead with creative storytelling, and I love that my team and I have the ability to bring exciting new activations to life all the time. In true TikTok fashion, there is always a new format or advertising innovation that allows us to break the beauty boundaries, from Branded Buzz to Creator Search Hubs, and I love having the trust of our partners to do just that.
I also love the chance to give back. I’ve been trained as a coach and mentor over the last few years, thanks to TikTok, and recently had an opportunity to mentor beauty founders, influencers and entrepreneurs with the incredible 100Allies organisation. This event was sponsored by L’Oréal UK’s former CGO, Manashi Guha, who stands for everything that continues to light a fire in me about the UK’s beauty industry: the need to support others (brands and peers alike), give back and never cease to seek out new innovations or plot a path that hasn’t yet been forged by a brand.
I also think everyone reading this would agree that the people you work with are one of the most influential forces. I have been very fortunate to have incredibly inspirational female voices since I stepped through the door at TikTok. From my “work wife”, Kristina Karassoulis, to my boss, Cass Russell, and Niusha Koucheksarai, who hired me, they have always believed in me, pushed me forward and encouraged me to follow my beauty dreams. I owe so much of my happiness and fulfilment at TikTok to them.
If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be – and why?
That you are not alone in your love for this industry, so find a mentor to nurture that dream with you. No one has it 100% figured out, so don’t panic if you don’t already have an ironclad plan, and nurturing your confidence will pay off. Jump at any opportunity to show your network (and CV) your passion. The belief that you can achieve anything will carry you through when you face setbacks breaking into the beauty industry. One thing that mentors have pointed out to me is that I treat all peers, from exec to CEO, with the same sense of excitement and personality. In sum, I’d challenge you to own your passion and don’t be afraid to work hard to get there, because people buy from and invest in people above all else.
What does the next chapter of your own career look like and how are you hoping to grow from here?
In some of the leadership training I’ve been lucky enough to experience, I had the privilege of being introduced to my very own career coach, and the most valuable thing Jo Olsen did for me was give me the space to set a Bold Vision. I never really let myself make career plans in this way before, in case things didn’t work out and I was disappointed, but the Bold Vision changed everything. It acts as a manifestation of how your career (and life) will look in a year’s time.
Today, I am incredibly fulfilled and excited by the future as Head of Beauty at TikTok. I have thrived on the speed and agility of TikTok as a platform. We continue to see beauty grow exponentially year-on-year, even though it was one of our earlier adopter industries, so it would only be natural for me to keep my eyes peeled for the next platform that revolutionises the way we interact with, consume and buy beauty. It is crazy to think that TikTok has only been in the UK for eight years! There is still so much more to be done with our beauty advertisers, and the innovation roadmap at TikTok never ceases to amaze me.
With that said, the act of writing a Bold Vision has allowed me to plan fearlessly for the future, and staying in beauty is non-negotiable. My old boss at MTV, Mel, called me Holly “the hustler” Harrison, and that hustle and heart come from being deeply interested in and passionate about the category I work in. I have been agency-side (both PR and media), publisher-side and platform-side, so I would say that, at some point, completing the trifecta and going brand-side would be on my beauty bucket list. It would feel apt to be able to take the last six and a half-plus years of TikTok knowledge and use it to catapult a brand to success on and off the platform.
Has there been a person in beauty that you have always admired and why?
I met Lucy Grosse when I was 18 years old, interning as an Advertising Assistant at Condé Nast during her time there as a Director. I remember being shown into the PR cupboard, stacked head to toe with the best in beauty, and just being incensed that I had a chance to organise it – you do romanticise even the most mundane tasks when it’s in an industry you are passionate about. Lucy’s love for the industry inspired me when I walked into Glamour magazine, and over the last two decades, she has been my constant career Yoda and beauty advisor. Lucy spent many years as Head of Global Partnerships at YOOX NET-A-PORTER, where there were many parallels between my Luxury, Fashion, Beauty & Retail role and, later, my Luxury Client Solutions Lead position at TikTok. I have always admired her tenacity, honesty and ironclad network of relationships; these are things I have aimed to emulate in my own reality. Now Client & Partnerships Director at Quartz, Lucy will always be my forever beauty “Gang” confidante and friend, and I look forward to sharing a love of beauty with her for many years to come.
I know it is cheating to have more than one (sorry), but I couldn’t talk about beauty and inspiration without mentioning Grace Vernon. I worked with the UK’s beauty retailers when I started out at TikTok over six years ago and immediately hit it off with Grace, who is now Director of International Retail Partnerships, Boots IGNITE & Trends. Over the last two years, watching Grace carve out a function in a traditional retail-led business that uses TikTok trend signals and capitalises on Discovery Commerce at scale has been nothing short of inspirational. I adore seeing her bring together our two worlds and utilise social trend signals to catapult traditionally direct-to-consumer brands into hundreds of stores across the UK. In particular, seeing how Boots has brought aboard new and exciting brands from K-beauty has been fascinating, especially as this year we have seen a staggering 125% surge. I am inspired by Grace’s passion for bringing trend-led beauty to physical stores, showing that the all-important halo effect starts on TikTok but can end “IRL”.
