What it’s like interning as a guy at L’Oréal, the global cosmetics giant

Lewis has worked across their biggest male and female brands


Management finalist Lewis Mcdowell won a year-long industrial placement at L’Oréal after winning the Male Undergraduate of the Year competition.

Lewis, who studies at York, has spent the last year working with brands like Giorgio Armani, leading marketing campaigns as well as spending time at L’Oréal’s international headquarters in Paris.

We spoke to Lewis about his year working with L’Oréal in their London office.


Work with 34 international brands across 140 countries

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Male Undergraduate of the Year’s last three winners (Lewis on the right)

Over 3,000 people applied for the Male Undergraduate of the Year award, what did you have to do?

Forty of us were invited to attend two rounds of interviews and assessment centres. We were asked to work on business plans about L’Oréal’s brands as small groups and present them back to everyone. The final 10 were then invited to an awards ceremony where we found out who won. 

What have you been doing on your placement?

I have a lot of responsibility as a 20-year-old, like leading the launch of a new product range.

Recently, I’ve been working on Giorgio Armani fragrances. The main thing I do for them is figure out how competitors are performing and ensuring we innovate against them. Especially with Armani, it’s such an important brand to L’Oréal and the luxury division, there’s a lot of pressure on us to do new stuff but also follow the guidelines of the brand.

I’m responsible for a lot of work on in-store and online advertising, like the banners that slide across the screen on the John Lewis website, or the posters you see in shops.


Work with brands that include Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Giorgio Armani

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L’Oréal markets a large majority of its products to women, so it’s often seen as a female-orientated company. As a guy, what’s it really like to work there?

It’s interesting because internally the gender issue just isn’t a thing; I’d say it’s a 50/50 split. My friends at home think I just sell hair dye and perfume because all they see of L’Oréal is celebrities like Cheryl promoting it on TV.

I think it’s great to see a business empower women in the way L’Oréal does.

Can guys bring new perspectives and ideas when working with the female brands?

When I work with Armani, I deal with all of the fragrances L’Oréal sell, some of which are female and others which are male.

If anything, a guy’s input can be very influential because we don’t have the bias of product knowledge – everyone just focusses on the business idea and the approach we want to take. Equally, the girls working on male brands are the same as they don’t have prior experience with certain products, meaning there are lots of fresh ideas feeding into the teams.


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You went to L’Oréal’s international headquarters in Paris as part of winning the award, how did that go?

L’Oréal HQ was ridiculous. In the UK we handle the British market alone but in the international offices they deal with the entire world. You see different areas of the business, how all of the teams function and you meet people who come from all over – everyone has their own L’Oréal story.

What are your career ambitions at L’Oréal?

What motivates me is the chance to work with different brands, in various divisions and countries. The Country Manager of L’Oréal UK&I came from Indonesia and has worked in offices all over the world.

I just want to be successful in whatever I do. No matter where I live, I want to be able to compete at every level.

Do you have any tips for guys applying to L’Oréal?

A lot of the time when interviewing for jobs, people try to be the person they think the company wants. The company is looking for candidates to be themselves, no matter their background or upbringing.


Now you know what it’s like to work for one of the largest beauty companies in the world

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