《老友記》安妮斯頓投資緊膚神器 年收入過億美元

There's something confusing about Rosemary Moran. Well, more accurately, there's something confusing about the 63-year-old's eyes. Viewed separately, each side of Moran's face tells a very different story. The skin under her left eye appropriately sags, hammocking into a bag befitting of any elderly woman. But the right side? It's taut -- with the healthy puff of a woman 20 years younger.

羅斯瑪麗o莫蘭身上有種讓人說不清道不明的地方。說得更準確些，讓人迷惑的是那雙已經閱盡人間春秋63年的眼睛。如果分開看的話，莫蘭的左右兩半邊臉似乎截然不同。左眼下邊的皮膚已經鬆馳了，正是一個花甲老婦的眼袋。但是右半邊臉的皮膚卻非常緊緻，看起來似乎年輕了20歲。

Moran shows off her curiously uneven look at Living Proof, the beauty company started in 2005 by Polaris Partners that's raised over $50 million in funding and boasts actress Jennifer Aniston as a spokesperson and investor. Despite its focus on aesthetics, Living Proof's headquarters is tucked amid biotech giants like Amgen (AMGN) and Biogen (BIIB) in Cambridge, Mass. The location's strategic: It's blocks away from MIT scientist Robert Langer's laboratory, where Living Proof products' technology gets its start.

莫蘭在Living Proof公司向我們展示了這張令人稱奇的臉。Living Proof是一家成立於2005年的護膚品公司，由北極星合夥公司（Polaris Partners）出資5000萬美元建立，好萊塢女星詹妮弗o安妮斯頓是這家公司的代言人，同時也是一位投資人。雖然這家公司的重點在於美容，但它的總部卻與安進（Amgen）和Biogen生物科技巨頭一樣，坐落在馬薩諸塞州的劍橋市。Living Proof選擇在劍橋落戶是有道理的，它的總部和麻省理工學院（MIT）的科學家羅伯特o蘭格的實驗室只隔了幾條街，而Living Proof的產品所用的技術正是在那裏孵化的。

Neotensil, the clear adhesive that compresses the skin under Moran's right eye, is the most recent Living Proof development to come from Langer's team. It was built off of Strateris, a trademarked product developed by Dr. Betty Yu, an expert in trans-dermal drug delivery, and dermatologists Rox Anderson and Barbara Gilchrest. A wearable polymer film that mimics young skin's strength and elasticity, Strateris sits atop loose skin and reshapes it -- think of it as the facial equivalent of Spanx's tummy-shrinking undergarments. Its effects last for 16 hours, peaking three hours after application.

蘭格的團隊爲Living Proof開發的最新產品就是用在莫蘭右眼皮膚下的一種叫做Neotensil的明膠，它可以起到緊緻皮膚的效果。Neotensil是以一款名叫Strateris的專利產品爲基礎開發的，而後者則是由透過真皮給藥的專家貝蒂o於（音譯）以及皮膚學家羅克斯o安德森和芭芭拉o吉爾克萊斯特共同開發的。Strateris是一種可以貼在臉部的聚合物膜，它可以模擬年輕皮膚的緊緻和彈性，只要把它貼在臉上，就可以重新塑造皮膚形象——如果有些難以理解的話，不妨想象一下Spanx公司推出的可以吸收掉肚腩的塑身內衣。Strateris的效果可以持續16個小時，使用3小時後效果最佳。

The complex science behind Strateris isn't new to Living Proof. Its haircare line -- which Aniston is the face of -- is also covered in Langer's fingerprints. "A lot of what we do at MIT is fundamental work that can be applied across the board," Langer explains. One of the ingredients used in Living Proof's shampoo, the volumizing Polyalkylaminoester-1 (PBAE), was developed from a library of tens of thousands of polymers that Langer and his colleagues organized to study gene therapy. "By making new polymers, you can solve all kinds of things, whether it's cancer or gene therapy or haircare."

Strateris背後的複雜科學原理對於Living Proof來說並不新奇，因爲這家公司的護髮系列產品——也就是安尼斯頓代言的產品，也出自蘭格的實驗室。蘭格說：“我們在MIT做的很多工作都是基礎性的研究，它們可以被應用在方方面面。”Living Proof的洗髮水中用到的一種叫做Polyalkylaminoester-1的聚氨基酯，就是蘭格和他的同事在研究基因療法的過程中從數萬種聚合物中發現的。他說：“通過合成新的聚合物，人們可以解決各種各樣的問題，不管是癌症、基因療法還是頭髮護理。”

Langer forayed into the beauty world because of Polaris founding partner Jon Flint. Despite being dad to four daughters, Flint was never interested in hair and skincare -- until he heard about Bumble and Bumble's 2000 sale to Estée Lauder (EL) for a reported $100 million. He called a Polaris associate and asked him to gather up industry reports and buy "literally dozens" of hair and skin products. Putting the products side by side, Flint realized all the bottles' ingredients -- though formulated differently -- were pretty much identical. "This is B.S.," he said to himself -- and immediately called Langer. The duo organized a group of five scientists who had no beauty experience and asked them to come up with hair and skin products that created "results seen across the room." Langer says the challenge was easy. "The competition was so bad. There was so little innovation compared to what I'd see in the pharmaceutical industry. In a way, it's like low-hanging fruit." But a lab full of scientists doesn't automatically create a household product.

蘭格之所以突然進軍美容業，還要歸功於北極星公司創始合作人喬恩o弗林特。弗林特雖然是四個女兒的父親，但是從來沒有對美容美髮感興趣過——直到他聽說寶寶與寶寶集團（Bumble and Bumble）於2000年以據說1億美元的價格把雅詩蘭黛賣了出去，他纔對這個行業上了心。於是他叫來一名副手，讓他去彙總各種行業報告，而且“真的買了幾十種”美容美髮產品回來研究。弗林特把這些瓶瓶罐罐擺在一起研究了半天，最後發現，它們雖然配方可能不一樣，但基本成分幾乎完全相同。“這真是扯淡”，他對自己說。然後，他立刻給蘭格打了電話。這兩人立即召集起一支由五名科學家組成的團隊，這些人都沒有美容業的經驗。接下來，弗林特要求他們開發一些美容美髮產品，要求“必須站在屋子那頭也能看到效果。”蘭格表示，這個挑戰其實很簡單。“競爭太差勁了，和我在製藥行業觀察到的競爭程度相比，美容美髮行業的創新太少了。可以說我們是在摘唾手可得的果子。”但是對於一羣科學家組成的團隊來說，想光靠自己生產出一款家喻戶曉的產品並不容易。

Living Proof brought on Aniston in October 2012. Though it was selling a decent number of products through QVC ($10 million in its first year, says Flint) and storefronts like Sephora and Ulta, it needed some extra starpower to generate buzz. Former PepsiCo Chief Marketing Officer Jill Beraud became the company's CEO in late 2011 and helped Flint recruit the A-lister. With her longtime hairstylist Chris McMillan, Aniston tested the Living Proof shampoo for three months. The company's R&D team then took her into their lab, showing her the science behind the shampoos, a tour reminiscent of a high school chemistry class. "And that was the one subject that I was good at," Aniston laughs.

於是，Living Proof在2012年將安妮斯頓拉進了公司。當時Living Proof在QVC（全球最大的電視與網絡百貨零售商）上的銷量已經相當不錯了（據弗林特表示，光是第一年的銷售額就達到1000萬美元），而且它在絲芙蘭、Ultra等專櫃上的銷量也令人滿意，但這家公司還是想借明星的號召力給產品造勢。百事可樂公司（PepsiCo）前營銷總監吉爾o貝勞德在2011年底當上了Living Proof的CEO，幫助弗林特聘請一線明星給產品代言。通過髮型師克里斯o麥克米蘭的推薦，安妮斯頓試用了Living Proof的洗髮水三個月。然後，Living Proof的研發團隊將安妮斯頓請到他們的實驗室，向她展示了這款洗髮水背後的科技原理——這次訪問給人的感覺有點像高中的化學課，安妮斯頓當時笑着說：“化學是我高中學得很好的一門課。”

But there was a catch. Living Proof wanted more than a spokesperson; they wanted someone who was emotionally and financially vested in the company's success. "I remember thinking, 'Is this real life?'" says Aniston. She became a co-owner of the company a little over a year ago and launched the Perfect Hair Day campaign with McMillan. Since Aniston joined, Beraud says business has doubled. (Women's Wear Daily reported that revenue's around $100 million.)

不過，這裏也有一個“陷阱”。Living Proof想要的不只是一個代言人，還希望這位代言人能在經濟上、情感上都全面投入，謀求這家公司的成功。安妮斯頓說：“我記得當時我不禁想道：‘真的嗎？’”就這樣，大概一年多以前，安妮斯頓成了公司的老闆之一，並且與麥克米蘭一起啓動了“完美髮型日”的廣告活動。貝勞德表示，自從安妮斯頓加盟後，公司的業務已經翻了一番。【 《女性時裝日報》（Women's Wear Daily ）稱，這家公司的年收入約1億美元左右。】

Aniston isn't worried about the risk of having a financial stake in the company. "I'm not nervous because I believe in it so much. I'm just waiting for it to happen." So much so that she assists with product decisions: She recently talked the team out of changing the shampoo's fragrance and also helped design their soon-to-open storefront in Cambridge. "[To be more than] the face of a product, you're much more invested in it and want it to be great. You want it to work. You want it to mean what it says."

對於持有Living Proof的股份可能導致的風險，安妮斯頓表示並不擔心。“我並不緊張，因爲我非常相信這家公司，我等待的只是成功。”安妮斯頓對公司事務參與得十分積極，甚至還幫忙做產品決策。最近在她的勸說下，研發團隊換了洗髮水的香味。另外，安妮斯頓還協助公司設計了Living Proof的專櫃，很快就會在劍橋開張。她說：“不是簡單地代言一款產品，這樣就會對它進行更多的投資，希望它變得更出色。希望它有效，希望它說到做到。”

Despite her love of Living Proof's shampoo, don't expect Aniston to peddle Neotensil. As the face of skincare brand Aveeno (JNJ), the actress isn't allowed to officially promote another skincare product. But Beraud says Aniston's able to continue working with both brands because Neotensil's not competitive with Aveeno products. Neotensil only sells through Valeant's (VRX) network of physicians -- Living Proof struck a $75 million distribution deal with the pharmaceutical company in January that splits profits 60/40 -- and costs $500 for 7 weeks of use.

儘管安妮斯頓喜歡Living Proof的洗髮水，但我們估計看不到安妮斯頓代言這家公司的Neotensil產品了。安妮斯頓是護膚品牌艾維諾（Aveeno）的代言人，不允許公開推廣其它護膚產品。不過貝勞德表示，安妮斯頓仍然可以同時與這兩家公司合作，因爲Neotensil與艾維諾的產品沒有競爭關係。Neotensil只通過威朗公司（Valeant）的醫師網絡銷售。Living Proof公司今年一月與威朗公司達成了一項銷售協議，雙方決定對利潤六四分成，消費者使用七週Neotensil的費用是500美元。

Langer says Neotensil is just the beginning for Strateris. "I'm no expert on what's going to happen next, but I can say what could happen next." The platform may be used to solve cellulite, help skin problems like psoriasis and xerosis, or house a long-lasting perfume. "There's a whole range of medical and non-medical implications where you can put different agents in this kind of Spanx-like cream," says Langer.

蘭格指出，Neotensil只是在Strateris基礎上開發的第一款產品。“至於未來會發生什麼，我對於這個問題不是專家，但我可以說說未來有可能發生麼。”這個平臺可能會用來治療脂肪團，或用來改善牛皮癬、乾燥症等皮膚問題，或是可以延長香水的香味。蘭格說：“大家可以把不同的藥劑放在這種像塑身衣一樣的面霜裏，所以它在醫學和非醫學領域都有重大意義。”

As for Aniston's hopes for the company? "I just want women to know that there's something out there that actually works and is worth their money. And that [Living Proof] just keeps growing."

那麼安妮斯頓對Living Proof公司有什麼希望？“我只想讓女性朋友知道，現在已經有了一些實實在在有用的東西，而且值得她們花出去的錢。另外就是希望公司繼續保持增長。”