Face value: Mao Geping on taking Chinese makeup overseas

Mao Geping (毛戈平) has built one of the more unusual growth stories in Chinese beauty. While many of the country’s fastest-growing cosmetics brands were built around e-commerce, social media and rapid online launches, its eponymous brand MAOGEPING (毛戈平) has expanded its online channels while continuing to deepen its offline presence. Physical retail is one of the pillars of the brand’s growth: the company currently has a presence in more than 460 high-end department stores in some 130 Chinese cities, using its counters not simply as points of sale, but as spaces to demonstrate Mao’s techniques and translate his light-and-shadow aesthetics into services. That approach has also made MAOGEPING a rarity at the upper end of China’s beauty market. According to Frost & Sullivan data cited in its IPO prospectus, the brand was the only domestic label among China’s 15 largest premium beauty brands by retail sales in 2023. It was founded in 2000 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in December 2024, raising HK$2.19 billion ($280 million) in net proceeds. Its first Hong Kong flagship store at Harbour City opened in October 2025, a step in its international expansion. For Jing Daily’s Jing 100, we sat down with founder Mao to discuss how his artistic philosophy can be carried forward as the company scales, the development of premium beauty in China, the enduring role of physical retail, and what it will take for MAOGEPING to build recognition overseas. JD: Before becoming an entrepreneur, you had already built a strong reputation as a master of makeup artistry. As MAOGEPING grows, which aspects of an artist’s understanding can be systematized, and which cannot be passed on through standardization? Mao Geping: Over the years, my work rooted in light and shadow has taken shape as a brand-wide aesthetic methodology. The pursuit of artistic mastery informs the standards guiding our product development. Through our education system, makeup techniques have become professional, teachable skills that can be handed down. These are the elements that can be systematized. Yet individual perception, judgment, and creativity remain deeply personal. Artistic creation is an ongoing dialogue with time. I stay receptive to the changing times and draw inspiration from life, art, and broader sources. While experience crystallizes into frameworks, the pursuit of beauty has no final destination. This is the mindset I want to uphold, and the spirit I hope our team will carry forward. JD: “East Asian aesthetics” has become an increasingly common term across Chinese beauty and luxury. What does it mean to you, and how do you prevent it from becoming simply a visual or marketing shorthand? MG: Beauty grows out of culture. China’s millennia-old cultural heritage has shaped a distinctive Eastern aesthetic, which informs how we perceive and craft beauty across generations. Beyond historical depth, the vitality of Eastern aesthetics lies in how we reinterpret it. Through decades of creative practice, I’ve cultivated the light-and-shadow aesthetic, centered on the brand idea that, “There is beauty in every soul.” On the product side, our “Eastern Aura Elegance” collection draws aesthetic DNA from ancient Chinese patterns and colors. This year’s “Peony” collection takes its inspiration from the peony, a flower long cherished in Chinese culture. I hope to see Eastern aesthetics woven into contemporary life, so people can feel the cultural resonance and quiet confidence embodied in our products. JD: When you founded MAOGEPING, there were few established precedents for premium Chinese beauty brands. Since then, what do you see as the most significant changes in how Chinese consumers understand premium beauty? MG: The past two decades have witnessed Chinese consumers’ evolving pursuit of beauty. They possess sophisticated discernment, evaluating brands on product efficacy, aesthetic philosophy, and authentic culture. And their brand affinity hinges on a brand’s holistic value. Even more notably, Chinese consumers have also grown more confident in our own culture. In turn, rooted in Eastern philosophy, we can shape premium beauty through cultural underpinnings. JD: MAOGEPING has taken its first steps toward international expansion. When introducing the label to overseas consumers who may be unfamiliar with Chinese beauty culture, which foundations do you believe must remain unchanged, and how should the brand adapt to different markets? MG: I have long held that while beauty draws from diverse cultural roots, humanity’s pursuit of it is a universal endeavour. Every face, every aesthetic sensibility across the world holds inherent value, each worthy of recognition and respect. As MAOGEPING reaches global audiences, we remain faithful to our light-and-shadow aesthetic and the makeup techniques behind it, while honing our products to exacting standards. We also cherish in-person personalised beauty services and seek to nurture an appreciation of beauty through aesthetic education. Above all, we endeavour to weave East Asian aesthetics into contemporary life. Entering new markets also requires us to immerse ourselves in local aesthetics, lifestyles, and even unspoken beauty norms so that we can co-create a shared language of beauty. To me, brand globalization is a dialogue of mutual learning and growth. We aim to share the essence of Chinese aesthetics with the world, drawing inspiration from varied cultural contexts — allowing our brand philosophy to evolve through cross-cultural resonance. JD: MAOGEPING emphasizes professional beauty advisers and makeup services at its physical counters. In an industry increasingly shaped by algorithms, livestreaming and e-commerce, why do you believe the human touch remains indispensable? MG: When MAOGEPING was founded 26 years ago, I set out with the aspiration to help more people discover their beauty through products, aesthetic education, and professional services. Technology allows us to reach consumers in more ways, which is a very positive development. Yet, the essence of beauty remains deeply human. Makeup artistry transcends technical skill — it demands keen observation and aesthetic comprehension to uncover each person’s own beauty. That is why we have always put such emphasis on the professional training of our beauty advisers. For consumers, at department counters, they can touch, smell, and try on products while turning to beauty advisers for guidance whenever they need. Through hands-on, face-to-face, and empathetic communication, we help consumers identify and amplify what authentically suits them. This human connection, built on genuine dialogue and trust, holds irreplaceable value. JD: Education has been part of the MAOGEPING ecosystem through its institute of makeup artistry. How has training thousands of makeup artists influenced the way you develop products, understand consumers and think about the brand’s long-term development? MG: Over the years, aesthetic education and the brand have continuously reinforced one another. Our makeup artistry institute systematically passes on our light-and-shadow aesthetic and professional techniques. Meanwhile, insights from teachers and students through teaching and practice uncover diverse faces and real needs, driving us to advance our makeup art, creations and services. For me, education’s deeper, longer-term significance lies in developing professional talent and carrying the art of beauty forward. Nowadays, thousands of makeup artists we train are active across China. As our brand reaches global audiences, MAOGEPING Education is advancing its international expansion in parallel. We hope these makeup artists will carry our aesthetic framework, serve diverse faces across cultures, adapt its essence to local contexts, and help build a shared language of beauty. JD: Ten years from now, when an international consumer sees the words “designed in China” on a beauty product, what do you hope their first reaction will be? MG: When the time comes, I hope the first thing that comes to consumers’ minds will be a distinctive aesthetic they can be inspired by and resonate with. Rooted in a rich cultural heritage, Chinese aesthetics reflects a distinctive understanding of beauty. While aesthetic traditions may differ across cultures, the appreciation of beauty can transcend both culture and language. I hope that in the future, consumers around the world will choose Chinese design because they genuinely appreciate its beauty and recognize its value, making it a natural choice for them.

Face value: Mao Geping on taking Chinese makeup overseas

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Face value: Mao Geping on taking Chinese makeup overseas

TUMI’s new growth playbook: From travel expertise to lifestyle performance