Influence Peddler: Glamglow Names Nick Bateman Brand Ambassador

Glamglow made an unusual choice when selecting an influencer as its first brand ambassador.

Nick Bateman, a male influencer, model and actor who boasts 6.3 million followers on Instagram, is the new face of The Estee Lauder Cos. Inc.-owned company. The partnership launched this week with a campaign for Glamglow’s Supermud Clearing Treatment and Volcasmic Matte Glow Moisturizer, which came out earlier this year.

Bateman is just the latest male Instagram star to front a skin-care brand. Lab Series, Proactiv and Axe have recently inked deals with male influencers, but Glamglow has a clear point of differentiation: it’s a predominantly female-driven brand.

Glamglow has always featured men in its imagery, cofounder Glenn Dellimore said, but it’s the first time a male will be front and center.

“He doesn’t use makeup, he’s not a beauty influencer. He’s not in the beauty space or well-known in beauty, but he has extreme talents when it comes to martial arts and acting. And he’s classy,” said Dellimore.

Bateman also has a very engaged fan base. A single Instagram post on his account teasing the Glamglow photo shoot garnered nearly 1.1 million views.

But it wasn’t just hiring an influencer to appear in marketing material and promote the brand on Instagram. The social-first campaign is taking all talent involved into account, including makeup artist Priscilla Ono and photographer Mariano Vivanco, who have 456,000 and more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, respectively. In addition to Bateman and the brand drumming up buzz via social media, Ono and Vivanco will actively share content from on their own accounts to get the word out.

Here, Bateman talks to WWD about his personal style, low maintenance beauty regimen and dry shampoo.

WWD: Is this your first beauty partnership? What fashion brands have you worked with? How do fashion and beauty differ than other partnerships?

Nick Bateman: Yes this is my first beauty partnership. I’ve worked with Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Guess, Dsquared, John John Denim, Tag Heuer and Jockey.

WWD: If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
N.B.: I’d go back to teaching karate. Karate has always been my number-one passion and I loved changing kids’ lives.

WWD: What percent of your posts are sponsored?
N.B.: I honestly don’t do a lot of sponsored posts because I only like to work with brands that organically fit into my brand/lifestyle.

WWD: How do you reconcile your point of view when doing a paid post?
N.B.: It’s easy for me because I will only work with a brand that fits naturally into my lifestyle and it’s something I honestly use in my everyday life.

WWD: What’s the most challenging aspect of creating content?
N.B.: The most challenging aspect when creating content is being creative and being in the moment.

WWD: How do you define your personal style and how has it evolved?
N.B.: Simple with a lot of earth tones and I’ve recently started adding accessories.

WWD: What are the labels you live in and why? Where/how do you discover new designers?
N.B.: I’m not dedicated to any specific labels, but I like to choose a couple of pieces from all the brands. I usually see other people wearing designer’s pieces online and that’s how I discover new designers.

WWD: What’s the last piece of clothing or accessory you bought and what made it a must-have?
N.B.: I’m really starting to get into jewelry and my purchase was a few pieces from M. Cohen. I love how you can take jewelry and really change your look with some bracelets and other accessories.

WWD: In terms of beauty — where do you fall on the “maintenance” scale? What are the products you can’t live without?
N.B.: I try to keep as natural and low maintenance as possible by just trimming my beard, etc., and take next to no time getting ready. Like I said, I’m very minimal when it comes to maintenance. I use very little product. I do use a daily moisturizer (Glamglow’s Volcasmic) and a dry shampoo for some volume in my hair. I also use Old Spice deodorant — Denali.

WWD: How does your regimen change with the seasons?
N.B.: Seeing how I live in L.A., I’m fortunate with the weather, so my regimen is the same all year long.

WWD: What is your favorite beauty indulgence — services, products, etc. (massage, etc)
N.B.: My favorite indulgence is getting a Swedish tissue massage for when I’m sore from the gym or a long day on set.

WWD: Do you prefer to prep for a big event alone or with a friend?
N.B.: I prefer to prep alone.

WWD: Where do you love to shop?
N.B.: Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s.

WWD: Is style innate or learned?
N.B.: Learned over time from being in the fashion industry.

WWD: When it comes to social media, how do you decide what to share and what to keep private? How much is too much?
N.B.: I share most things with the public, I’d say 80 percent of my life but there are some things I like to keep private, of course.

WWD: What kind of project haven’t you worked on that you would love to tackle?
N.B.: A project I’d love to work on in the future is a superhero film so I can act and also incorporate my Bo staff skills.

Related stories

Puig Inks Deal With Clarins for Distribution in Oceania

Urban Decay CEO Said to Be Heading to Drunk Elephant

Estée Lauder Teams With YouCam Makeup in the U.K.

Get more from WWD: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter