Cornish cream: The 2022 L’Oréal Professionnel Portfolio Congress

Almost a year to the day since world leaders of the Group of Seven (the G7) famously met in Carbis Bay in Cornwall, L’Oréal Professionnel Paris gathered members of its iconic Portfolio club at the same glorious five-star hotel for its first in-person Congress since the pandemic.

With over 400 miles of coastline, Cornwall’s stunning landscape provided a perfect setting for these leading salon owners to come together and discuss how the industry can navigate what L’Oréal general manager Tom Rolt described as ‘recovery mode’; Tom highlighted the importance of innovation, education and differentiation within the salon, to ‘grow back better’, to coin the G7 phrase. He also urged salons to increase their prices now, to address record inflation levels.

Unprecedented challenges with staff recruitment and retention meant that guest speaker Adam Kingl’s insight into Generation Z’s attitudes towards work were both relevant and insightful. Equally impressive was Vanessa Kingori MBE, publishing director of Vogue and CBO at Condé Nast, who spoke about the importance of meaningful, impactful work. No one is better placed to talk about this than Vanessa, who, alongside editor Edward Enninful, has transformed the Vogue business, championing more diversity and inclusion, both within the office and on the pages of the magazine.

 Vanessa Kingori MBE shares insight with L’Oréal’s Monica Teodoro

The trip provided Portfolio members to sample the best of Cornish hospitality, including champagne receptions overlooking stunning beaches, a trip to the nearby St Ives Festival and ultra-refreshing early-morning dips in the Atlantic Ocean. It was an altogether invigorating mix!