The London Eye: the beauty product revolution
By: Powered Flossie
Tags: Ecommerce, Beauty, Consumerism, Retail, Glossier

Personal observations from Jenene Crossan Kiwi Founder, based in London on modernising hair & beauty technology for a better customer experience.

For the inexperienced or disinterested, it would be easy to marvel and scoff (simultaneously) at the growth in the beauty product space. It’s somewhat baffling just how many more categories could possibly now exist and how much more money is being spent (Today the global beauty industry is a $532 billion USD business). We have found new ways to spend money on ourselves previously unimaginable; from products for our products (the must have specific brush cleaner), to innovations such as magnetic eyelash clip-ons, to non-surgical lip plumper, silk must-sleep-on-for-perfect-hair turbans. The list is infinite.

A causal google search for a common headline.

It’s a time where our self-awareness obsession meets technology, and direct to consumer delivery is easy. Ancient distribution networks are being toppled as a result — why go through all of the layers required to get your brand sold in a department store nowadays, when you can set yourself up on Shopify in minutes. Can’t find exactly the right shade of environmentally friendly, vegan, sustainable lipstick? Make it yourself. Every influencer and her dog (including a lipstick especially for your pup — they need to look great on their own Insta) is now launching their own “revolutionary” product range to meet the high demanding needs of their faithful following. Put down the Maybelline, and pick up the latest-must-have-can’t-believe-you-don’t-know-about-it item that will likely grow new lashes for you to the most illustrious new length, overnight whilst you slumber and probably help you live longer (and give back to charity and cure a number of diseases along the way).

I sound cynical, but I’m not. I’m actually a HUGE fan of this major change and being the hopeless consumer that I am, I’ve fallen hook, liner and toner for the brands leading the charge.

Fresh from the cover of TIME, Emily Weiss’ brand Glossier has exploded onto the direct-to-consumer scene. What started as a blogger side hustle to cure a customer dissatisfaction bent, has become a multi-billion-dollar business. Two weeks ago, Glossier’s pop-up store opened in Covent Garden, and it’s taken me until today to get in. Hour long queues around the block — fandom has a tight grip on the mega hyped brand, and they’re selling out of items faster than they can get make and ship them. A perfect hype storm.

Inside Glossier’s new pop-up, Covent Garden, London.

The standout rationale for their meteoric rise (I believe) could be narrowed down to the exceptionally simple, clean — yet pretty — packaging and a super smart / effective digital strategy. Temptation marketing at its finest; see it, want it, buy it, hype it. Appeal to an audience who will be your marketing engine, dashing at full speed to be ‘first to try’, willing to queue for a week to get their hands on it first. These products sell out fast, get in quick. But let’s be clear, they’re not miracle workers, they’re still just beauty products — just new ones. The world of influencer hungrily devours “new” as their need to create content to share with the masses (and first), so the brand has smartly played into that.

They’re fluent in their audience’s language. That’s the other trick (and not seen as a trick, but simply the truth of authentic grass roots). Emily at Glossier has been “one of them”, she’s come from within their ranks and she knows how to speak to them. Even their privacy policy / cookie acceptance pop-up is friendly and inclusive.

Glossier; TOV on point with their audience.

They’re playing on a step-change in customer behaviour that the mega make-up houses haven’t been able to deftly (or arguably at all) step into. They can’t, they’re too established, ingrained and responsible for many years of playing on women’s insecurities to be able to pull off this kind of brand positioning. It relies on the truth.

Glossier prides itself on being the hero in the story; uncomplicated, easy to get along with, non-threatening, easy to justify, and help you feel good about you. Enhance and assist, not change or demoralize. Whilst ‘because you’re worth it’ has been in existence as a strapline for several generations, it was always coupled with the unattainable supermodel. Today’s new mega modern brands are using everyday people (and not just women, but a hugely inclusive view of femininity), with real skin, teeth, lips eyes and hair. Someone just like you. Even Victoria’s Secrets is getting in on the action; good-bye angels, hello real legs.

Trinny has managed this well too, appealing to the older set of consumers, who are now conscious of falling into the next age bracket — the dreaded “over 39” where suddenly we fall off the radar of interest of the traditional product marketer. And Trinny’s making an absolute killing on the back of it — with products such as Miracle Blur selling every ten seconds. It’s the same story; a previous platform of influence (she was one half of the Trinny & Susannah TV duo), a following, and converted them to customers with honesty and realness based on things she needed herself.

Trinny’s Miracle Blue; targeting the +39 women.

My only surprise is how little of the new-age I described earlier (which is a high-demand consumer trend right now, for sure) that either of these brands has pulled into their purposes and ethos’. Both claim to be cruelty-free, but they’re not vegan, or particularly environmentally friendly. The packaging on both purchases, was disappointingly still plastic heavy. Maybe I missed the memo on this being some new fan-dangled reusable get-up, but I don’t think so. In fact, the whole Glossier pop up at Covent Garden was kinda….low brow. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was disappointing, but it certainly lacked the va va voom of their impactful online marketing. It was pretty, and technically competent (they’ve taken a leaf out of Apple’s book with the team sporting iPads and card readers to process you on the floor — saving a check out queue). But it wasn’t what I expected. Maybe after two weeks of trying to go there and refusing to queue, and finally getting a glimpse I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘is that all?’

I, of course, still bought two of their best-sellers — and the lip gloss, is the glossiest thing that’s ever touched my lips — so job done. What I’m keen to see now is how the re-market to me in the coming days and weeks. Will it be a bombardment of content on every channel (like most brands can’t help themselves from doing) until I finally hit unsubscribe in a sigh of urgh, or will they rise above and try to develop their relationship more meaningfully.

I sincerely hope it’s the latter. Let’s see.