Finding inspiration for designing the next big skincare brand can be challenging. The skincare market is more saturated than ever, thanks to various digital marketing avenues such as social media. With all the noise, it can be hard for consumers to find skincare brands whose products they benefit from, and that keep them coming back as loyal customers.
With online skincare brands, customers might buy something online, spend a lot of money, and then not like the product if they haven’t had a chance to try it out in stores. Plus, there can be issues with marketing but also with customer education. It’s important to make sure that customers use the product correctly, and also that they know which products are right for them, so that they have the best experience possible. Skincare brands use a number of techniques, like bundling, collaborations, and skincare quizzes to make sure customers find the right product that will work best for their skin type.
Glossier
Glossier is a beauty brand that was created in 2010 by Emily Weiss. At its inception, Glossier had just two products. Now, the brand sells about 40 products. Keeping the number of products relatively small was important to Weiss, since she wanted to emphasize quality over quantity.
Glossier is a direct-to-consumer brand, which means that customers can’t purchase their products from other retailers or online stores. Customers can only purchase Glossier products through the brand’s own ecommerce site or its in-person shops. Weiss decided to maintain Glossier’s independence from retailers and department stores to better control the brand’s customer relationships.
Overall, multiple areas of the brand promote its ‘cool-girl aesthetic,’ in part due to the minimalist ethos and clear visuals surrounding the brand. The brand promotes a simple, light-pink sleekness, and offers gen-z customers a modern in an otherwise traditional beauty industry.
Things That We Like
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The Glossier website includes clear images of the product, as well as lifestyle photos of people using the product. Far too often, a lot of brands don’t include high-quality photos that show the product clearly, while Glossier provides 360-degree rotation images of their products.
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The webpage is clean and clearly organized by category. Glossier has a massive catalog, so this organization is important to help customers find products more easily.
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There are testimonials on the website, presented in a simple but opportunistic way to provide social proof.
Supergoop
Don’t let the goofy name fool you! Supergoop is a sunscreen brand that focuses on making sunscreens for all skin types, with stellar reviews. One of the ways the brand maintains inclusiveness is by exclusively using clean chemical ingredients, so as not to irritate darker skin tones.
Holly Thaggard created Supergoop after a friend of hers was diagnosed with skin cancer. Now, the company has successfully brought skin-friendly and eco-friendly skincare to its many customers, to help them keep their skin as healthy as possible.
It can be difficult to buy skincare on the internet. Supergloop makes it easy to guarantee that customers understand its products' textures and ingredients.
Things We Like
- Supergoop products have clear ingredients and socially responsible values, like being clean and reef-safe.
- The brand features fun collaborations, like a collab with Minions for a kids sunscreen.
- The website has clear categories for different types of sunscreen, such as for a customer’s whole-body and face, or for kids
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Drunk Elephant
Drunk Elephant is one of the most talked about brands online, and for good reason. They’re a leader in the “clean beauty” revolution. Instead of using harmful ingredients, such as fragrances and dyes, Drunk Elephant’s products revolve around marula oil, an ultra-nourishing compound full of healthy antioxidants. Best of all, Drunk Elephant products work together, so customers can use multiple of the brand’s products to get a more holistic skin treatment.
The Drunk Elephant website is bright, friendly, and incredibly informative. Website copy that educates and guides customers through their shopping journey helps establish rapport and trust. A bit down the landing page, the brand outlines ‘the suspicious 6’ ingredients typically used in skincare products that can harm skin, guaranteeing user engagement. As for the products themselves, beautiful packaging complements a great packaging strategy. Products that work together are merchandised together so that buyers know which products are meant to be used together.
Things We Like
- Drunk Elephant has a large product offering, and they leverage this by merchandising their products as bundles. Their products work better when used together, and it's a win for both their brand and their consumers.
- The beautiful visuals present in the packaging translate to the website, with fun colors and funky shapes.
- A live chat option allows users to talk to a representative and ask about the brand’s products.
Youth to the People
Youth to the People is a superfood skincare brand that focuses on making high-quality and minimalist skincare using biotechnology. Their superfood ingredients include those with high-antioxidants like spinach and kale.
The brand promotes a socially responsible mission, and even has a Good to The People Fund that supports nonprofits focusing on climate change, gender equality, and human rights.
Things We Like
- The Youth to the People homepage doesn’t just merchandise products. Instead, it helps people navigate their large product catalog with categories such as "Shop Skincare by Skin Type" and "Shop Skincare by Skin Concerns”.
- The brand sells bundles at a discount, making it easier to target specific customer desires with multiple products.
- The website has 1-1 personalized skin sessions scheduling. A lot of brands offer quizzes, but nothing is better than sitting down with your customers 1-1 to help them through their shopping choices.
cocokind
Cocokind is a beauty and skincare brand that creates products with “conscious beauty for all”. Created by Pricilla Tsai in 2015, the brand’s products are plant-based and sustainable, at an affordable price point.
Cocokind skincare emphasizes natural ingredients to prevent the unhealthy side effects from many conventional anti-acne treatments, like hormonal acne prescriptions. Their products are described as non-toxic, and they emphasize the simplicity of their product ingredients through simple and natural brand themes.
Things We Like
- A bundle customizer on the website lets customers save 15% by picking their favorite three products through a pick-three bundle.
- There’s organic social proof practically everywhere on the site, and the brand takes advantage of social media platforms like tiktok and instagram to publicize their mission.
- The product pages include clear directions as to how best to use these products, including the best time of day for serum application and the most effective way of applying each solution.
The next time you’re looking to purchase a new beauty or skincare product, make sure to keep these brand’s in mind! And if you’re thinking about building the next great skincare and beauty brand, consider what these brands do well to help inform your business, marketing, and design decisions.