English Version | The secret ingredient

12 Oct 2023
By Mariana Silva

The Fame Issue

They are said to have a star quality, a certain je ne sais quoi that makes them different from everything else. In other words, they have the X factor. They must include a secret ingredient in their formulas. That alone explains the popularity that the most coveted beauty products enjoy. But does anyone know what keeps them at the top? Or how they even reached the podium? As relevant as the possible existence of extraterrestrial life is, let's focus our attention on this mystery that (really) needs to be solved.

For a long time, I didn't believe in soul mates, until I realized that I had been using the same mascara every day for almost a decade. Forgive me, I won't say its name. It’s just a matter of prevention. I have nightmares where, when I try to add it to the shopping cart, I get the unfortunate notification that it's sold out, and there are relationships that simply can't come to an end. But I can describe it: it's a sturdy, ergonomic tube with a flexible bristle brush, from which comes the darkest shade that has ever kissed my lashes. In short, it's my soul mate. And that of so many other people who have discovered it among the store's cluttered shelves. Contrary to what I would like to happen, my relationship with this mascara is anything but monogamous. I'm obliged to share this love with consumers all over the world who, like me, want the best for their makeup routine. Perhaps this is what celebrity’s partners feel when they have to share their better half with the thirsty viewers of the big screen. There's a feeling of envy, even betrayal, when I see yet another TikTok video featuring my beloved mascara. But there's nothing I can do about it - it's not mine, it's the world's. Just like so many other beauty products that take the market by storm and win the hearts of the public, making them loyal forever. What's in their formula? Is it one of those love potions they talk about in the movies? Or is it a product so good that some people are addicted to its results? Forget the Theory of Relativity. Difficult is to unravel the equation that turns a beauty product into a success story.

Let's embrace the scientific metaphor in order to approach this investigation with the rigor it deserves. How? By testing hypotheses. A brief search on the Internet reveals three factors that are essential to the popularity of a beauty product: the quality of the formula, consumer confidence in the brand and the effectiveness of marketing strategies. Let's make the opening variable our first hypothesis: a beauty product is popular because it has high quality. At a glance, it seems like a redundant statement. The day has yet to come when someone will walk into a store looking for the face cream with the worst results. However, the perception of a product's quality doesn't always depend on the effectiveness of its formula. It also depends on its user skin type. There are ingredients that perfectly suit a dull, dehydrated face, while being an oily skin's worst nightmare. On the other hand, a formula that serves the overwhelming majority of skin needs will minimize its potential to attack specific problems. In the beauty world, the smaller the target audience, the higher the quality of the product tends to be, since its formulation corresponds in detail to the singularities of a range of skins. And this helps to separate a simple popular formula from one that has risen to the status of a niche icon. All famous products are good. But there are some very good products that aren't so famous.

Still on the first hypothesis, it should be noted that it is not only the user who can shape the perception of a product's quality. Time also plays a role. The cosmetics industry is notoriously competitive, which creates the ideal environment for innovation. Revolutionary formulas, previously unexplored ingredients, and promising combinations are born every day, which translates into a constant evolution in product quality. What is the best today may not be the best tomorrow. This ephemerality demonstrates once again how popularity is not only influenced by the effectiveness of a formula. The ability to adapt to current trends and market demands is equally important. We've seen it in shampoos, for example. In recent years, the vast majority of hair care formulas have been stripped of sulphates to offer consumers the natural options they were looking for. The premise was that these chemical components were harmful to hair health. However, it is now known that many of these concerns were unsubstantiated and that, in some cases, sulphates contribute to the product's efficacy (as in shampoos for oily hair, thanks to their deep-cleansing properties). So, let's return to the first hypothesis. Is a beauty product popular because it is of high quality? That depends. Although there is a quality bar that must always be maintained, there are other factors that contribute to the perception of its effectiveness. To be a success story, a product doesn't always have to be at the top, but it should never fall off the podium.

When analyzing the second hypothesis, we look not at the unit but at the collective: a beauty product is popular because it belongs to a brand that consumers trust. For many years, the success of a cosmetic was proportional to the reputation of the brand that produced it. In the absence of means of communication accessible to small producers, it was up to the big brands to dominate television commercials, billboards, and the most coveted shelves in stores. This made it possible, on the one hand, for their launches to reach the masses and, on the other, for consumers to get to know, try and, consequently, trust anything new launched by that brand. However, the Internet has revolutionized the cosmetics sector in many ways, and one of them has been in minimizing the influence of this hierarchy. While the big beauty conglomerates continue to have loyal consumers, it's the small producers - innovative and subversive - who have been the talk of the town. Thanks to digital platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, any brand has the opportunity to expand its audience, and it all starts with a viral video. There is someone who knows that very well: Trinidad Sandoval, the 54-year-old woman who, in August 2021, published a video showing the miraculous results of the Instant FIRMx Eye Temporary Eye Tightener, by the then unknown brand Peter Thomas Roth. A few days later, the content had over 20 million views and the eye cream was a global bestseller. In the digital age, achieving notoriety isn't difficult - but maintaining it is. And that's why consumer trust continues to play a key role in the longevity of a cosmetic product's fame. Getting the latest TikTok must-have added to the cart is just the first step. True popularity is only achieved when that purchase translates into an advantage for the brand's reputation.

The TikTok phenomenon leads us to the third hypothesis: a beauty product is popular because it has a good marketing strategy. Even if the algorithms are difficult to predict, a video (and therefore a cosmetic) doesn't go viral by chance. From the shape of the packaging to the words chosen to characterize it, everything contributes to attracting the wandering eye of the audience, both in the frenzy of social media and among the overwhelming number of options in the stores. But there is one strategy that has proved particularly effective for the success of new cosmetic launches - influencer marketing. Harvard Business School research published in August 2019 concluded that 67% of beauty consumers turn to influencers to discover new products. This is due to the trust that followers of these personalities place in their opinions. It is estimated that recommendations (from a friend, a family member and now an influencer) are one of the biggest drivers for purchasing untested cosmetics, and influencer marketing exploits this reality. In fact, this strategy has been used for many years in the beauty industry - not with influencers, but with celebrities. One of the star products in skincare, Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, received much of its notoriety after being acclaimed by personalities ranging from the beloved Princess Diana to the coveted Marilyn Monroe. Recently, the cream got the buzz going again when Prince Harry recounted in his biography Spare the unusual way in which he used the product (two words: frostbite, penis).

The contribution of celebrities to the popularity of a cosmetic is so significant that many of these personalities become ambassadors for the industry's biggest brands. Zendaya has been the singular face of Lancôme since her rise to stardom. Jisoo, a member of the South Korean band Blackpink, has been central to the recent success of Dior's beauty line in the global market, and particularly in Asia. And Emma Watson, who put her face, brains, and talent into the Prada Paradoxe perfume campaign, has inspired millions to embrace their individuality. Realizing how their popularity can influence the success of a product, other celebrities have chosen to take the reins of the sector. And even if not all of them have achieved the fame they were looking for, there are several triumphs to report. Kylie Cosmetics, the beauty brand created by Kylie Jenner, has the most followers on Instagram, surpassing the numbers of the big conglomerates in the sector by millions. Fenty Beauty and Rare Beauty, the brands of Rihanna and Selena Gomez respectively, have launched products that are on the bestseller lists of the biggest beauty retailers, and whose recommendations have billions of views on TikTok. These are the success stories, the brands that prove the importance of marketing strategy for popularity in the cosmetics market. However, for every three cases of triumph, there are dozens that have failed to make their words come true, offering products whose quality doesn't live up to expectations, thus damaging their reputation and weakening the connection with the consumer.

So, what's behind the success of a beauty product? As I thought about this question, I remembered the mascara that prompted such an inquiry. It was the recommendation of an influencer that enabled the first purchase. But it was the quality of the product, the easiness with which its formula shaped my lashes, that turned me into a loyal consumer. And this has led to a high degree of trust in the brand, leading me to try other products in its portfolio in the hope of finding a new favorite. This means that there isn't just one ingredient that ensures the popularity of a beauty product. There is a combination of ingredients, adapted according to the innovations of the time, the demands of the market, digital trends, and the needs of the target audience. The secret is in the mix, and perhaps this part of the equation should remain as enigmatic as other mysteries in the universe. That reminds me: did someone mention aliens?

*Originally translated from The Fame Issue, published October 2023. Full credits and stories in the print issue.

Mariana Silva By Mariana Silva
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