Rethinking the Buying Journey for Beauty

Karishma Rathaur spends a lot of time researching beauty products. It is a frustrating process. It takes hours to manually browse e-commerce sites, blogs, and Reddit. She also needs to check ingredient sites, YouTube, and Instagram Reels. She’s not alone—her friends, some of my friends, and likely even you have faced this too.

The process usually starts with a trigger, like an ad or a social media post. Or, it might be a need, like a breakout from another product. This sets off a complicated journey of trying to figure out if a product will work for you. It’s hard to determine what might finally persuade someone. Sometimes, it's a Reddit review from someone with a similar skin type, age, gender, and set of products. At times, it's diving deep into ingredient research. You want to confirm that a product on your shortlist will work based on its ingredients.?

For the uninitiated, you might wonder: why not rely on the reviews on eCommerce sites? Surely, thousands of ratings and reviews should be enough. You’re in Team Past Me. The reality is, eCommerce reviews can’t be trusted. Many have learned this the hard way.

• Reviews often lack context about the reviewer. They also lack detail on the product experience.

• There's tons of evidence that reviews are influenced by brands or platforms. 5-star reviews are paid for, and negative ones are changed or deleted.?

• Brands sell promises without R&D. It's hard to tell if two products are similar just by looking at the ingredients list. Brands won't disclose this. Everyone wants to stand out. eCommerce platforms encourage this with "shop similar products" and "others also bought" suggestions.

• To top this, skincare and makeup products can’t be returned or exchanged. So, a bad buy is something you’re stuck with.

The problem of misaligned incentives and drowning out.

No internet platform focuses on helping you solve your problem. Brands and eCommerce sites are driven by revenue, their sole goal is to get you to buy more. Instagram and YouTube are there to entertain and keep you hooked. Creators, who feed this need, rely on brand partnerships for income. So, it’s not in their best interest to say anything negative about a brand they work with or hope to in the future. Charlie Munger taught us well, "Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome"

I don’t have an issue with the ecosystem itself. Because the real problem isn’t just that reviews on e-commerce platforms are paid or bot-generated. It’s that there’s no space for regular people to leave authentic reviews. And even when they do, their voices get drowned out, burying all the genuine feedback under a flood of paid content.

But what if I’ve already found the right products??

For basic skincare (like a 3-step routine) or makeup staples (eyeliner, foundation, etc.), this problem should fade once you find your go-to products.

• You know exactly what to buy next time—just a refill.
• This applies to everyday products like soap, shampoo, cleansers, and moisturisers.
• Also, cheap products don't stress buyers about their choices.

However, this is not always the case. In India, things are changing.

• As incomes rise, people want to try new brands. Even if you have a favourite, others promise better results. Social media amplifies this, and many are drawn to try something new.
• A growing number of skincare enthusiasts are moving beyond basic 3-step routines . They want targeted treatments, multi-step regimens, K-beauty, J-beauty, and much much more.
• The premium beauty segment will double in 5 years. Many first-time buyers will be out there figuring out what works for them.

Here’s what’s needed to solve the problem:

A tech company that helps you choose the right beauty products. It builds platforms, tools, and communities. It has no incentive to push products on you.?

Reddit is a great example of this when it comes to transparency and community. While Reddit has ads, they are clearly marked. Mods and Auto-mods remove any paid or planted promotions. This keeps subreddit discussions democratic and honest.?

Also, this platform shouldn't launch its own skincare brand. It would create a bias for its own products.'

This might sound hard to achieve. But, don't worry. We're working on this, and the solution is closer than ever. We'll dive deeper into this in our upcoming blogs.