{TrendReport} Positive beauty, the flaws that make you perfect

Forget your favorite concealer and BB cream… this TrendRoom is going no filter.

Long weeks of isolation and a global pandemic have distracted us from our traditional make-up routines. Goodbye thick layers of skin-suffocating makeup! Imperfections are now worn proudly, becoming a vector for self-acceptance and belonging to a community.

So how can brands address these painful insights more authentically in order to better sublimate them? Spoiler alert: branding is their best ally!

A pioneer in this field, the brand Starface has succeeded in seducing younger generations thanks to its no-nonsense, guilt-free approach. A diametrically opposed positioning to that of the beauty industry's, which is often very critical of acne and imperfections.

Starface's philosophy sparked a much wider movement on social media, where the ever-disruptive generation Z has fun covering their faces with little star patches... The goal??To normalize the process of treating imperfections.

Opportunity #1

?An empathetic approach for the uninhibited consumer

To break with the years of stigmatization and the perfect-skin-myth perpetuated by big pharma, some beauty brands are choosing to focus all their communication on the acceptance of these everyday inconveniences. That's the case with Clearasil, which, after a 180-degree leap, has opted for a more community-based and inclusive approach. Take a look at their instagram page and you will find nothing but love and kindness.

Self-love can also be found at Topicals, the brand on a mission to put a smile back on its consumers' faces by combining science and mental health promotion. "There's no such thing as perfect skin", "Does anyone care?", these are the kind of positive and subtly transgressive messages that can be found on their site, along with inclusive 'problem-skin' visuals.

Opportunity #2

?Making invisible treatments visible

An obsession for many, pimples are unsightly, uncomfortable and a reflection of our emotional and physical state. It's not surprising then that the beauty industry has rushed to create quick solutions to hide them from the world. Correctors, invisible patches, night treatments... many solutions exist to get rid of these insidious enemies that always seem to strike at the worst time.

It's that very status quo that's being challenged today: why constantly hide and agonize over the idea of having acne-prone skin??In the age of self-acceptance and personal branding, some brands are intent on glamorizing the ugly - at least what the norm and canon considers it to be.

Following in the footsteps of Starface are brands like Truly, with their pink glittery heart patches, and Squish, with their tiny, adorable rhinestone flowers.

Other brands are less about revealing our imperfections than exaggerating our features to make them more desirable. This is the case of KNC Beauty, born from a chance discovery in the middle of Tokyo, when designer Kristen Noel Crawley came face-to-face with a wall of lip masks. Obsessed with the idea of having lips as kissable and cartoonishly big as those masks, she launched her own glossy patches. Kylie Jenner challenge 2.0?

Opportunity #3

?Cultivating your brand territory through emotion

With these multi-faceted patches, brands are making a shift in the way consumers present themselves to the world. Rather than encouraging the search for external validation, typically through the display of logos and trademarks, brands are expanding their territory of expression and connecting more deeply with their audiences by focusing on self-exploration through personal branding.

Just look at their official Instagram pages! The consumer has taken the reins. They are at the heart of their communication, occupying feeds with an imperfect aesthetic, somewhere between homemade and lofi (just like the values they preach!).

The Planner’s Recs

To learn more about Positive Beauty, we recommend the Instagram of a super skintellectual @myskinisglass who distills the best tips for a perfect glow and shameless skin - and to properly prepare for summer, his special @SPFslut page.

This beauty interlude was brought to you by La TrendRoom du Planning, so don't forget to subscribe! Let's leave each other with a Beauty Branding tutorial by Félix and Laurence .