This Week in Beauty

Stay in the know: lessons from leading entrepreneurs; how Jones Road won Black Friday without discounts; new opportunities and customers in fragrance.

Building Brands with Purpose: Lessons from Leading Entrepreneurs

In a recent Beauty Independent webinar, In Conversation, founders Sandra Velasquez ( NOPALERA ), Rachel Liverman ( Glowbar ), and éva Goicochea ( maude ) shared insights into creating standout beauty and wellness brands.?

Our key takeaways:

?? Vision is Key

Sandra Velasquez emphasized to start with a clear vision. NOPALERA was born from a vision to create a premium, Latina-inspired brand. Rachel Liverman and éva Goicochea aimed for gender-neutral, affordable, and inclusive offerings.

?? Experience Matters?

Rachel Liverman leveraged a decade of industry experience. éva Goicochea transitioned from legislative aide to beauty and fashion roles. A former musician, Sandra Velasquez, highlighted the resilience gained through rejection, proving that diverse backgrounds contribute to success.

??Strategic Branding?

NOPALERA celebrates Latina culture. Glowbar adopts bold, gender-neutral red. maude combines gender-inclusive design with prestige pricing for accessibility.

?? Funding Strategies

From friends and family to cold emailing investors, persistence and building relationships were vital. Glowbar secured $10 million in series A, NOPALERA raised $2.7 million in seed funding, and maude overcame initial investor hesitation to secure $10 million.

?? Talent & Culture

Rachel Liverman stressed the importance of a strong people department for Glowbar 's expansion. Sandra Velasquez and éva Goicochea highlighted the significance of pivotal hires with a growth mindset and shared values.

Purpose-driven brands can thrive with a clear vision, personable experience, strategic branding, funding resilience, and a talent focus.

Read the full article.

How Jones Road Won Black Friday Without Any Discounting

Discounts have always been controversial, with some believing you should never offer them.

In its third year of business, Jones Road Beauty achieved its most successful Black Friday yet without offering discounts—unheard of!

Amidst a market saturated with discounts, Jones Road Beauty maintained its consistent strategy for the third consecutive year.

Instead of discounts, it offered a set of four miniature sizes of its popular Miracle Balm product from November 23rd to 27th. The tinted balm, versatile as a blush, bronzer, or highlighter, allowed customers to customize their set by choosing four shades out of 10. Jones Road Beauty demonstrated that personalization, as always, is vital to customers.

Jones Road Beauty 's steady growth strategy, coupled with the popularity of Miracle Balm, contributed to surpassing previous sales records without resorting to typical sales promotions.

Jones Road Beauty 's CMO, Cody Plofker , emphasized the brand's commitment to meeting customer demand and maintaining a solid connection with its audience through the engaged Facebook community of "Roadies" and by increased investment in advertising, focusing on Instagram , Meta , YouTube , and TikTok .

Read the full article.

Fragrance: New Opportunities and New Customers

Fragrance is going through its own kind of Renaissance—with 2023 dubbed the Year of the Fragrance.?

New fragrance brands are constantly appearing in major retailers, along with new marketing methods. #PerfumeTok has brought in a whole new wave of fragrance customers looking to get their fragrance fill.?

Fragrance Industry's list to watch:?

??Fragrance Feelings

"It used to be all about your signature scent—that one you wear every single day," said Chriselle Lim, owner and creative director of fragrance brand Phlur .?

"For this generation, their [choice] scent is all about their moods, fashion, and outfits," Lim said about Gen Z during a panel at Glossy 's beauty and wellness summit this month. "They will go to their fragrance wardrobe and choose what they are feeling."

Brands explaining the fragrance profile with more than just the notes stand to reach audiences better.?

• Where would you wear this sent??
• What is it evocative of??
• What personality is this fragrance a fit for??

Telling this fragrance story—especially when a shopper can't try it before they buy it—helps build the emotional connection that can convert over time.?

??MoCRA Regulations

"We're expecting to see a big picture change," said Vinita Jayant , director of product development at Henry Rose Fine Fragrance. "We're going to see a lot more transparency in the entire supply chain along with increased safety substantiation...As you know, fragrance has always been the catch-all term for thousands of unregulated and potentially harmful ingredients."

Critics question whether or not extra ingredients unrelated to fragrance end up being hidden in the word fragrance, which leads many consumers to question the safety of any fragranced product at all.?

Getting ahead of this is ideal for fragrance brands so consumers can make informed decisions regarding potential allergens and favorite ingredients and build trust with the brands they're exploring.?

MoCRA goes into effect next month, meaning there's little time to get ahead and stay ahead of this legislation.?

??Changing Communication with Customers?

Customers have historically seen the fragrance catch-all, but this new wave of transparency allows fragrance brands to stand out.?

When an ingredient comes under fire, or inaccurate claims go viral on social media, a brand should be comfortable sharing what they use and how they've always shared their ingredient list and build that trust faster and reliably with new customers.

Read the full article.

Contributors: Hailey Gerards, Noureen Shallwani, and Bryanah Tonkins

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