INSIDER MAGAZINE: How digital beauty soared in a COVID world

Unemployment. Sickness. Turmoil. Excellent skin. The height of the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into economic uncertainty and stripped it of normality — but boy, was our skin glowing. As spirits fell in 2021, the beauty industry soared and bathroom cabinets worldwide were suddenly heaving with serums, face masks, eye cream and high-tech skincare tools. In unprecedented times, treating yourself to micro luxury goods was one thing that had precedent. Throughout the Great Depression the lipstick effect phenomenon emerged — as industrial production in the US halved, cosmetic sales rose. In a bid to lift their spirits, women would forgo the pursuit of big ticket items for smaller make-up items, purchased at department stores or chemists. Fast forward 93 years and during historic moments of uncertainty, women (and some savvy men) were again putting their money where their face was. But instead of cosmetics, consumers were buying up big in cosmeceuticals — products with active ingredients that can change the skin — and skincare. Unable to drive to the local shops, the skincare effect also created another modern phenomenon — digital beauty. Among the rise in personalised skincare, advances in augmented and virtual reality allowed people to test lip colours or match foundations on their own faces before purchasing online. This meant that consumers could effortlessly transform their faces without leaving home. Despite the public being unable to go to their favourite salons and clinics, the global beauty industry was valued at $511 billion in 2021, up $28 billion from the previous year. According to McKinsey research, some global beauty brands and retailers reported their ecommerce sales were twice as high as pre-pandemic levels. Prior to COVID-19, head of creative for Revlon and Elizabeth Arden, Bree Shearer, says digital integration for predominately in-store brands was more novelty based, whereas the pandemic gave it a purpose. “The removal of testers gave true digital integration the nudge that it needed to be deemed ‘successful’ from a sales perspective and we are now witnessing a blended shopping approach,” Shearer says. “The shopper can now tailor their retail experience to their own comfort levels and interact between device and bricks and mortar, or both, with greater fluidity.” THE ZOOM BOOM “Just because something is working, it doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.” These are the words that Kim Tran, founder of La Belle Peau skincare clinic and former Telstra young business woman of the year, says she lives by. Her motto held her in good stead as businesses were forced to close during the pandemic, with skin and beauty clinics some of the first to bow out. As life moved online, from workouts in the morning to virtual drinks with friends by night, so too did beauty regimes. With face to face treatments, botox and fillers off the table, virtual consults to work out a new skin routine became the norm. Tran was ready. Her popular North Perth clinic was already attracting national clientele who flew in for one or two annual visits, meaning her team was trained in video consults to treat and maintain client’s programs and results remotely. “The only difference (during COVID-19 restrictions) was we were also looking after clients who were in the middle of a treatment program and treating many clients with stress-related skin conditions,” she shares. Tran quickly began treating local clients the same way as her fly-in clients, focusing more on home treatments, such as customised at-home peels. In a bid to retain and reward clients, people could purchase their skincare products at a lower price, with up to 25 per cent of the cost going into a beauty bank that could be used on treatments when the clinic reopened. “I guess you have to experience bad skin to understand the importance of good skin,” Tran says. “Some skin conditions can be painful and debilitating. “When our clients need help and cannot get to us in person, whether it be an outbreak of maskne or peri oral dermatitis, we want to get help to them as soon as possible.” Virtual consults meant less waiting time but due to their popularity around Australia, Tran says bookings increased markedly. “I believe virtual consultations are definitely here to stay especially now that the border is open,” she says. GOOD GENES A program taking virtual consults one step further is SkinXS, a French system designed by dermatologists over 10 years. It is so successful in assessing skin functions — it nearly outperforms the experts who use it. “We were quite sceptical about that when we first got it,” says Dr Sarah Boxley, who uses the technology at Skin Box clinic in Fremantle. “We used it on patients and we’d have face to face consultations at the same time to see if we would get the same answer. I think about 99 per cent of the time it gives us what we’ve chosen anyway for the patient sitting in front of us.” Dr Boxley — who has more than 20 years of medical experience and specialises in injectables and skin cancer education — states that in some cases SkinXS analysis has enlightened their own assessment by picking up things they hadn’t thought of. After filling out a quiz and taking a photo of your face, an email will hit your inbox telling you what your skincare concerns are and what ingredients you should be using, with the choice to have products created exclusively for your skin. Similarly SkinDNA — an at-home testing kit that analyses not only current skin issues but future symptoms that have not yet become visible — thrived in 2021. Its global sales increased more than 100 per cent. Founder Stefan Mazy says the reason for the jump was twofold, starting with the aforementioned lipstick effect. “Over the last 18 months, people have been required to stay at home, they can’t treat themselves to their once-a-year holiday ... they are frustrated that their health and wellness has declined — especially for gym enthusiasts,” he says. “This formula has created a consumer that wants to buy micro luxuries to help improve their health and wellbeing while at home.” Secondly, he says SkinDNA technology represents 70 per cent of all DNA skin tests globally, which typically sees growth of 50 per cent year on year. “The most recent alliance is Know Beauty by Vanessa Hudgens and Madison Beer,” he says. “While exposure of DNA testing for skin health endorsed by celebrities is an achievement in itself, we have found the increase in our testing products to be further attributed to greater consumer adoption of DNA testing.” He states that digital health was always the next evolution of delivering advice in the industry, but COVID-19 fast-tracked that progression by at least five years. Despite healthcare moving online, he says digital services will never completely replace a human professional. “We believe that skincare advice is a deeply personal experience for a user and by delivering this advice we do not want to dehumanise it,” he explains. “While customers can purchase SkinDNA online, they can send their results to their skincare professional to continue to monitor the recommendations and advice provided.” CONTENT IS KEY For Adore Beauty, Australia’s first cosmetics retailer to sell exclusively online, staying relevant in the digital realm has always been at the top of its business model. The ASX listed company’s revenue increased 48 per cent to $179.28m in the year ended June 30, which it attributed to a 39 per cent boost in active customers. The site itself has had more than 21 million users visit across 2021. To aid this success a key tool it relies on to attract and retain customers isn’t overly cutting-edge, but is effective in building a relationship with consumers beyond the transaction. This tool? Content. “Listening to our audience and responding to what they are interested in then serving that information and content as authentically as we can, is what we do to stay relevant and to win the right to a presence in our audience’s busy lives.” The dedication to content, which he says reports on everything from skincare trends to haircare and pimple popping, has paid off. By June 2021, its Beauty IQ Uncensored had been downloaded more than two million times, the YouTube channel had more than three million views and the Instagram account had more than 204,000 followers. “Sometimes we talk about things we don’t necessarily sell, we talk about topics I don’t think I’ve heard other retailers cover because they’re awkward or embarrassing, but they’re also true and they have meaning,” he says. “I think our openness to discuss and cover what’s relevant and meaningful to our audience helps us stay unique and remain innovative in the retail landscape.” In a world of challenges and global change, the beauty and skincare industry has fought for survival by reinventing products and platforms to meet the demands of a new age of consumers. As 2022 shapes up to be yet another rollercoaster of a year, the skincare industry may be changing face once more.