Airport Kiosk Closeup: Benefit

Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland is home to a cute cosmetics kiosk from Benefit, based in San Francisco. The kiosk is eye-catching because it's pink, retro, and markets its beauty products with a touch of humor. In fact, retro whimsy is integrated into the brand personality (as is the color pink)--even throughout the company's HQ. For differentiation and image purposes, sometimes it helps to not take your brand too seriously--a marketing approach that appeals to certain customer segments.

Here's the kiosk's appeal: If you're running for a plane but need to refill your beauty bag or you forgot a staple item such as mascara or face cleanser, just watch for Benefits' "Glam Up & Away" automated beauty kiosk "loaded with jet-setting beauty problem solvers" in Cleveland, Baltimore/Washington Intl Airport, Logan Airport in Boston, and other gateways for jet-setters. A touch on the screen, one swipe of your plastic, and you're on your way with what you need.

Benefit does distribute via traditional retail establishments like Macy's and Sephora, of course, but the nearly 40-year-old company (now part of the luxury marketer LVMH) also operates dozens of its own-brand stores in the US and internationally.

L'Oreal's Makeup App Offers Virtual Product Trial

There's no end to the number of apps out there and yet L'Oreal recently released Makeup Genius, a free app that helps women try on new beauty looks in private and without paying. 

This solves a big problem for buyers: How to know what makeup will look like without actually buying and trying. This is akin to the sales promotion technique of sampling, except no actual L'Oreal products change hands. 

The app is iPad and iPhone ready, downloadable from the iTunes store, starts with a selfie that you can then use as your base when you apply your choice of L'Oreal makeup products virtually. Another option is to have the app show what you would look like in a preset beauty style (such as "smoky eyes"). 

It has been described as a little like looking into the mirror of your smartphone and seeing yourself with different beauty looks--in effect, a mobile-based "virtual fitting room" for cosmetics. If you like what you see, you can buy through the app or go to a local retailer to pick out products in person. 

The concept is clever and appealing to tech-savvy mobile users. Will L'Oreal's slick app give it a marketing edge in the competitive beauty industry?

Beauty by Mail

Time took a look at the new trend toward "makeup-of-the-month" clubs that have popped up online. These businesses edit collections of cosmetics samples and deliver them to your mailbox for a small monthly fee (usually $10-12), with the hope that you'll like some of what you find and become a loyal customer of that beauty brand.

These clubs are matchmakers, serving as go-between for consumers seeking novelty (new products) and beauty businesses seeking new customers. For consumers who like trying new things, subscribing to a sampler box is a more cost-effective way to acquire trial sizes than walking through malls or department stores. For the beauty brands, subscribers represent consumers who are open to new products, actively involved in beauty behavior, and (often) enthusiastic about sharing their ideas with others. Hearing your friend praise a new product on the basis of experience can be a powerful influence on your attitude and action toward that brand and product!

Because this industry is young and growing so rapidly, some of the businesses will inevitably morph into other businesses or leave the industry as competition intensifies. Meantime, here's a trio of beauty-by-mail sampling businesses as of February, 2012:

• Birchbox, which sends upscale cosmetics samples to 100,000+ U.S. customers, features brands such as Carol's Daughter, Kiehl's, Stila, and LaRocca. Founded by two Harvard Business School grads, Birchbox is growing very rapidly, with more than 80,000 Facebook "likes" plus an active Twitter account, a behind-the-scenes blog, and a beauty tips magazine online.
• Glossybox says it specializes in "the latest beauty trends and cosmetics delivered to you in a beauty box." The company encourages refer-a-friend by offering reward points and offers tips and promotions via Twitter.
• Beauty Army (shown here) offers deluxe makeup samples and supports Beauty Bus, a nonprofit that brings beauty how-to to chronically ill people and their care-givers.