Cosmetics and beauty apps continue to flood the market. Below is a list of the latest finds.

Beauty Calls – $0.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): Health and beauty tips, beauty consultation, home recipes and coupons.
TotalBeauty.com – Free: Over 45,000 beauty product reviews and ratings ranging from mass to prestige.

Cosmetifique – $0.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): A database of cosmetics ingredients that allows customers to search INCI names and provides a rating for each ingredient: great, good or bad.

Cruelty-Free – free (via Eco Salon): Searchable database of what companies are cruelty-free (beauty,household and personal care).

Haircaster – $0.99 (via Geek Sugar):  Uses location to find out the local weather and then analyzes how the humidity and temperature will affect hair.

Hair Make Over – $1.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): Offers over 250 hair styles to try virtually.

iPerfumer – Free: Personal fragrance consultant created by the fragrance house Givaudan. This App keeps track of the kind of fragrances you like and helps you choose new ones.

MyUVAlert – free (via Cosmetics Design): Provides sun protection information on the go and customreapplication reminders, local UV index forecasts, coupons, tips and more. 

Opi – Free: Browse over 200 Opi shades and select nail colors (according to skin tone).

Pretty Nails - $0.99 (via Geek Sugar):  GPS based searches on Google Maps for nail and manicure salon closest to you. 

More on Cosmetics & Beauty Apps: Cosmetics and Beauty apps from last year.

Sources: Laser Beauty Cosmetics, Geek Sugar, Cosmetics Design, EcoSalon.

Has fragrance licencing gone too far? I had to think a bit when I read the article on WWD. It is quite an odd but somewhat interesting spin. It also reminds me of fragrances like Adidas that are a little souless. Are the notes based on the author’s experience? Or on the interpretation of the words by Fresh? Is it an attempt to leverage Julia Roberts as the main character? In any case, the price point is low enough and the packaging similar enough to Fresh look and feel, that it may do well regardless of the unusual association. I am curious to see the online campaign and the actual scents!

Insight by Leah

It’s clear that since the economic downturn, fragrance sales have taken a nose dive.  Combined with the fact that the market is saturated with new fragrance launches every week, this sector is in desperate need of some help – and soon.  As consumers decide either to not purchase or to stick with dependable classics, marketers are scrambling to determine what appeals to consumers – and the answer is packaging and even storytelling.  One of the more successful recent fragrance launches was Coty’s Harajuku Lovers line (obviously the packaging influence came from Gwen Stefani who partnered with Coty for this fragrance).  Consumers loved the mini-dolls that each came with their own "personalities" and distinctive scent, and Coty offered the option of purchasing each doll separately, or in a collectible five-pack.  Coty is re-launching the line again this winter with a twist – each girl will be bundled up for the cold weather.  Coty has even suggested that at some point consumers may be able to order wardrobe changes for their fragrance dolls.  Coty combined unusual and even risky packaging with a great, personalized story, and also created a special website for the launch and as an ongoing way to engage consumers (http://www.hlfragrance.com/).  The site includes videos and music for each girl inspired by Stefani.  In a stale and crowded market, Harajuku Lovers engaged and inspired consumers.

Check out the girls in their winter gear!

Shared by Andrea

There has been several attempts to leverage scents as a marketing tool but finally a company found a way to integrate it in a practical way. Transparent Packaging launched a "multi-sensorial" packaging that releases the scent of a product when customers rub the surface of the package. Great innovation and this may be the beginning of what I would call "interactive cosmetic packaging".

Cosmetics Design Europe Excerpt:

This latest innovation from Transparent Packaging aims to bring the smell of products out of the packaging without resorting to unsightly ’scratch and sniff stickers’. Read the complete article here.

Insight by Andrea

Train de Nuit, the new CHANEL N˚5 short film starring Audrey Tatou has been released. Following the tradition started with Nicole Kidman the brand created a short film, leveraging the upcoming movie about Coco Chanel’s life, to do a great push for this 88 year old fragrance – the first to use a synthetic floral top note. To learn more click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanel_No._5.

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