The Bold and the Beautiful

A current trend in the color cosmetics industry—which has represented a growing category for licensing in general over the past few years—is to create a bold and graphic look using bright colors, metallics, and well-defined shapes on lips, eyelids, and brows. To promote this style to consumers, cosmetics companies are turning to celebrity endorsers, including those known for their offbeat and dramatic looks:

• CoverGirl announced Jazmina Daniel as one of its newest brand ambassadors. She is a “lip artist” with 1.2 million Instagram followers, known for recreating detailed scenes—such as celebrity portraits or movie posters—on her lips.
• L’Oréal Paris enlisted its spokesperson, celebrity makeup artist Sir John, for a campaign specifically focused on encouraging women to go bold, offering tips for applying metallic makeup, creating dramatic lashes, and using color blocking on lips and eyes.
• To promote its new low-cost beauty line, ASOS Face + Body, fashion e-tailer ASOS is using a variety of models, diverse in size, shape, and ethnicity, to highlight the idea that “there are no rules or limits, just endless ways to be you.” Models in the campaign include Chen Liu, Jazzelle Zanaughtti, and Richie Shazam, with photos on social media depicting bright color-blocked eye shadows and other distinctive looks.
• Last year, CoverGirl signed an endorsement deal with male makeup artist James Charles. His dramatic looks, promoted to his followers through Instagram and YouTube, are inspired by a range of imagery, from the Mad Hatter and Prince, to butterfly wings and mermaid tails, to neon and watercolors.

Such partnerships fall into the realm of promotion and endorsement rather than licensing at this point, but signature product lines may certainly follow. And the greater trend toward bolder colors, shapes, and embellishment is certainly influencing the plans of any licensed property that is considering, or already has a presence in, the makeup industry.

For more coverage of cosmetics-related licensing and promotional trends, see “K-Beauty Goes Mainstream,” about U.S. retailers signing endorsement and signature product deals focused on Korean beauty products; “Of Makeup and Men,” about the rise of social media-famous male makeup artists as cosmetics endorsers; and “Looking Good,” about licensing deals in the men’s grooming sector.