Let’s talk color—personalized color cosmetics and makeup, that is. In our three-part series on personalization and the beauty industry, TBC is taking a deep dive look into everything personal about beauty. Today, we take a closer look at what drives consumer interest and engagement with personalized makeup and color cosmetics, and what that means for brands, retailers, marketing managers, and more.
To better understand this flourishing category, The Benchmarking Company conducted a primary research study with more than 5,700 US beauty consumers in October 2019.
Do it Yourself Makeup
Although not as many consumers have embraced DIYing makeup as they have skincare, almost one quarter (22%) say they have experimented with creating their own color cosmetics, either by adding something to an existing product, or mixing two products together. Of these, half of consumers say the results were OK, but not great, while 45% were wowed by their results, and only a meager 6% said the results didn’t work out at all. As with skincare, overall 77% of beauty consumers are interested in purchasing products from their favorite brands (skincare, color, and haircare) that they can personalize or have customized specifically to their preference—without having to do any work or mixing on their part.
Making Her Makeup Personal
Currently, 60% of consumers indicate they are spending (on average) between $26 – $250 per year on conventional beauty products. And, to date, only 26% of beauty shoppers say they have purchased products they can easily customize or personalize, however; 43% of these consumers say when they did purchase customized products, it was makeup/color cosmetics—second only to skincare.
Because makeup naturally lends itself to customization and personalization—it should be no surprise that the number one benefit of using customized color products is the ability to choose or create colors specific to unique skin tones and types. One of the biggest gripes against beauty brands overall—that the color selection just isn’t broad or inclusive enough for the rainbow of skin tones seeking to buy products—personalization looks this frustration in the eye and gives consumers the means to address the issue once and for all.
Figure 1. Most Appealing Benefits of Personalized Beauty
| Benefit | |
| Colors for my skin type/tone | 76% |
| Controlling price | 67% |
| Ability to customize scents/fragrance | 62% |
| Choosing ingredients | 50% |
| Customizing sizes | 48% |
| Formulating my very own products! | 44% |