Beauty YouTuber Carli Bybel. Image courtesy of Il Makiage
New York-based beauty brand Il Makiage has partnered with YouTube beauty guru and Instagrammer Carli Bybel to release a limited-edition Celestial Collection, as more beauty players lean on influencers to expand their reach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on how brands take their products to market, especially in how they leverage influencers. A direct-to-consumer label, Il Makiage differentiates itself by relying on ecommerce, influencer partnerships and clean ingredients.
“Since becoming a mom, self-care looks a little different, and part of self care is being mindful of ingredients and the quality of products you’re using, which is why it was so important to me to incorporate ingredients like jojoba oil, mango butter and vitamin E to deliver skincare benefits in my Il Makiage collection,” Ms. Bybel said.
Out of this world
With the constellation-inspired collection, Ms. Bybel and Il Makiage aim to connect with consumers on a personal level through unique product offerings and authentic content.
Since 2011, Ms. Bybel has accrued 6.15 million subscribers and more than 637 million views as a “beauty guru” providing makeup and hair tutorials, product reviews and other beauty advice. With her significant YouTube following, Ms. Bybel has also established herself as a mega-influencer on Instagram with 4.7 million followers.
Beauty marketers have been early adopters of digital and influencer marketing, which proved to be effective for 98 percent of the industry.
Eighty-four percent of beauty brands claimed to work with an influencer online in 2018, according to a survey from Celebrity Intelligence. The report stated that for every 1 pound, or $1.34 at current exchange, brands earned 8.81 pounds, or $11.81, for an average positive return on investment.
This tutorial, posted by Ms. Bybel in 2015, has more than 11 million views.
Digital influencers have replaced celebrity spokespeople as the top preference for collaborations and partnerships. More than 80 percent of brands believe that these influencers are vital to appeal to millennial customers.
For upcoming projects, 83 percent of beauty brands are working with influencers as their top choice (see story).
Launched in the United States in 2018, Il Makiage is a DTC tech-driven premium beauty brand, with products ranging from face and lips to eyes and brow and retailing from $15 to $89.
The company uses innovative technology to connect online shoppers with highly tested and trustworthy products. Its most popular offerings include shade match quizzes — widely praised by beauty influencers — and try-before-you buy options.
Il Makiage has successfully leveraged beauty bloggers and influencers to provide consumers a seamless way of shopping for the beauty looks they love. Online, consumers can shop by talent or by product.
The new collection by Ms. Bybel also comes at a special time in her life, as it is launching a month after the birth of her son, Lorenzo.
“I started working on this project in early 2020, well before I was pregnant, so to see this come to life so soon after I gave birth is a dream,” Ms. Bybel said.
Authenticity continues to be a pillar of successful social media content and brand collaborations. By using her platforms to show the authentic moments in her life, such as the birth of her son, Ms. Bybel aims to position herself as a trustworthy voice to her followers.
“I’ve been a fan of Il Makiage since they launched, and this is actually my second collection with them,” Ms. Bybel said. “My first, in 2019, was a Galaxy Themed lip palette combining all of my favorite lipsticks, liners and glosses into one collection.
“After seeing how successful our first partnership was, it was a no brainer to team up again.”
The collection includes the Moonstruck Face Palette, the Moonstruck Lip Stick, Waterproof Lip Liner and two limited-edition brushes for application. Beauty consumers may now “get in line” for the collection on IlMakiage.com, which will be available for purchase on May 20.
Carli Bybel x Il Makiage makeup looks. Image courtesy of Il Makiage
“I wanted to come out with a product unlike anything on the market, and so I created something that I’ve always wanted personally for myself,” Ms. Bybel said. “I’m such a big fan of combining baked and pressed products when doing my own makeup routine, I knew it would be fun to create a palette that combined four of my favorite face products in one.”
Digital beauty
More platforms and luxury brands have been incorporating AR features, and platforms like YouTube and TikTok blend sponsored content with technology while having billions of viewers within reach.
In 2019, YouTube added a tech-forward touch to its popular beauty tutorials with the introduction of an augmented reality feature. Initially launched as a partnership with M.A.C Cosmetics and vlogger Roxette Arisa, YouTube’s Beauty Try-On feature allows viewers to virtually test and shop lipsticks straight from a video tutorial.
Viewers can use the AR feature on YouTube’s mobile application. When activated, a front-facing camera opens so consumers can virtually try-on the different lip colors on themselves as the tutorial continues playing in a split-screen view (see story).
More recently, while 2020 was a difficult year for sponsored influencer content budgets, influencer marketing platform Traackr found that TikTok saw a 164 percent increase in sponsored beauty posts and a 481 percent increase in engagement.
Reportedly, TikTok is the only platform to have seen substantial growth in the beauty category while the number of sponsored posts is decreasing on other platforms (see story).
“Beauty is about expression and creativity,” Ms. Bybel said. “I have so much fun coming up with new combinations or recreating a celebrity look I love.”