marieclaire.com.au (^) | 155
BEAUTY
PLEASE TOUCH
In case you didn’t get the memo, it’s
no longer taboo to stick your fingers
into testers and have a play around.
It’s not even a bad thing to use
in-store samples to update your office
make-up for a night out after work.
In fact, if you want to walk into a
beauty retailer with a bare face and
leave with a full face of make-up,
that’s now deemed OK.
Beauty has always been there to
make us feel better, whether that’s a
weekly manicure, a monthly facial or
buying a lipstick from the pharmacist
to perk us up on our way home. But
these days, especially when it comes
to product names, packaging and
even formulations and application,
things have gone from pleasurable
to a seriously good time.
And it’s not just the brands
inciting the party vibes – in recent
years, retailers are encouraging us
to get in store, tuck in and play.
IN THE
PLAYGROUND
The beauty floor was once a
hallowed ground of immaculate,
white-coated women and men,
who were both revered and anxiety-
inducing lest they encourage us to
buy more than our credit card
allowed. But these days, even
high-end department stores are
taking down the physical and
emotional barriers, and making
trialling beauty products easy, even
if you don’t want to buy right away.
One retailer taking the fun
stakes to new heights is Mecca.
In 2018, the beauty emporium
created Meccaland, an interactive
Melbourne-based beauty carnival
where its customers were encouraged
to interact with its products.
“We created Meccaland
because we wanted our highly
engaged community to play in the
ultimate beauty playground,” says
Jo Horgan, founder of Mecca. “Beauty is
fun, and we wanted to showcase our brands
and our products in a really interactive,
colourful and crazy space.”
This year, Meccaland returned – this time
to Sydney – with an even bigger bang. Ticket
holders were not only able to feast on nearly
inexhaustible amounts of make-up, skincare
and haircare, they were also able to channel
their inner kid on a Ferris wheel, a teacup ride, a
seesaw, monkey bars and even a wind machine.
And beauty fans flocked to join the party.
“We have seen the obvious and growing
shift towards creating experiences to retail a
product versus the traditional means of simply
displaying a product,” says Horgan. “Once
you become comfortable to play, you become
more comfortable to experiment.”
Sephora is another beauty retailer designed
to be more carnival than beauty floor. Since
launching in Australia in 2014, the emporium
has helped turn the beauty landscape in Australia
on its head. Doing away with the beauty floor
and the watchful eye of counter staff (in its place,
a “stage” and bouncy “cast members”), we are
warmly welcomed to play. Walk in here and
samples are practically thrust upon you, the
returns policy is near unicorn status, and
the perma-happy staff are only too keen to
demonstrate new techniques of applying make-
up. Regardless of whether you’re spending
$200 on luxury skincare or 20 bucks on a
lipstick, everyone is treated like a princess here.
FUN IS GOOD
Experimentation isn’t strictly a younger person’s
game; these days we’re all keen to try new things.
“One of the amazing things about beauty is how
democratising it is,” says Alphie Sadsad, national
artistry lead for Sephora Australia. “Beauty is for
everyone, and over the past few years we have
seen a shift in women of all ages feeling more
open to experiment and play with their
approach to beauty.”
With more
beauty products
on offer than ever
before, retailers and
brands are coaxing
our interaction
and rousing our
playful side.
By Sally Hunwick
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Martian Mattifying
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BEAUTY
sharon
(sharon)
#1