With over 30 years experience in the beauty industry, Janet Muggivan continues to rethink and reinvent how she operates within the market. Now, she's back at it again with the launch of her latest project – the innovative Beauty Dossier.
Here, Muggivan reveals everything about Beauty Dossier, why it's a ground-breaking initiative, and its relevance in today's modern culture.
You've just launched Beauty Dossier. Can you tell me a bit about what this is?
Beauty Dossier is an online beauty course for women [aged] 45+ who are interested in refreshing their beauty routines. It’s an investment course for women interested in improving their skills, confidence and end looks. The videos are shot up close and in high definition on ordinary women. Women who want solutions, not artifice and want to look like themselves, just their best possible version.
Why did you decide to launch it?
Organically, this idea started about four years ago in my head. Between friends and colleagues asking for advice about issues related to ageing and beauty, and then starting some research – there did not seem to be a lot of information for this group, yet it’s a stage where we actually need to shake things up a little. I know many of the beauty editors have expressed the same situation in their personal lives where they become the “friend in the know”! This demographic is huge (over four million women in Australia alone) and the idea of creating a video series that really took it back to "the new basics" started to take hold. I think as an industry we presume women know more about beauty than they actually do. [While] we all live and breathe it everyday, many women drop in and out of beauty as they need to. There are changes in women’s lives where they review their beauty. Re-entering the workforce, re-entering the dating scene, after weight loss, etc… It’s not all trend driven and I think for most women over 40, it’s need and occasion driven.
Do you believe Beauty Dossier fills a vital gap in the market?
There is an abundance of wonderful information out there if you are younger. As you get older… not so much. I feel it is quite unique because traditional beauty companies have brand architecture and imagery that, by very definition, is beautiful! Beauty Dossier is super realistic and very instructional. Lots of skin damage and misbehaving eyebrows! I apply products on myself to show how easy it is, then we have a make-up artist using the exact same application techniques on three other women – a brunette, a grey-haired woman, and an Asian woman. The techniques we use and order are identical. The end looks are all super flattering and natural. Nothing overdone, and for “civilians” outside the industry, the majority of women just want to look better and contemporary. They’re not slavishly following trends. They’re not as influenced by celebrity trends as younger women are. Beauty Dossier is all about what’s flattering, not what’s fashionable. There comes a time when trends are not your friends, and flattering make-up when you are in your 40s and beyond is much kinder than fashionable make-up. Many mature women don’t wear any make-up, not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know how to. And the last thing they want is to look foolish, or go to a counter and feel that they’re being “sold” to.
What sort of information will be provided by the Beauty Dossier modules?
We cover everything from skincare basics and extras to discontinued products and “owning” the sale in store. Beauty Dossier is just as much about confidence as it is about the end look. We cover topics from eyeliner and shadow through to foundation and concealer – every step. We not only show you how, but we explain why! Initial feedback to the series from our test group has been overwhelmingly positive.
Can you share any stats or research you've found, that suggests women aged 45+ are interested in learning more about make-up?
A Mintel survey found nearly 40 per cent of the 50 to 68 age group felt excluded in advertising, with 46 per cent saying they felt their age group was stereotyped to a look that was much older than they actually feel. Rachel Clare, Brand Genetics [associate] and co-author of the report She’s Still Got It, ran a survey on the mature market which states: “Their biggest annoyance was being patronised by midlife marketers who are the same age as their children”. Given the 45+ market spend $1.8 billion (of the total $4 billion spent on beauty in Australia each year), their appetite for beauty is increasing. A prediction backed by Datamonitor says the major beauty and personal care multinationals are investing more R&D funds into developing products designed to appeal to Baby Boomers, which feature new sagging firming and de-wrinkling actives. Beauty Dossier is all about preventing and disguising some of these very issues and a lot more.
Another stereotype the beauty industry falls into is portraying this group as technologically illiterate, yet in reality they’re embracing digital life. Social media and online shopping growth for this particular market are in the double digits. Women [aged] 45+ are driving these areas and underestimating their digital savviness is a mistake. They’re not only shopping for beauty online, but also researching products and recommendations. The two million YouTube hits for make-up artist Lisa Eldridge’s mature make-up tutorial clearly demonstrates the appetite, as does the increasing number of mature vlogs coming up. Having said that, Beauty Dossier is not a vlog, or a publisher, but an online educational course.
Your first course focuses on everyday make-up. Are there any plans to extend beyond this?
Yes, we have two more in the pipeline right now.
What are you hoping to achieve with Beauty Dossier?
I want to alleviate the angst so many women associate with beauty. For many women out there who are unsure, given the extraordinary choice of brands and products, it can be a nightmare. Beauty can really change how you feel about yourself, and if Beauty Dossier helps women feel more self assured in themselves, I will be thrilled. As corny as it sounds, I really want to help women feel confident about beauty.
Can you tell me a bit about the commercial model for the site and why you decided on that direction?
I am not a publisher. This is not a beauty website. No advertising. No click to buy. I wanted to keep it very simple, a one-off payment for unlimited access for a year, and I am not selling anything other than information. It’s important to note that I have invested my own money in this production and I have not pocketed a cent from any brand. My revenue will come purely from course sales.
