The selfie. A trend born out of narcissism has now become a tool for the beauty industry, with the power to make or break a product. Major brands are making this clear, utilising the selfie to test out recent creations with ‘the iPhone test’.
A recent report by Mintel revealed one quarter of social media users have posted a picture of themselves online. This is two-fifths of women between the ages of 16 to 24. The ‘selfie’ craze is now serving as a communication channel between beauty brands and consumers. Mintel analyst Charlotte Libby says of the phenomenon: “Following the rise of social media networks, posting pictures online has become a common occurrence, and many consumers are openly interacting with beauty brands online in this way.”
The selfie has also emerged as an important measure for testing cosmetics. A recent article in The New York Times commented “how make-up looks on social media can radically affect [a brand’s] sales”, and revealed COVERGIRL has added another criteria cosmetics must pass - the iPhone test.
COVERGIRL’s principal scientist Sarah Vickery told the magazine: “We’ve got one type of consumer who is constantly taking pictures, and what really matters to her and her social group is how she looks in a selfie. It’s something we really have to pay attention to.”
The brand’s first product to be tested via iPhone 5 and 6 was its Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation. The Times commented on the process: “For brands in this game, the focus is on foundation, which can cause the biggest selfie fails...The research staff actually used their own for what Ms. Vickery referred to as a ‘quick and dirty test’. Scientists spent nearly two years cycling through 43 iterations of the product before settling on the final version.”
With the likes of and Smashbox following suit (the latter’s testing involving iPhone 5, 6 and a Samsung Galaxy), the selfie is only getting more powerful. Avon’s vice president Lisa Lamberty summed it up, explaining to The Times: “We don’t see this as just a passing fad.”
Image: @tashoakley
