After research revealed that there was increasing interest in color cosmetics among men in Japan, Shiseido developed a beauty facial map to help men learn how to use make-up. The map, launched in July 2020, taught men how to evaluate their face shape and understand how to apply products to create different looks. The cosmetics company also partnered with Jun Nakamura, a hair and make-up artist who works at Shiseido’s Beauty Creation Center, to launch the Men’s Grooming Channel, which is hosted on YouTube and focuses on make-up for men.
COVID has prompted a surge in ‘quarantine hobbies’, which you’ve likely picked up yourself. For many, that hobby is baking or knitting or learning a new language. Others have multiple COVID-inspired pursuits, or swap out one for the next as often as they change clothes.
And for some consumers, the desire to try new things during this trying time has intersected with a macro-shift long in the making: the rise of POST-DEMOGRAPHIC EMPOWERMENT. Consumers have been shaking off the conventions of their traditional demographic identity – and are instead crafting (and experimenting with!) their own, fluid identities and lifestyles. All of which is driving the noted uptick in self-experimentation with beauty among women and product releases (Shiseido’s facial map, this new kit that gives men control over their hair color) that power self-experimentation with beauty among men...and let men veer away from the box conventional masculinity places them in.
Our thoughts for you: If your company generally only serves a single group – in Shiseido’s case, women – what could you do to introduce new groups to your brand? And here’s the thing about inclusivity: It’s a powerful concept not just for societies, but for your business. It gives people who could be your customers, but might be afraid, the permission to become your customers.
Stay healthy,
The TrendWatching content team
