August might be when Europe goes on holiday, but not every international beauty brand took a break. In the U.K., it was all about collabs: influencers raved over P. Louise Makeup Academy’s new Acid Reign collection, created with beauty guru Mitchell (@mmmmitchell on Instagram), and BPerfect Cosmetics’ Carnival XL Pro Palette, designed in partnership with Stacey Marie (@staceymariemua). Meanwhile, in Italy, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty surged ahead thanks to the launch of its K Eau de Toilette. And in France, everybody wanted to be in Italy: Armani Beauty took center stage at the Venice Film Festival, while Kiko debuted its Sicilian Notes collection. Here’s how top international beauty brands powered growth in Earned Media Value (EMV) while their competitors were on vacation.
Launches Acid Reign Collab
You’re never too old for face paint—at least, according to P. Louise Makeup Academy. This month, the brand teamed up with star Instagrammer Mitchell to launch the Acid Reign collection of cosmetic paints. The unique offering proved a hit with SFX makeup artists like RJ Tulloch (@cakefacerj on Instagram), who generated $257.1k EMV for the range across 11 eye-catching creations. And RJ wasn’t the only beauty influencer who couldn’t get enough of the collection: a sizable 35 of Acid Reign’s 48 August influencers mentioned it more than once. Powered by enthusiasm for the collaboration, P. Louise grew 23% month-over-month to close August with $6.5M EMV. Acid Reign drove a total of $2.1M EMV as the brand’s No. 2 product after its hero P. Louise Base eyeshadow primer.
Enjoys Jump in Enthusiasm for Carnival XL Pro Palette
Stacey Marie is the queen of cut creases, so it’s no surprise that top influencers rallied around her July-launched Carnival XL Pro Palette with BPerfect Cosmetics. Thanks partly to influencer sends, the expansive, 43-shade eyeshadow and highlighter palette—which marked Stacey’s second collab with the brand—jumped from $633.8k EMV last month to $3.0M EMV this month, scoring shout-outs from 146 unique content creators. In all, BPerfect Cosmetics collected $6.0M EMV in August, an impressive 139% month-over-month growth.
Taps Mariano Di Vaio for K Eau de Toilette
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty’s sultry K Eau de Toilette was inspired by “the king of everyday life”—and the brand certainly found him in blogger-turned-entrepreneur Mariano Di Vaio (@marianodivaio on Instagram). The influencer posted effusively about the opportunity to be the face of the new fragrance, sharing that he was “proud, honored, and blessed,” and calling the campaign a “milestone in my career.” Altogether, four content creators generated $258.4k EMV for K, with Mariano driving the majority ($237.9k EMV) of this total. Fueled by launch hype, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty grew 411% month-over-month, collecting $488.4k EMV.
Turns Heads at Venice Film Festival
Armani Beauty continues to master red carpet style. This month, the brand made its signature appearance at the Venice Film Festival, styling French bloggers such as Denni Elias (@dennielias on Instagram) for the storied event. Denni, who had never attended the festival, posted enthusiastically about the opportunity, generating $25.0k EMV for Armani Beauty across two pieces of content as one of the brand’s top 10 influencers. Total mentions of #ArmaniBeautyStars and #Venezia76, associated with the activation, generated a respective $80.8k EMV and $74.2k EMV, fueling Armani Beauty’s 53% month-over-month EMV growth. Altogether, the brand closed August with $691.8k EMV.
Debuts Sicilian Notes Collection
What better destination to end the summer than...the Sicilian coast? To celebrate its new Sicilian Notes collection of eye, lip, nail, and complexion products, Kiko brought lifestyle blogger Maria Rizzo (@lacoquetteitalienne on Instagram) to Sicily for a promotional photoshoot. The influencer shared a dreamy video chronicling her time with the brand, contributing $22.6k EMV of the range’s $61.6k EMV total and helping #SicilianNotes collect $23.9k EMV as one of the brand’s top 10 hashtags. In all, Kiko closed August with $648.2k EMV, a 26% month-over-month growth.
Between creative collabs and smash-hit product launches, top influencers around the globe had plenty to keep them busy this August. For more in-depth coverage of international beauty industry trends, download Tribe Dynamics’ Q2 2019 Global Beauty Report.