Newly landing on Australian shores, UK skincare brand Skin Proud seems to tick every box when it comes to appealing to our youngest consumers. Natural, vegan, inclusive and accessible are some of the buzzwords splashed across the brand’s marketing material, to the approval of cash-strapped, social media-savvy beauty enthusiasts.
Furthermore, in an attempt to seemingly uproot the industry entirely, Skin Proud have launched with a risky, yet timely strategy in mind – the use of unretouched imagery to showcase models’ skin. On the decision, Skin Proud’s Global Marketing Director, Nora Zukauskaite explains the brand’s ethos: ‘We are proud, not perfect’ –
“In 2020, research conducted by Skin Proud found that nearly one in two of those sampled edited their own photos to make themselves feel more confident,” Nora explains. “This is a dangerous combination, with people feeling less confident and [using] tools to avoid dealing with their insecurities and feelings of inadequacy, such as editing tools like FaceTune, and face altering filters on social media apps. As a result, we called on the Advertising Standards Authority, otherwise known as the ASA, in the UK to ban photoshopping in skin advertisements.
Blemishes, moles, freckles, scars, lines, dryness, pigmentation and more form part of real skin. As a brand, we are passionate about portraying real skin, and feel that other skincare brands have a responsibility to do the same. When the norm is real skin, rather than the computer-altered, smoothed-to-perfection skin we’re all used to seeing, we create a kinder and more inclusive society where people can be truly proud of the skin they’re in.”
Today, consumers are known to buy into an identity over a brand. Skin Proud isn’t the first to market a natural product line, fuelled with actives and contained in packaging that is both Instagrammable and sustainable. The brand also recognises the regularity with which Gen Zers and young millennials are creating and viewing content across platforms like TikTok and Youtube without makeup and filters, often intentionally.
“From a marketing perspective, this audience is really driving conversion, particularly across influencer and social channels with the rise of TikTok. With simple, short content that is clickable, Gen Z are engaging and listening to peer-to-peer recommendations more than ever.”
“With simple, short content that is clickable, Gen Z are engaging and listening to peer-to-peer recommendations more than ever.”
“This is a really exciting place for beauty and skincare at the moment. The consumer is vocal and knows exactly what they want. They want to be involved and part of a movement that empowers them and the world around them, challenges the old-school industry norms and the status quo, as well as celebrates and champions inclusivity and diversity while being completely transparent, straight-forward and affordable; movement that supports bigger causes, be it our planet, mental health or all at once.”
Skin Proud will be stocked through Priceline nationwide from March 31 2022.
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