ASOS launches first own-brand beauty range
While the fashion behemoth has been selling third-party beauty and grooming products for a number of years, the range will be the brand’s first in-house collection.
The debut collection will feature 46 pieces, among them a range of matte and liquid lipsticks, contouring palettes, eye shadows, eyeliners and bronzers.
The launch looks set to increase the brand’s market share in the category, and comes soon after analysts predicted that the retail giant will shortly overtake Marks & Spencer’s market valuation – an event widely hailed as a seminal moment for the retail industry
Millennial audience
Announcing the range, ASOS said that the collection is designed to allow “20-somethings to confidently be themselves, however they choose to do so.”
“We believe your face and body are a canvas, an adventure in individual self-expression, an opportunity to experiment and play,” the company added.
The products come in so-called ‘millennial pink’ packaging, are illustrated with eyelashes and lips, and will retail at an affordable price point, from around €5 to €10.
Gender neutral
To coincide with the launch, the retailer has also announced a rebrand of its ‘Beauty’ section, which will now be known as ‘ASOS Face + Body’ – a move that the brand says is intended to make it more gender neutral.
They explained that the decision was a consciously inclusive move. “There are no rules or limits, just endless ways to be you," states the brand's press release.
Both male and female models are used in the supporting imagery, and a playful campaign features faces covered with hand-drawn hearts and multi-coloured eyeshadow.
Breaking boundaries
This isn’t the brand’s first foray into gender neutral territory. In fact, it was hailed for breaking beauty boundaries earlier this year when it started selling a range of men’s make up.
MMUK Man is a well-established male beauty brand, but its launch with ASOS marked its first step into mainstream retail.
The trend for gender neutral beauty has been gathering pace over the past year; in January, Maybelline (owned by French cosmetics giant L'Oréal) made headlines for hiring male beauty vlogger Manny Gutierrez to front one of its ad campaigns.
