Makeup Mirror Becoming the New Blue Ocean of Beauty Industry

Wang Junwei

China Reserch Institute of Daily Chemical Industry,China

Recently,AMIRO,a technology beauty care brand,announced that it has completed a C round financing of 100 million yuan,which received exclusive strategic investment from a top domestic fund,and Gaohu Capital is acting as its exclusive financial adviser.According to public information,AMIRO was founded in 2015 and created the“makeup mirror” category from scratch,which has occupied 57% of the market share of this category.This 100-million-yuan financing has attracted attention to the makeup mirror products.

From blank to bloom,the growth rate is visible to the naked eye

In fact,the first LED makeup mirror did not appear in the domestic market until 2015.And instead of the LED makeup mirror,it is better to call it a mirror with a light.Most of the mirrors at that time included a mirror in the middle with some light bulbs on both sides.The combination of the light and the makeup mirror was relatively separate,and the structure was relatively simple.In 2017,makeup mirrors were still grouped together with mops and brooms into the “home category” on Tmall.However,with the rise of the market share of cosmetics and skin care,which has driven the growth of related smart cosmetics hardware products,makeup mirrors have received unprecedented attention.After Double 11 in 2018,Tmall divided the LED makeup mirror into a separate category,and shifted this category from home products to beauty and personal care.In 2020,Tmall Super Category Day even included a special section for smart makeup mirrors.

From a blank market to a broad prospect,the growth rate of makeup mirrors is visible to the naked eye.AMIRO took two to three years to achieve a 500 million scale of cosmetic mirrors on Taobao-related platforms.On Double 11 in 2020,AMIRO became a “top icon” in the LED beauty mirror category,setting a record of 54 million sales.And if you pay careful attention,you will find that in the 2018 live video of Li Jiaqi and Jack Ma selling lipstick,the mirror placed in front of the two hosts was an AMIRO product.

Data shows that 75% of women spend more than 25 minutes in front of the mirror every day,and the average annual consumption of beauty products for a single person reaches 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.The blue ocean market for makeup mirrors has brought the emergence of various cutting-edge or Internet celebrity brands such as AMIRO,EASEHOLD,Muid,and has also brought new market opportunities to companies such as Midea,Xiaomi,and NetEase Yanxuan.

Average Annual Increase of 100% in 3 years,benefiting from marketing and promotion

With the growth of the cosmetics market,makeup mirrors have leapt into the sight of the general public.On the Tmall platform alone,it has been growing by more than 100% for three consecutive years.And since a certain point of time,having an LED makeup mirror has become a common feature for e-commerce anchors and beauty bloggers.

However,the reason why makeup mirror can become a widely known product is indeed largely due to the marketing and promotion of super stars,beauty bloggers,and Internet celebrities.Under their implicit influence,more and more beauty consumers have added such products to their shopping carts.The makeup mirror seems to have become a must-have item for the dressing table,just like a hair dryer,an electric toothbrush,and even lipsticks.

There are more than 100,000 notes and 20,000 related products on RED(Xiaohongshu)about makeup mirrors,and the number of views of the tag “makeup mirror” on Douyin has exceeded 330 million times.According to reports,the MORROR Smart Makeup Mirror team spent merely 500 yuan on advertising fees to cooperate with an Internet celebrity on video marketing,which resulted in 10 million video views,400,000 likes,and a 7-day sales of over one million yuan.

In addition,Li Jiaqi,Wei Ya,Liu Tao,Luo Wangyu,Chen He,and even Luo Yonghao have promoted this category of products.Various cobranded makeup mirrors such as the Palace Museum’s“Eye-pleasuring Mirror” and Ouyang Nana’s “Nabi Pink” mirror have also gained popularity among young consumers.From celebrity endorsement,live broadcast e-commerce,to joint-brand cooperation,makeup mirror brands have tried various new marketing techniques to make the product occupy a place in the beauty market.

Through active interactions on social media,and strong advocacy by celebrities,beauty bloggers,and other influencers,the makeup mirror has captured the eyeballs of beauty-loving female consumers,and has solved many consumers’ problems concerning uneven makeup,insufficient makeup,and residual of makeup,etc.The makeup mirror has become a musthave item on many girls’ dressing tables.

Although the market is large,it is still in the education stage

Although makeup mirrors are growing fast,the entire industry is not saturated.Statistics shows that the consumption space of cosmetic mirrors is quite large,and there is a market of nearly 400 million yuan that requires more brands and businesses to penetrate the consumer groups.Girls’ makeup and skin care cannot do without the precise feedback of their appearance provided by mirrors and lights,just like the growth of plants cannot do without the sun.Traditional mirrors have deviations in the color and light of the light source,while the makeup mirror imitates daylight,just like a high-definition camera scanning all corners of a girl’s face,so that the appearance of consumer makeup is not simply magnified,but presented the facial details with clearer and higher color rendering through the help of technology,making the mirror indispensable for the dressing table of a delicate consumer.

However,in the current market,many cosmetic mirrors still have functions that are not well known to consumers and are therefore suspected,such as diversified control capabilities,multiple lighting modes,and real-time data display.Many consumers with better lighting in their houses have tried these mirrors and found it to be of little use,and only use them as ordinary mirrors.There is also a considerable number of users giving feedback complaining why a lamp plus mirror is so expensive to sell for a few hundred yuan,and it is not that you need to see so clearly to do experiments,and the premium is too high.Taking up too much space,too much use causing skin to turn black,IQ tax...Negative comments about makeup mirrors are ubiquitous on Douban.

After all,compared to other cosmetics,mirrors are only defined as decorations that do not have the functional attributes of beauty products and were previously placed in the traditional home furnishing category.In addition,in platforms such as Taobao and Douyin,there are many so-called “makeup mirrors” that only add a circle of lamp beads,which makes many consumers feel doubtful about the functions of makeup mirrors.Admittedly,the technical level of makeup mirrors is uneven,which cannot effectively cultivate consumer acceptance.Therefore,it can be concluded that although the future market for makeup mirrors is large,it is still in the education stage.

Under the illumination of different light sources,the facial features will be completely different.If the makeup mirror brands intend to attract more mainstream consumers in the future,they will not only need to explore more functions of the makeup mirror,but also need to strengthen consumer education,so that the makeup mirror can be a useful tool that surprises the consumer and a musthave beauty product that considerably increases the effectiveness of applying make-up.