What is the true role of makeup?
Makeup is a tool for managing perception and projecting identity. Its core value is simple: enabling you to communicate your ideal presentation.
Confident Online Beauty Shopping
A beauty shopping platform that eliminates the need for social media validation by letting users find full looks on models who actually look like them.
Team
Timeline
1 month
(part time)
My Role
Strategy
and Design
Context
Digital Experience Design
Postgraduate Diploma
"I follow creators with a similar face shape/skin type/color/style as me so I can get more inspiration." – Astor Lei
The Challenge: Platforms treat makeup as a commodity, ignoring its role as an identity-building tool. If users can't visualize the transformation on themselves, the value proposition fails.
Where does the gap come from?
Brand models don't reflect the full user base. This makes online product visualization a "gamble", leading to abandoned carts or a detour to social media for validation.
In-Depth Interviews
3 interviews exploring how people discover and buy makeup: focusing on trust, social media's role, and what drives purchase confidence.
Secondary Research & Benchmarking
I mapped the discovery-to-purchase journey across social and retail platforms, with a focus on high-volume markets like China where this experience is most mature.
Platforms reviewed: TikTok Shop, Xiaohongshu, Sephora, ASOS, Pinterest.
Key Insights from Research
Digital Trust Gap
Standard product shots aren't enough: users need more evidential proof before buying.
Social Media as a Proxy
Users leave the shop to find creators with similar features who can validate their purchase.
The "Similar-to-Me" Requirement
Purchase intent rises when products are shown on faces that match the user's own.
3 in-depth interviews and secondary research, early 2025.
Problem Statement: If users can't visualize a product on their own face, they leave and look for this information on social media instead.
So what do we need to do?
Enable browsing through aesthetic styles, not products
Show looks on faces similar to the user's own
Offer how-to content without leaving the platform
Use familiar UI to reduce cognitive load
Prioritize community content over brand marketing
The decisions we took
Looks-based discovery as the focal point
Video carousels and a large CTA push inspiration over catalog browsing as the primary entry point.
Eliminating the "Certainty Gap"
Anatomical and style filters let users find looks on models who actually match their features.
Anatomical Matchmaking
"Swap Models" and Suitability Alerts ensure the makeup preview is realistic and achievable for the user.
Trust Through Transparency
A bare-face toggle lets users compare before committing, removing guesswork entirely.
Familiar UI, New Model
Known e-commerce and social patterns keep the interface intuitive while introducing a browsing-first concept.
Typography
Color Scheme
Design System
Self Reflection
Relying only on corporate photography felt restrictive
Community-generated content would build more trust
Allow users to submit their own looks to the feed
Next Steps
Seed platform with professional creator content
Build a social commerce community forum
Evolve into a multi-brand "Full Look" marketplace
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