Beauty Finds New Ways to Shine in Ugly Economy

(MoneyWatch)  Beauty might seem to fall among those discretionary purchases that would be out during a recession, but that's not necessarily the case, as consumers continue to focus spending on what is important to them, cutting back on some purchases to continue making others.

Research firm Mintel has identified specific factors it says will drive the beauty business. Some revolve around the addition of extra value to products, which corresponds to the "recessionista" trend, one in which stylish "fashionistas" seek ways to express their love of beautiful things more cost consciously. Taya Tomasello, senior analyst for Mintel Beauty Innovation, said that one way cosmetics manufacturers have adapted to the recesionista outlook is to develop multi use products, adding sunscreen to moisturizers, for example. "Effective and affordable multi-use products and products offering convenience allow women to continue using their favorite brands, but at a reduced cost," she said.

Such products are aspects of a larger trend Mintel calls austerity chic. From the retail perspective, the trend favors drug and discount stores, as many women reduce cost for favorite beauty brands by shopping in less expensive settings. For some consumers, though, luxury, high price and recessionary values aren't necessarily contradictory. Austerity can mean giving up one thing to have another, Mintel noted, such as forgoing an expensive vacation to make other luxuries more affordable. So, for luxury retailers, convincing a consumer that their products might be a worthy allowance can be a strategy to some effect.

Henri Bendel, the landmark Fifth Avenue cosmetics and accessories retailer, is mounting an exhibition through May 11 featuring perfume creator Mandy Aftel's all natural and rather expensive fragrances. However, the retailer wanted to do more than just put the perfume in a fancy setting, it wanted to pursuade shoppers that they had encountered something extraordinary enough that a major, unplanned purchase might be considered.

Developing the exhibition fell to Brandimage ?€" Desgrippes & Laga.The company, which specializes in branding and product presentation, was charged with converting a small library on the store's third floor into a arrangement that would visually characterize an olfactory product. The economic environment was another factor to consider. The presentation had to make a case for purchasing an ephemeral product in hard times.

Brandimage decided to mount a museum exhibit featuring the natural elements that contributed to the development of Aftel's products within an historical frame of reference. In essence, Brandimage was giving substance to something that might be considered immaterial and connecting a luxury purchase to a history that long precedes the recession.

To do so, Brandimage featured various elements that went into natural perfume, including rare ambergris, using walls space to narrate their history and social role, then including actual substances in drawers below so that Henri Bendel shoppers could experience them in the store setting and perhaps be persuaded that a purchase wasn't just an indulgence but an encounter with tradition.

Sometimes, retailing is all about context.