How do beauty brands research a new product?
TL;DR
- Test claims, range, price tier and routine fit, each with its own questions.
- Cut results by the traits that decide fit: skin tone and undertone, skin type, hair type, age, sensitivity.
- US cosmetics rules tightened with the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, which raises the bar for safety substantiation and reporting.
- Neon Blue runs beauty studies on a simulated audience built around those traits, with live testing kept for the product itself. Run your first study free
Neon Blue builds simulations of human behavior. Beauty brands research a new product by testing four things with the people who would buy it: which claims they believe, whether the range covers them (shades, skin types, hair types), what price tier the product belongs in, and where it fits in the routine they already have. Each of those can sink a launch on its own. A foundation with the wrong shade spread, a serum with a claim nobody believes, or a body wash priced like a prestige product all fail in ways a general concept score won't show. Reading results by skin tone, skin type and age is what makes the research useful.
What changed in US cosmetics rules?
On December 29, 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) was signed into law. It was the largest expansion of the Food and Drug Administration's authority over cosmetics since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Among other things, it requires companies to register facilities, list products, report serious adverse events, and keep records that substantiate the safety of each product.
For a marketing team, two consequences matter. First, claim lists shrink: anything that sounds like a drug claim ("treats acne", "regrows hair") brings a different regulatory path, and legal teams are stricter about what counts as a cosmetic claim. Second, launches carry more paperwork, so killing a weak idea before formulation saves more than it used to. Research that ranks the defensible claims and screens concepts early fits that reality. How consumer claims tests differ from legal substantiation is covered in claims testing.
Which studies do beauty brands run before launch?
| Study | Decision | Key cut | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concept and routine fit | Is there room in the routine for this? | Current routine length, skin concerns | Concept testing |
| Claims ranking | Which claim leads on pack and in ads | Skin type, sensitivity | Claims test (above) |
| Shade or range coverage | Does the range cover the target buyers? | Skin tone, undertone | Range study (below) |
| Price tier | Mass, masstige or prestige | Where they shop, what they pay today | Pricing research |
| Pack and name | Does it look and sound like the tier? | Age, channel | Pack test on a shelf image |
Product performance, how a formula feels and wears on skin, needs real people using real product. Everything around it can start on a simulated audience.
What questions go in a beauty range study?
- Which of these best describes your skin tone? And your undertone? [Visual scales]
- Looking at this shade range, is there a shade you would expect to match you? [Yes, one / Yes, more than one / Not sure / No]
- If none matches, what would you need? [Lighter, deeper, warmer, cooler, other]
- Which of these products would this replace in your routine, if any?
- Where would you expect to buy this, and at what price?
- Which one claim would most make you want to try it?
Question 2 is the one that matters most for complexion products. A range that leaves a large share of the target answering "no" or "not sure" is a gap before it is a marketing problem.
What does a beauty study look like on a simulated audience?
Hypothetical: a personal care company plans a tinted moisturizer with SPF in 18 shades and needs to decide whether to launch with 18 or extend to 30, and at what price tier.
- Audience: US adults who use a complexion product at least three times a week, built across skin tone (by a visual scale), undertone, skin type (dry, oily, combination, sensitive), age band, and shopping channel (drugstore, specialty beauty, online). The synthetic audience guide covers setting those traits.
- Design: concept, the 18-shade range, the six questions above, then a repeat with 30 shades, fielded on a simulated audience.
- Readout: expected match rate by tone and undertone for each range, claim ranking by skin type, and price tier by channel.
Example output layout (illustrative, not a real result)
| Skin tone group | Expect a match (18 shades) | Expect a match (30 shades) | Top claim (coded) | Expected price tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightest group | __% | __% | Coded | Mass / masstige / prestige |
| Light-medium group | __% | __% | Coded | Mass / masstige / prestige |
| Medium-deep group | __% | __% | Coded | Mass / masstige / prestige |
| Deepest group | __% | __% | Coded | Mass / masstige / prestige |
If the deepest group's expected match rises sharply with 30 shades while the other groups barely move, the extra shades are where the range gap sits. That trade-off, more SKUs against coverage, goes to the go or no-go call. The shades themselves still need wear tests with real people.
How do beauty brands use the results?
- Brief the creative. The winning claim and the routine-fit language go into the brief, then through an ad creative screen.
- Choose launch segments. If one skin type responds far more strongly, lead with it, as in finding your target audience.
- Keep live research for performance. Wear tests, sensory panels and in-use studies with real people cover what simulation can't: how a product feels.
Questions about beauty market research
How do you do market research for a skincare product?
Test the concept and routine fit, rank claims by skin type, read price tier by channel, and run in-use testing with real people on the formula.
How many shades should a foundation launch with?
Enough that most of the target expects a match. Test the range by skin tone and undertone; the gaps show where to add shades.
What claims can a cosmetics brand make?
Cosmetic claims describe appearance and feel. Claims about treating or changing the body's function can make a product a drug in the US. Legal review comes before consumer testing.
How does Neon Blue help beauty brands?
Neon Blue builds a simulated audience across skin tone, type, age and channel, runs concept, claims, range and price studies by segment, and labels every result as simulated. Start a free first study.