YSL BEAUTÉ unites music and beauty for a first-ever virtual event, YSL BEAUTY RECORDS

Capitalising upon the success of their BEAUTY HOTEL and BEAUTY MARKET, YSL BEAUTÉ went above and beyond for this year's annual beauty party, bringing music and beauty together for a one of a kind collaboration through the brand's first-ever virtual event, YSL BEAUTY RECORDS.

From 22-28 March, YSL BEAUTY RECORDS offered fans a unique, 24-hour party across multiple virtual rooms: The Lobby, Live Room, Arcade, Powder Room and Beauty Market. Throughout, they could discover signature and limited-edition products, interactive games, masterclasses, celebrities, musicians, and more — offering fans an exclusive and immersive experience in the world of YSL BEAUTÉ.

Adding the musical component was a natural fit, said Ms. Niki Lo, brand general manager for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, L'Oréal Hong Kong LTD.

"Music has always been an element of our brand," added Lo. "We are a young, edgy luxury brand, and we know music has been so much in all the young consumers' lives."

Fans who wanted to join the YSL BEAUTY RECORDS experience were able to register as early as 17 March, and were able to create their own designated YMOJI to represent themselves in the space. YMOJIs could be personalised according to each individual's style and beautified with YSL products, and users could upload selfies with their YMOJI to social media to earn unique CD Points that could be redeemed later for full-sized lipstick, limited-edition palette and surprise gifts from their favourite artists.

For music lovers, the main event of YSL BEAUTY RECORDS was the virtual music party on March 26, featuring performances from Hong Kong stars Juno Mak, Jace Chan and Keung To. Each performed their hits and gave Hongkongers a reason to get together and enjoy a concert for the first time in many months since the pandemic changed the way we live and enjoy our free time.

As part of the Live Room experience, YSL BEAUTÉ offered beauty masterclasses with makeup artist Ritz Wong and his team of pros. The live classes covered makeup trends and tips and home spa ideas, and each class gave attendees the chance to unlock a limited promotion code with a surprise gift from the brand.

In the Arcade, the brand offered two online games for music lovers — "Follow the Beauty Beats" challenged fans rhythmic abilities, and "Rouge Pinball" gave players a chance to play the silver ball, accompanied by music notes and beauty products. The games also offered fans another chance to earn CD Points.

Among the and signature and limited-edition YSL BEAUTÉ products available, one that was not to be missed was the Le Cushion Encre De Peau, an ultra-luxe collector's edition piece. Only 1,000 were made available in Hong Kong, and it was solely available in the online shop. Additionally, the Vernis à Lèvres Water Glow, Pure Shots Night Reboot Serum, and Libre Fragrance were all available exclusively at YSL BEAUTY RECORDS.

Offline to online to offline

While many brands are focused on an O2O strategy, YSL BEAUTÉ took a unique approach. With products that could be redeemed in-store for lipsticks and other gifts, the brand managed to bring the consumer journey full-circle — while offering the sort of entertainment that fans have missed and craved over the past year.

"Everything happened online, but still the retail store to us is very important," said Lo. "It looks like an online campaign, but in fact it's really a seamless consumer cycle that we try to drive from a journey of offline to online, and then back to offline."

Loyalty and omni-channel are the future

For YSL BEAUTÉ, elevating the O2O experience is just the beginning. In the future, they look to build upon all elements of beauty tech to reach the various touchpoints and communications channels where their fans live. 

"The new trend is really about all this omni-channel development," said Lo. "We want to ensure we drive the whole experience both offline and online." 

On the e-commerce front, the brand has developed a subscription-based programme, noting that many of their loyal customers find one product they love, use it up, then immediately buy it again. Instead of making them come to the store, YSL BEAUTÉ aims to use a replenishment model to increase convenience for the customer. While the retail experience remains important, Lo believes this will strengthen loyalty to the brand in both the digital and physical space.

"Consumers who engage both channels are those really most loyal to the brand," said Lo. "So this consumer lifetime journey, consumer lifetime value to us will really be the future that we drive for this transformation."

This article is contributed by YSL.