Better descriptions… example: describe the color, opacity, and finish of each lipstick shade in a range. Less heavily altered swatches–clean up the edges but the color/finish should be somewhere in reality!
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would love to see brands do more swatches against their existing line, instead of just sets of swatches against each other – the new products. i want to see a new pink compared to their old pinks so i have a chance at gauging a color against a product i might know. if a brand comes out with 5 new eyeliner shades and only shows the new shades, i know how their gold and green and red compare to each other.. but not how the gold compares to their previous golds, green compares to their previous greens.. etc.
Good idea. For example MAC already filters eyeshadow for example per color (greens, purples, etc.), would be great to be able to see them in a comparison. And it’s not that troublesome, new shades aren’t launched that often. It’s not like we’re asking Colourpop to compare all those palettes they launch every other day.
Right, comparative swatches are so much more informative. On the other hand, not to their financial benefit from the perspective it could deter fomo purchases.
I agree about having better description and swatch photos.
Also have FULL ingredient list and reasonable return policy.
Full ingredient list is a necessity for sure! Some oft used ingredients are highly allergenic, even dangerously so. There ought to be a clear warning on the packaging when such an ingredient is used in that particular product.
For me, there’s really nothing. I enjoy shopping and seeing products, swatching them (pre Covid) and even trying them on my face (again, pre-Covid) is part of my enjoyment. Same goes for shoes, clothing, etc. I can’t tell how a shoe will feel on ME even if I can get the right size…how will it work for ME? And I loathe the hassle of returning via the post, so even a good returns policy wouldn’t do it for me.
That’s one of the reasons why since the restrictions happened, I simply repurchase the same things as replacements. Especially for things like bras and shoes, foundation.
By allowing people to upload unaltered swatches in a review! It’s sad when a reddit sub has more accurate swatches than official promo pics.
Well I would say do swatches and show it in use on skin! I recently was on a website looking for an eyeliner and all they did was show it. No swatch or colour description! Oh and it was similar to Mac where only the end of the pencil shows the colour! Not good
Definitely more honest swatches in believable lighting, including lip swatches.
They could also try showcasing products in different lightning (natural, artificial, studio/professional).
Yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking! I’ve even purchased colors in store only to find they look completely horrendous in natural light.
I wish brands would offer packet samples of all their products in all their shades, or maybe mini-size containers of products at lower cost. For example, I wouldn’t mind paying $5 for a 0.1 oz container of a new foundation, etc.
That’s a good idea. I actually saw some smaller brands selling mini packs of 4-5 foundation shades in a category (light, medium, dark). Would be nice to also be able to select undertone (warm, cool).
Even for eyeshadows or blushes, Sephora used to give free samples of powders on pieces of paper, something could be done to be able to at least get one swatch / use at home.
Yes, that’s what I came here to say, too! I am very hesitant to order things like foundation and concealer online. It’s so important to have a good match. I would like to see brands offer themed packs (or maybe even let you pick the 3 shades you think are closest to you), and I’d like to see retailers like Ulta and Sephora offer multi-brand sample packs — Like “These are similar shades from UD, KvD, and MAC” and then I can see which one is closer match and/or that just wears better on me.
The last one would be a great idea if retailers would have nailed down the shade comparison. Or allow people to curate shades from the recommended colors (have the option to go lighter or darker than the “default” option).
Sephora’s shade recommendation system for foundation is terrible. I have tested with foundations I know match me, it always recommends me something darker and cooler toned than my actual match.
There is so much great feedback on this thread, it’s almost unfortunate brands aren’t tuning in. Or requesting their own feedback through online surveys.
Great idea! I know many mineral cosmetics brands like Everyday Minerals have an option to order a set of mini packs to try out.
I have never purchased foundations online because swatches aren’t reliable and reviews are confusing. Even trying them on my face in a store isn’t ideal because lighting can be different and even if you match the color you can’t tell how it would wear on your skin all day. Buying a foundation is always a leap of face haha. If I had a chance to purchase a set of minis I would 100% go for it.
I know Paula’s Choice (skincare brand) used to offer sample packets for a number of products and I became one of their regular customers after ordering a bunch of packets, trying one product at a time to see how my skin reacts to each item, and then being confident that something works well for me.
Camera Ready Cosmetics offers samples for certain items that they put into sample pots (like Sephora does in-store when you’re asking for foundation samples). This was how I figured out which color was mine in the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.
Where do we begin… I think that most retailers did a poor job at showcasing colors and shades, but before the ability to go to stores and swatch had hidden that.
I agree that photos are a big issues. Most websites showcase generic picture of shades and highly edited pictures. I would love to see more pictures, with looks on different complexions. To this day I don’t understand why a blog like Temptalia, which is one person, has better pictures and description than retailers websites who should have an army of employees. OK, maybe it’s harder for Sephora, who holds many brands. But actual brand sites, like MAC, could do a better job.
Regarding description, I don’t only want more details, but also more honesty and more standardization of description. Color (including shifts and undertone), opacity, finish, longevity are a minimum requirement.
Also, the reviewing system needs to be improved, encourage users to be more detailed, give more filters and options to categorize products during reviews. And off course, have a system that curates reviews, putting focus on good quality reviewers, trimming down fake reviews and useless short reviews like “hate it” or “best product ever”.
I feel like brands should do more to incentivize us to leave reviews. It takes time and effort to write a good review, and if I’m writing a positive review, then I am basically marketing the product for free. I think every site should have some sort of points system where every time you write a quality review or upload a swatch or a photo of the item in a finished look, you earn points and you can redeem those points for discounts or swag.
I used to write lots of reviews back when I only worked part time, but now that I work full time, at a job that is writing-intensive, I don’t feel a lot of motivation to write reviews. If I’m going to do unpaid writing, it’s going to be on my own blog, not some retailer’s site.
Clinique website actually gives points in their system for reviews.
The review system is quite complex. Giving rewards doesn’t necessarily help, because even so many will still give short non-sense reviews just to get the points. There is even the system of people up-voting reviews they found useful, but even that is not bulletproof. Maybe retailers could find way to incentive people who wrote regularly good quality reviews.
As you mention, good reviews take precious time. For me it’s mostly a matter of being able to filter out those short reviews without content. The good reviews are there sometimes, I just need to find 4-5 in 20 pages filled with under 10 words reviews. ?
I think an ideal system would only reward users who wrote quality reviews — have a minimum word count and also maybe require people to use a system that rates things on metrics similar to what Christine uses here… pigmentation, longevity, whatever metrics the brand wants to use.
My biggest swatch gripe is with lip products (lip sticks, balms, glosses, stains, pencils, etc). For lip products I very much appreciate swatches on the lips themselves and just don’t get arm swatches, or better yet just a picture of the product with the product pushed up. Ugh! Arm lip swatches don’t entice me to buy and more often just confuse me, leave me flustered, and cause me to say screw it. I want to see lip swatches on people with pale lips because that is what I have. Showing a swatch on someone with very pigmented lips doesn’t help me unless it is a super opaque type of color. I think it is also useful to see the swatches on varying pigmented lips AND varying skin tones because lip colors can be so radically different depending on those factors. Being true to the color is also useful. There is a big difference between nude leaning pink and nude leaning brown or rose with warm tones or rose with cool tones etc etc. I can’t tell you how many times (in the past, I quit buying from sites without good swatches) I have bought “the perfect neutral rosey pink” and it presents as clear on my lips or peach/warm leaning.
Providing accurate, non-digitally remastered swatches on several depths of skintones, from deepest to lightest. Also, provide photos of these same different hued models wearing the product (s) on their faces. Taking these steps would help immensely for us consumers to get a clearer sense of how the product would work on us individually.
I would love to see accurate swatches against a wider range of skin tones and depths.
Real swatches of point makeup on multiple skin tones, no more renders that aren’t even close to the real product.
Swatches that are actually based in reality, or any swatches at all. Treat Beauty rarely if ever swatches their lip products and I’ve had to stop buying from them based on a handful of recent disappointments because of it.
Actual swatches on actual people of varied skintones. I understand wanting promotional photographs to be uniform, I really do, but seeing clone-stamped swatches whose colors are almost completely computer-generated makes me cringe.
Realistic marketing based on the actual product’s performance, not nonsense buzzwords.
Listing sizes and full ingredients lists…and disclosing sources of ingredients. There are a LOT of common compounds which can be derived from either animals or plants (or fungi, or algae, or bacteria…). If it’s not specified, I have to assume it’s come from something with a face!
It would be great if brands could say the foundation shade of the models for other products, similar to how a lot of clothing companies say what size the model is wearing. Even if the model is a vastly different tone from my own, knowing their foundation tone for the brand can help determine if the photos have been heavily edited/color corrected. Since it can be hard to tell if makeup photos are edited to look darker, lighter, warmer, or cooler, knowing the baseline foundation shade can help consumers know if the swatch/photo is accurate.
I wish Sephora specifically would remove listings on items they no longer sell. It makes it so annoying to browse their sale page! It could also be my fault for checking their sale page daily LOL
My main problem is foundation. It is past the time brands make sample kits so we can try foundations for shade match. Sell them if you have too. I’d buy.
Not everybody has a sephora around and we have to buy online. Not everybody can afford to buy 2 or 3 shades for shade match. In the USA, you can return them, but the rest of the world doesn’t have the same luxury.
We ended up wasting money and/or creating environmental waste.
Would love swatches on different skin tones ..
Also linking Beauty bloggers reviews would also help.
Absolutely better descriptions. Need better real color swatches, better description re finish; matte, shine, shimmer, sheer, better description of longevity and transferability esp r/t masks. Scents, taste and more.
Retailers vary so much on how they show their products and information they provide. I like to see swatches of the product on actual people of differing complexions and information regarding its exact colour – especially for lipsticks.
Foundations are the most trickiest to buy online as often the info regarding their undertones is absent.
Shade names mean absolutely nothing.
Better lighting or truer pics would be helpful too.
Shade names on foundation mean nothing. They need actual models with different skin tones to display the product. Also description of what skin type works best need to be more standardized
I get the impression that most images on retailer website’s are photoshopped, more true to product images would be useful.
Better truer swatches photos. You are able to so I don’t see why they can’t.