Sensorial beauty has long existed, with texture, scent and visuals playing a central part to beauty and personal care space. But sensoriality is gaining ground today as the consumer market shifts and expectations widen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always had textures and transformative textures and multi-sensory beauty factors in beauty,\u201d said Andrew McDougall, Director of Insights for Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel. \u201cBut I think we\u2019ve reached a point now where people are seeking wellness and wellbeing a lot more, so how products make you feel becomes important. We\u2019re also in a world of information overload, where people are just fatigued by so much going on and sometimes those sensory aspects can tell a story so much more than words,\u201d McDougall told Premium Beauty News.<\/p>\n
Sensory as the \u2019differentiator\u2019<\/p>\n
McDougall outlined the power of the five human senses \u2013 scent, sight, sound, taste and touch \u2013 in his presentation at in-cosmetics global in Paris back in March<\/a>, detailing how senses are key to engaging beauty consumers. \u201cI think beauty is one of the only industries where that first 1.5 seconds matters as much as the next four weeks,\u201d he told attendees. \u201cThe results are obviously important but it\u2019s those first few seconds when you interact with a beauty product that are really important, before the product begins to work, before the claims sway you. It\u2019s a really powerful thing, particularly if we look at it in behavioral terms.\u201d<\/p>\n And today, in an increasingly crowded beauty market, the executive explained that being able to tell a story quickly is hugely important. And working on the sensorial aspect of a beauty product, whatever sense that might tap into, can \u201cprovide that differentiator\u201d for brands looking to stand out, engage consumers and keep them, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe forget sometimes that beauty makes us feel so many different things. Beauty is fun, beauty makes us smile, it relieves stress, it does a job, it makes us feel more confident. So, I think there are a number of things that are important right now that will converge to mean that now is the time that sensorial can help tell stories, help enhance experiences and help brands connect much better with consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Importantly, McDougall said Mintel data shows that many consumers are also willing to pay more for beauty products that make them feel something, which provides a business incentive too.<\/p>\n Subtle cues with sound<\/p>\n Asked which aspect of sensorial beauty holds particular promise in 2026, he said sound is an interesting angle to take. \u201cSound is interesting because it\u2019s one you don\u2019t automatically connect with beauty but it can create these really subtle cues that are interesting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n How a product sounds when it closes \u2013 the click of a lipstick or bottle, for example \u2013 can denote quality and provide assurances around safety and storage, he said. Sounds or music can help consumers understand what a product might smell like or make them feel like, which is particularly helpful in online or virtual advertising, he said. And musical playlists<\/a> can even guide consumers around routine timings or how long to spend using a certain product. Yet, some niche fragrance brands are leveraging music to create more immersive retail experiences.<\/a><\/p>\n Sound, in general, holds a lot of promise in enhancing or heightening the overall experience of a beauty product or routine and certainly warrants a closer look, he said. \u201cAre there certain sounds there that are particularly satisfying, for example? Particularly for Gen Z and Millennials, we\u2019ve seen this whole craze towards ASMR [Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response] content online in videos (\u2026) If you can make the whole experience much more memorable, then that is going to improve or enhance that loyalty,\u201d McDougall said.<\/p>\n Beyond this, industry can start to brainstorm what an individual brand might sound like and whether there could be a sound that people hear that instantly makes them think of a brand. If this connection can be achieved, the Mintel expert said there is significant promise and opportunity in terms of consumer engagement and loyalty.<\/p>\n A lot of big brands in other industries have their \u201cown signature sounds\u201d, he said, with McDonald\u2019s one strong example with its five musical notes that are immediately associated with the fast-food company. In beauty, there is no reason this can\u2019t also be achieved, he said \u2013 and industry is working on it. Brazilian major Natura<\/a>, for example, has developed a \u201csonic identity\u201d or sound logo that uses a mix of Amazon rainforest sounds, captured by sensors. \u201cThis is a really powerful tool,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, whenever I hear rainforest sounds, I automatically think of Natura<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Sensorial design and interplay<\/p>\n Today, however, McDougall said, sensorial has to be \u201cthe driving engine, not just something on the side\u201d for it to work.<\/p>\n \u201c…Beauty is moving beyond isolated sensorial cues. It\u2019s not just about the texture or the scent, it\u2019s about this full stack of sensorial design and interplay that delivers this emotional experience. And we should never underestimate that, because how beauty makes us feel is ultimately how we got into this industry,\u201d he told attendees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sensorial beauty has long existed, with texture, scent and visuals playing a central part to beauty and personal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-513023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}