Dive Brief:
- The Glam App, an on-demand beauty service provider, is collaborating with L’Oreal Paris on an educational program called The Glam App Academy, according to a press release. The collaboration officially kicks off on May 8.
- The partnership deepens a relationship between L’Oreal Paris and The Glam App that was limited to sponsored events in the past. The Glam App’s 1,900 makeup artists and hairstylists are invited to attend the third-annual The Glam App Academy educational program, where they network, share tips and trends, and build clientele. L’Oreal Paris celebrity makeup artist Sir John, hairstylist Jonathan Colombini and The Glam App co-founder Joey Maalouf will participate in the program.
- L’Oreal Paris will also sponsor curated beauty looks on The Glam App that range from a signature red carpet getup to holiday-inspired makeup and hair. The Glam App’s menu includes blow dry services, makeup application and nail polish changes. Its business stretches across more than 20 cities.
Dive Insight:
On-demand beauty service providers have been multiplying in the beauty industry. A few of the others vying for women’s personal maintenance dollars besides The Glam App are Glamsquad, Vênsette, StyleBee, PRIV and beGlammed. Often likened to Uber or Lyft for beauty, these mobile apps promise convenience by bringing stylists and makeup artists directly to customers’ homes, offices or hotel rooms and can undercut the prices of regular salons, although there are apps – Vênsette specifically – touting luxury offerings that have higher pricing as a result. The apps’ revenues come from commissions on bookings secured through them. The Glam App informed WWD in 2015, the year of its launch, that it took 10% of each transaction.
The mobile apps are part of a sea change in the salon industry that has put traditional full-service salons under tremendous pressure. Large beauty, retail and hospitality companies are recognizing that change may be irreversible, and are increasingly striking deals with the mobile beauty startups. Dyson Supersonic and Glamsquad partnered to integrate the Dyson hairdryer into hair services. Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa acquired mobile manicure companies Manicube and CityMani. Macy’s teamed up with beGlammed on at-home beauty services in 22 cities. The latest in these partnerships, L’Oreal Paris’ deal with The Glam App, gives the app a stamp of approval that could help it woo customers as well as recruit hairstylists and makeup artists as it jockeys for position in the crowded on-demand segment that's due for consolidation.
