Brand Evaluation

Brand Evaluation

For Beauty and the Brand I decided to focus on the brand Nars. I chose to look into this brand because it was one that I had heard of but wasn’t familiar with. The research I have carried out has given me a better understanding into the brands style, ethos and products.

I started my research by looking at past collections. This helped me to find the style of the brand and to see what the message was that they are trying to portray in the advertisement campaigns. Firstly, the makeup style is very natural and basic focusing on either the eye or lip. The skin is always fresh and flawless creating a canvas for the application of colour. Even though Nars was sold to Shiseido, Francois Nars still acts as the creative director, mainly photographing the collections and models. The input Francois Nars has in the brand is great to see as sometimes the brand created changes with a change of hands. The input that Francois Nars still has on the company allows the style he created for the brand to live on. The style here is being clean and fresh. Francois Nars is a firm believer in playing with colour and textures creating an appeal to the consumer. This appeal comes in the form of the names that the products have; each one their own individual character.

The collections brought out always have flawless makeup and tones that work well with the model and surrounding. Nars are creating a high end persona about the brand and this appeals to people who enjoy makeup and don’t mind spending that bit more on quality, which is what you receive at Nars. The advertisements are on a high end scale with the mood of the images, the styling and background being anything but cheap. Nars would do this to appeal to the higher end market for which the brand is a part of.

Through my research I brought a few items from Nars so that I could understand the quality of the product. The products available are versatile, for instance the Dual Intensity eyeshadow and blusher can be used wet or dry depending on what look you want to create. A versatile product like the Dual Intensity is a great idea as it saves the customer from buying two different products to create looks. This product will save on money and space in the makeup drawer. I think its refreshing to see a brand thinking of new ways to create exciting products that can be used in different ways. As well as creating fresh looks in their advertising they also create fresh products. The collaboration collections that Nars bring out are so vibrant and interesting, especially the Andy Warhol collection and most recently the Christopher Kane collection. These collaborations link the brand in with fashion and art and show to the consumer what inspires the brand. The collections show the inspiration from the brand and in turn creates an inspiration for the customer.

Researching into the brand made me realise how important every aspect is, from packaging to the design of a website. Nars has managed to create a consistent brand. Consistent being that the products are always to a high standard, new packaging is introduced to appeal to a wider audience and the standard created is always pushed and explored. Although Francois Nars is now the creative director and produces the photography for the brand, he has managed to set up an experienced team around him who share the same values as Nars. I think the introduction of Andrew Gallimore as brand ambassador will help to continue spreading and showing what Nars can do. Gallimore is a trusted Makeup Artist with a huge following, therefore will bring possible newcomers to the brand.

Overall, I am glad that I chose to research into Nars for Beauty and the Brand as it has introduced me to a brand full of interesting products and concepts. Francois Nars has created a inspirational brand that not only focuses on the quality of makeup but also on other aspects like art and fashion. The brand is one that just gets better with each collection and idea that comes.