I read a very interesting article in the FT the other day, about the surge in ‘waiting lists’ for new products. The article is by Caroline Brien:

“A strange thing happened in the beauty world last September: Harrods was deluged by phone calls from eager customers desperate to get hold of Givenchy's Phenomen'eyes mascara, a coveted product that hadn't even hit the shelves. A whirlwind of online hype had kickstarted a trend: the beauty waiting list was born.
When Rodial launched their 10-minute facelift Glamtox Peel in October, their online waiting list topped 927. "Waiting lists definitely create buzz about a product, both online and by word of mouth," says Maria Hatzistefanis, founder of the brand. "They reinforce the desirability so much that customers are willing to pay in advance and wait up to six weeks for delivery."

The thing is, there are some pretty exciting products being launched these days. Gone are the days were innovation was focused solely on colour collections or ingredients.

The new era of beauty launches is based on new ways of thinking. Learning’s are taken from surgery, from cellular research, from different industries.

Look at Glamtox Peel, the imagery itself invites you to relate it to a face lift. And the tightening effect you get from using this product may well be akin to the initial sensations post surgery.


Look at brands like Noesa. The science behind this brand is extremely detailed. Infact, the research Noesa is based on is Nobel prize winning.

And remember the excitement around the launch of TurboLash by Estee Lauder? This is simple, toothbrush technology applied to the application of mascara. Simple, but very effective.

And, I can definitely promise you, brands will be fighting even harder to keep their customers in 2009, so we are all in for some exciting new treats!