Sell an empty container that could be used to carry any four of the 6-color palettes (which would come nicely out of their main carrier palette) to let people customize their easy-to-hand color selection. Back in the 1980s, Revlon sold eyeshadow singles, and they sold empty 2- and 3-color “palette” containers for them. They were infinitely customizable, and I loved them! They let people build their own palettes, rather than being limited to whatever palettes were currently available. The idea probably wasn’t easily scalable/cost-effective when buying online was Not A Thing, because there had to be a lot of storefront space for the individual pans for sale. It was probably not great for people who weren’t super comfortable creating their own color stories.

Then, I’d sell color palettes throughout the year: bold, metallic, bright, pastel, muted, medium, all yellows/golds, all purples, all blues, all greens, et cetera based on season and current trends. I’d have 6 colors in each of these palettes, so that there’s enough variety for a nice color story, but not so many colors that people will end up buying a $50 palette and only using 25% of the colors in it. Occasionally there would be a palette of highlighter shades, or interference shades. The palette release cycles be 9 months minimum, so that everyone who wants one can get one. Palettes that were definite favorites/bestsellers would be put them in a regular rotation. Maybe, eventually they’ll become permanently available. The price point for six high-quality colors in durable, easy-to-use packaging shouldn’t need to exceed $15 per palette.

The upside of this retail model would be: IRL storefront costs would be minimized, since everything would be testers. People like being able to swatch things before they commit to buying them, and feel the texture of the product and see how the shade looks on them. Having smaller IRL presences could mean that there could be more of them. (Lots of popups in malls, mini storefronts, et cetera.) Since you’re only showcasing testers, it could even be easier for truly travelling stores - a “food truck” style setup, even an old-fashioned salesperson’s case and a quick popup table. (You’d just need to make sure that those positions weren’t tied to sales, because people might go to one of those kiosks and then actually buy through their app…but the thing that made up their mind was being able to try the products at that flash-appearance popup, or salesperson, or what have you. Pay the people who get the word out!)

The downside of this setup and pattern: there could potentially be a LOT of the small palettes available at a given time, outside of the “base” line. This would be expensive as fuck for stocking, even warehousing. Might be best to stock mostly online, get space at a few of the mall popup stores and stock those with testers and online-ordering capability. Have an app for people to take photos of their tests, record what palettes they already had, and what palettes they might want. (This information could also help with projections for what else / what other combinations to make, and which could probably be safely retired.) Mix the best of virtual and IRL-storefront worlds. Yes, you’d irritate some people who wanted to buy something Right Then. And there would have to be information telling people that the brand’s “stores” are a very different kind of shopping experience.

What palettes do you really want to see? What would you put together, if you were in charge?

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