Black Women Twice As Likely To Feel Positive About Their Beauty

NEW YORK -- In its first segmentation study on African-American women and their psychographics around beauty, ESSENCE uncovers the unique mindset of the the African-American woman beauty consmers. Smart Beauty V: A Revealing Look at the Mindset of Passionate African-American Beauty Consumers shows African-American women to be twice as likely to feel positive about their beauty. In addition, the study discovers four distinct beauty archetypes among African-American women based on mindset, product usage and knowledge.

The fifth installment of the Smart Beauty series, developed in conjunction with New York-based research firm Insight, looks at the distinct personality profiles that exist within the African-American market relative to the General Market; focusing on the psychographics that drive the beauty purchasing behavior of African-American women across hair, skin, cosmetics, fragrance and personal care.

Unveiled over breakfast at the W Hotel, the Smart Beauty V presentation will be hosted by ESSENCE's Beauty Director Corynne L. Corbett and will include the following expert panelists:Mikki Taylor, Essence Editor-at-Large; Cynde Watson, Makeup Artist and Beauty Expert; Elana L. Jones, MD, Dermatologist; and Susan Akkad, Senior Vice President Corporate Diversity Marketing, Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

"ESSENCE's Smart Beauty research confirms that beauty goes beyond how women look, it is also linked to how she feels, and that sentiment translates to how she spends," said ESSENCE President Michelle Ebanks. "Smart Beauty V has uncovered the diversity among women of color, who are a vital growth segment for beauty companies, by extracting four distinct archetypes relative to beauty consumption."

Designed to explore the different relationships that exist with beauty among African-Americans so marketers can more effectively engage her, Smart Beauty V evaluates the psyche of a myriad of African-American women to understand their buying patterns and the emotions that attribute to them. The research methodology for Smart Beauty V was conducted in four phases including: client roundtable discussions, an Essence work session, virtual ethnographies, and online surveys.

Highlights of Smart Beauty V:

African American women generally feel more positive about their beauty: "I think I am a beautiful woman". (84% AA vs. 41% GM)

African-American women are celebrating their beauty more than the General Market (61% AA vs. 52% GM) and they are feeling less challenged. (39% AA Vs. 48% GM)

Essence discovered four distinct archetypes when looking at beauty and how it relates to African-American women; distinguished by mindset, product usage, and knowledge.

Smart Beauty is a series of panel discussions targeting beauty and retail industry decision makers. Launched in 2004, Smart Beauty's first session awed beauty industry leaders with groundbreaking research about the spending power of African-American women, which has grown to $7.5 billion annually. The following year, Smart Beauty II: "Counter Intelligence" addressed the retail experience. Smart Beauty III: "Speak to Me" focused on the importance of language and messaging when marketing to the African-American beauty consumer in 2006. In 2009,Smart Beauty IV: "A Passion for Prestige" focused on African-American women and the prestige beauty category.

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media and communications company dedicated to African-American women. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is "Where Black Women Come First". The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For more than 40 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a brand reach of over 8 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives.