Viva: The Outlier Effect
With beauty trends constantly changing, it has always been a race to keep up with the most current looks and products, until now. With a movement towards a more natural aesthetic, Niki Shore from Off & On explains why it’s time to find our own brand, and celebrate it.
It almost feels as if our world is spinning a full rotation every fortnight. It’s a struggle to keep up with all the new trends, and we don’t have the time. Something becomes trendy then fatigued in a matter of weeks.
However, beauty can be a slow burn. Of course, the last decade has seen a promising shift in consumer desires. It’s a ripple effect, you catch a glimpse of the latest ‘boyfriend brow’ while reading a magazine in the morning and subconsciously find yourself brushing your brow hairs up with a mascara wand and hairspray before your date that night, that’s beauty influence for you.
Nicky Shore from OFF & ON reflects on this shift as her brand moves into its second decade of bucking the trend. The driving force behind OFF & ON has always been if you are not moving forwards you are moving backwards, tapping into the customer shift before it even becomes a thing and creating concepts and experience that have the customer at heart, rather than what the current norms of the industry might be.
OFF & ON recently launched cosmetic injectables nationally, with support from its new parent company, the Skin Institute Group. The Kiwi appetite for cosmetic injectables, such as Botox®, is on the incline and it’s a response to knowing what this category might look like in ten years’ time that led to its Botox® Bar concept. OFF & ON’s independent survey of Kiwis’ views of aesthetic medicine found two thirds (65%) of us believe treatments like Botox® are becoming more socially acceptable. It’s heartening to know the survey also found Kiwis prefer a natural cosmetic aesthetic; think Kate Middleton, not Kim Kardashian. OFF & ON’s drivers are simple, cosmetic injectables can help to improve self-confidence by refreshing and revitalising areas consumers feel self-conscious about.
“It’s fascinating,” Nicky says, “A Brazilian is hands-down our most popular treatment. Ten years ago this service wasn’t even taught in the beauty school curriculum and in some cases, still isn’t. Brows were an accessory or add-on that you had when you were occasionally getting a facial — now it’s mandatory maintenance for our ladies and gents. Seventy-five per cent of Kiwi women have had a wax or brow shape and that’s unlikely to slow.”
Women’s nail, hair and makeup trends have evolved over the decades — and we’re in an age and stage where brow and body hair services are more than mainstream, they’re maintenance. Nicky goes on to say, “It is so rewarding to have founded a business that ten years ago was not considered ‘needed’ and that our bravery in having a point of difference and creating something from nothing in that respect has paid off. Our OFF & ON team and our loyal customers simply ‘get it’. Our team have been passionately providing a different type of customer experience in waxing, dermaplaning, lash lifts, henna, and laser, before they were even a blip in NZ on multinationals radar. In a country full of sheep, I’m proud OFF & ON is an outlier.”
OFF & ON don’t compromise on outdated technology, they are experts in the field and it trusts and believes in the knowledge of inventors, Nicky says “we’re a company built on innovation. Laser is a game changer; it’s exciting knowing that in ten years’ time there will be a new game-changer. When OFF & ON introduced laser five years ago the penetration was low, with outdated-IPL still ubiquitous in New Zealand. Now laser is preeminent with multiple providers catering for all walks of life.”
So where does this leave us? “I think we’re moving towards a more global natural look and feel — with investment in looking like you haven’t invested at all. Our clients want people to notice, but not to know. Society is moving away from emulating celebrities, towards investing in your unique natural beauty — finding your own brand. And beauty is having less age restriction, consumers are starting younger, shaping their brows in their youth and we have 90-year-old customers receiving dermaplaning treatments. The ‘forgotten’ over-50 market is one of the most exciting to watch — it is about being ‘relevant’ and ‘real’.”
As the beauty world evolves, OFF & ON will continue to focus on what it does best. The fact is, its model has always been about accentuating customers’ natural features but in a unique delivery, it’s just been ahead of the game and it’s promising to see New Zealand finally catch up.