Bluemercury Makeup and Skincare

When I arrived at bluemercury as the single designer for this boutique makeup and skincare chain, the company had only a handful stores and a small, inefficient e-commerce website with aspirations to grow into a nationwide chain. Working directly with the marketing director, we created a new, strong brand, steadfast strategy and positioning for what is now a rapidly growing household name in luxury makeup and skincare products.

Bluemercury was founded in 1999 and is widely recognized as the nation's largest and fastest-growing luxury beauty products and spa retail chain. In 2015 they were acquired by Macy’s for $210M. Today, with over 164 stores nationwide, and 22 additional locations within the Macy’s network, bluemercury is a success story for the books.

The work I did from 2007-2009 set the stage for this monumental growth.

Direct mail and marketing materials

Working closely with the marketing department, I designed mailers and in-store materials for all 27 stores. These materials included spa menus, stickers, signage, postcards, barricades, event announcements and mailers for new markets as the makeup and skincare chain grew.

Web and e-commerce presence

One of my biggest accomplishments in the early parts of my career were the conception and launch of the bluemercury e-commerce site. Using an out of the box CMS, I siloed, organized, produced, uploaded and updated thousands of individual products for a more comprehensive digital purchasing experience. I also designed, updated and uploaded each category landing page in accordance with the season.

Seasonal cohesion from digital to physical presence

In addition to being fully responsible for web, direct mail and in-store graphic needs, I managed the visual merchandising design and execution of all 27 stores window displays. The pages here show sample pages from the summer season, which were complimented by ancillary materials that branded across to window displays and direct mail promotions.

Lessons learned

Working at bluemercury was a challenging endeavor and I was able to learn many valuable things. I acquired experience setting the foundations of a brand and acting as brand ambassador for multiple moving parts, as well as essential experience working at a fast growing startup in the luxury retail and makeup industry. Additionally, I was able to gain exposure and experience creating and contributing to content strategy and writing materials, as well as significant close collaboration with the marketing department on graphic design initiatives. I learned to work as part of a team, to keep up with the fast-pace of retail, and to continue reinventing the brand while establishing and maintaining a consistent, branded visual language.