Fazit And By Rosie Jane Discuss Taylor Swift, Bethenny Frankel And Strategies For Building On Virality

In an algorithm-driven digital world where fortunes can change overnight, going viral often seems like a dream come true for beauty brands. However, bridging an instant pop and prolonged sales requires clever strategies.

To explore brands’ experiences with social media renown and what happens next, Beauty Independent tapped Rosie Johnston, founder of By Rosie Jane, and Aliett Buttelman, co-founder of Fazit, for an In Conversation webinar last month to discuss the financial impact of going viral and influencer marketing. 

By Rosie Jane

On March 7, Bethenny Frankel of “The Real Housewives” fame gushed on TikTok, where she has 2.8 million followers, that she “can’t stop wanting to smell like” By Rosie Jane’s perfume Leila Lou in a video that’s surpassed 658,000 views. The organic review came two months after the brand sent her the perfume and led to it selling out on Amazon within an hour and spiking Leila Lou sales on By Rosie Jane’s website 400%, making it the brand’s top seller. 

“Everyone was like, how much did you pay Bethenny to do that? We didn’t. We didn’t even know it was happening,” said Johnston, a big “The Real Housewives” fan. “It was just this incredible moment…People that follow her…know that, when she’s talking about something, it’s because she truly loves it.” 

Frankel, 54, mentioning Leila Lou ticked By Rosie Jane’s boxes for its strategy of doubling down on its primary customer base of millennials and gen Xers through Instagram and TikTok. “One of our goals this year was to lean into our customer really heavily because we are in an age where we are constantly being told, go younger, go younger, go younger,” said Johnston. “When Bethenny posted…it made me feel great that we were communicating to the right person.” 

Although By Rosie Jane was unprepared for the sharp spike in demand caused by Frankel’s video, the brand quickly sprang into action to capitalize on it. “We leaned into the momentum with real-time content, behind-the-scenes moments, and reposts from our community,” wrote Johnston in an email after the webinar. “We didn’t overthink it. We just amplified the genuine excitement and let our audience run with it.”

For its influencer program, By Rosie Jane targets influencers who’ve created organic content on its fragrances. Johnston mentioned that the brand maintains a “healthy balance” between paid and organic marketing and allocates about 15% of its marketing budget to product seeding. By Rosie Jane works with a third-party agency to steer its influencer strategy.

Johnston said, “We don’t just go out and find somebody and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got 10 million followers…here’s $100,000.’ It never hits the same way. The jig is up on social media. We all know what’s real and what’s not.”

By Rosie Jane isn’t waiting for the next viral moment to power sales. In fact, Frankel’s video didn’t change much if anything about the brand’s marketing or operational strategies. This year, By Rosie Jane forecasts it could generate $15 million in sales.

Noting the challenges in building a long-term business around short-term virality, Johnston said, “What you can do is make sure your foundation is solid. That means strong storytelling, an amazing e-comm experience and a brand that actually makes people feel something when they land. The goal isn’t just to get noticed once, it’s to give people a reason to stick around. So, when those big moments come, you’re ready, but you’re not relying on them.”

Fazit

Taylor Swift wearing makeup patch brand Fazit’s Glitter Freckles Makeup Patches at a Kansas City Chiefs game last year caused an online frenzy that resulted in the brand shipping out 40,000 orders and racking up seven figures in sales in two days between its website and Amazon. Buttelman says that Fazit blew its $3 million yearly revenue goal out of the water in one week after that. Its virality became a bargaining chip for the brand in negotiations with CVS and Target, which were both already in discussions with it for distribution.

Fazit wasn’t shy about getting its Glitter Freckles to Swift. It sent the bejeweled product to the pop star’s makeup artist Lorrie Turk in addition to the wives and girlfriends of Kansas City Chiefs players who mingled with Swift due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Up-and-coming pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift during her Eras Tour last year, was targeted in Fazit’s outreach, too. 

Initially shocked by Swift sporting Glitter Freckles to an NFL game, Buttelman immediately went to work to capitalize on the opportunity. She uploaded a TikTok video showing her emotional response to it, which has garnered 10 million views, and she and her Fazit co-founder Nina LaBruna contacted press outlets to amplify the moment. 

When the dust settled after Swift’s Eras tour ended in December, Fazit got smart about positioning itself for post-viral growth. It doubled its warehouse and manufacturing teams, brought on third-party agencies in lieu of hiring full-time team members and expedited its international expansion plans. 

Since its popularity soared last year, dupes have become a thorn in Fazit’s side. The brand has been busy with new products to not be caught flatfooted in a war against dupes. For example, timed with the NCAA basketball March Madness tournament, it released a Spirit Stripes limited-edition collaboration with E.l.f. Beauty.

Speaking of dupes, Buttelman says, “We really had to get ahead of it because, if it’s not our brand that’s going to launch in these other international markets, it’s going to be somebody else, but the best advice that we’ve received is continue to build our brand and innovate, and they know will who came to the market with it first.”

Handling marketing in-house, Fazit has dabbled in paid media, but prefers organic seeding to content creators and earmarks 5% of its marketing budget to seeding. It extends beyond typical beauty influencers to athletes and festival goers who resonate with Fazit’s event-driven designs. The brand is on track to garner $40 million in sales at retail this year.

Fazit has been diversifying its social media strategies to encompass Pinterest, YouTube and YouTube Shorts in case any single platform is upended. Big on TikTok, where it has nearly 76,000 followers, its Instagram footprint is getting larger and more engaged as its consumer base evolves to gain older customers.

However, Fazit isn’t slowing TikTok investments. Buttelman says, “The customers’ not living on any other platform right now, so might as well keep investing.”