The Better Skin Co. Partners With Influencer Hosway Morbak To Launch Limited-Edition Glamour Drops

The Better Skin Co. is taking a page out of the playbooks of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who borrowed from streetwear labels to generate buzz in the beauty industry by dropping limited-edition products. In the indie skincare brand’s case, the drop in question is actually drops or, to be specific, Glamour Drops, a product it created in collaboration with Hosway Morbak.

The makeup artist and influencer with 206,000-plus followers and The Better Skin Co. are confident customers will snap up 10,000 units of the facial oil by the end of July. Glamour Drops, currently available for pre-order prior to its official launch on July 14, is a blend of sunflower, safflower, watermelon and argan oils, and vitamin E that’s priced at $28 for a 1-oz. size.

“I want to use this opportunity to keep fresh product out there,” says The Better Skin Co.’s co-founder Murphy D. Bishop II. He adds, “We’re in the digital age, and people need new content every day.”

The Better Skin Co. co-founder Murphy D. Bishop II with influencer Hosway Morbak

The brand’s relationship with the influencer started when Morbak discovered its product Mirakle Cream in a gift bag two years ago. Smitten with the offering, he reached out to the brand to see if it would sponsor his master classes. The Better Skin Co. was game.

“I just thought we really need to nurture this relationship because he will speak to all of our customers,” says Bishop. “The younger ones who are buying our stuff at Urban Outfitters, they follow him on Instagram and…[it’s] the more mature ones who attend his master classes.”

Morbak’s hunt for a beauty oil with a clean formula inspired him and The Better Skin Co. to come up with Glamour Drops. It’s designed to provide anti-aging benefits while acting as a primer, a product beauty devotees often watch influencers apply during makeup tutorials.

Glamour Drops is available only on The Better Skin Co.’s website, although the brand has an extensive retail presence at retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Riley Rose, Home Shopping Network and the aforementioned Urban Outfitters.

Available for pre-order online, Glamour Drops launches on July 14. Priced at $28 for a 1-oz. size, it contains sunflower, safflower, watermelon and argan oils, and vitamin E.

Morbak and The Better Skin Co. feted the product last Wednesday with a party at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. Shirtless men wandered throughout the soiree presenting it on silver trays, and serving ginger and melon mocktails to guests, among them Natalya Rachkova, Bishop’s partner in The Better Skin Co. and the developer of the skincare recipe that became Mirakle Cream.

In a market saturated with beauty collaborations, The Better Skin Co., which fields a dozen solicitations daily from social media gurus eager to push its product, attempts to stand out by forging organic partnerships with influencers. It’s tie-in with Morbak is unlikely to be its last influencer collaboration.

The Better Skin Co. declined to divulge the financial details of its association with Morbak. The brand, however, emphasized the benefit of its relationship with the influencer goes beyond sales to widening its audience. Bishop says, “Hosway has a really diverse demographic, and the obvious goal would be that we grow our consumer base from that, but he will get national exposure from partnering with us on this.”

Bishop estimates fees for beauty brands to work with significant influencers start at around $10,000 a post and rise to several hundred thousand dollars per post. He elaborates, “We’re a small indie brand, so we’re not putting out $100,000 for Jeffree Starr to endorse our product. That’s great for other brands, but that’s not our model.”

The better Skin co influencer collab
The Better Skin Co. and Morbak feted their collaboration last Wednesday with a party at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif.

The company focuses much of its marketing efforts on digital press, social media and influencers. At this stage, Bishop doesn’t see a big risk in aligning with micro-influencers. He says, “The only risk is the potential watering down of the influencer platform, if you will, because there are so many.”

What is Bishop’s advice to fellow indie beauty entrepreneurs considering affiliations with influencers? “Align with someone that shares your core brand values and passion,” he says. “Have them involved in all aspects of planning the campaign so you present a seamless united front when the campaign launches.”