1. Official & Unofficial Remakes 3-Minute Beauty Trends China's Mini Cosmetics: Campbell Lin in Shanghai June 30, 2021 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii When you shop for skincare or makeup at department stores, sometimes the salesperson will, along with your purchase, offer you free product samples and hopes that you would come back next time to buy the full-size products. In China, cosmetics samples are distributed along with your purchase and sold as individual products online and offline. Offline Shops Selling Cosmetics Samples In the U.K. and U.S., major cosmetics shops such as Boots and Sephora offer a wide selection of skincare and makeup products in one place. In China, you can do the same in Sephora or Watson's. But recently, another type of cosmetics shop that dedicates sales of sample-size cosmetics, such as Harmay (话梅) is popping up in China. While some people question the legitimacy of their cosmetics samples, these stores do offer a way out for average consumers who wanted to try out an expensive lipstick or foundation before investing in regular-size products. For example, a regular- Source: 沈哈哈 on Xiaohongshu Prices of Cosmetics Samples in Harmay Sekkisei Herbal Gel Sample: 9 CNY Lancôme Non Oil Instant Cleanser: 29 CNY Source: Lancôme Tmall Flagship Store Bi-Facil Non Oil Instant Cleanser Source: Sekkisei Tmall Flagship Store Herbal Gel

2. size Sekkisei herbal gel costs 280 CNY on the brand's Tmall flagship store, while you can try it out by spending 9 CNY on the product sample at less than one-thirtieth of the cost. A regular-size 200 ml Lancôme Bi-Facil cleanser costs 320 CNY, while the sample size costs less than 10% of that amount. Individual Taobao Sellers of Homemade Sample Size Makeups The sample-size cosmetics business not only works with skincare products, but also exists in base and colour makeup categories. Some consumers might not want to commit to a full-size highlighter or eye shadow before knowing for sure they fit certain shades, while some people wish to have a smaller size powder for commuting or travelling. To meet such needs, KOLs on Douyin (抖⾳, the Chinese version of TikTok) share step-by-step instructions of how to turn a regular-highlighter into a mini highlighter or even mix and match contours, highlighters and shading from different brands. Source: 胖⻥美妆 on Douyin Tool Sterilisation, Cutting and Scooping Regular-Size Products, Stamping into Compact, Reassemble Source: M.A.C. Tmall Flagship Store & M.A.C. Official Website Double Gleam Highlighter & Omega Eyeshadow Source: 花卷的幸运⼩屋 Taobao Shop Highlighter and Shadow "Sample Sets" China's Mini Cosmetics: Official & Unofficial Remakes 3-Minute Beauty Trends

3. While home-made mini size products take time and the various tools cost money, you can find a wide varieties of pre-made or made-to-order mini size makeup products from individual sellers on Taobao. For example, the full-size 9 gram M.A.C. double gleam highlighter costs 340 CNY and the 1.5 gram regular-size omega shade eyeshadow costs 155 CNY, respectively on the brand's official Tmall store. You can find a palette mixed with both, each of 0.5 gram for 54 CNY. Global Beauty Brands Selling Mini Size Makeups on Tmall Besides these unofficial ways of getting cropped up cosmetics, some global makeup brands have officially started selling mini portable makeup products. They offer alternative product sizes that serve as travel sizes and allow expensive premium brands to be more approachable. Benefits offers the mini 4.5-gram mascara besides the full-size version. The trial size of the Tatcha's silk canvas primer is offered at less than half of the original price. In addition to brand stores, Tmall has a special page called 天猫U先 (Tmall Priority) dedicated to selling new product trial samples for a limited quantity before the actual product is released. Source: Benefits Tmall Flagship Store Magnet Mascara 9g & 4.5g Source: Tatcha Tmall Flagship Store The Silk Primer Regular Size and Trial Size Source: 天猫U先 on Tmall Avene Cleanser Lotion and Recovery Cream Trial Size For more beauty market updates and trends in China • Visit MeasureCommerce’s website • Subscribe to MeasureCommerce’s newsletter • Contact us at contact@measurecommerce.ai • Follow MeasureCommerce on LinkedIn • Follow MeasureCommerce on WeChat China's Mini Cosmetics: Official & Unofficial Remakes 3-Minute Beauty Trends