Nars, Guerlain Host Rooms on Clubhouse, Which Introduces Monetization

As expected, major beauty brands are now utilizing Clubhouse, the invitation-only audio app that’s been garnering buzz for its rising popularity and celebrity appearances.

Nars Cosmetics, for example, is hosting a weekly, three-day virtual event, which kicked off on April 7. Held in The Beauty Club, created by makeup artist Jaleesa Jaikaran, the first conversation featured Jaikaran, makeup artist Michela Wariebi (founder of The Beauty Club and Black Beauty Chat), content creator Ian Michael Crumm, board certified dermatologist Shereene Idriss — who are all regularly active on the app and together have more than 65,000 followers — alongside Nars makeup artist Niko Lopez.

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“We jump right in,” said Crumm, starting off the chat as its moderator. “Welcome to The Beauty Room. This is skinimalism, the intersection of skin care and makeup.”

While promoting the relaunch of the brand’s Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, now offered in 16 shades, the discussion focused on the topic at hand.

“It’s about changing the narrative about how we perceive skin care and makeup, because before there was more conversation about those two things separately,” offered Wariebi. “More and more now, those are conversations that go hand in hand, that skin care and makeup are absolutely related.”

On April 14, Wariebi took over as moderator of Nars’ “diversity, equity and inclusion: representation matters for all of us in beauty” talk, while Jaikaran is scheduled to host “makeup for the new normal: post-COVID-19 predictions” next week.

With more than 10 million users, Clubhouse continues to grow — though it’s still in beta — and is the newest social media marketing opportunity for brands looking to reach a new, different or wider audience, while teaming with influencers with loyal listeners.

Guerlain, too, recently hosted a Clubhouse event, a conversation with the French company’s perfumer Thierry Wasser and Harper’s Bazaar beauty director Jessica Matlin, cohost of beauty podcast Fat Mascara.

“The platform is a great fit for a brand like Guerlain, as our history is built on sharing knowledge and storytelling,” said Matthieu Nicou, Guerlain’s chief digital officer, in a statement.

“Audience engagement on Clubhouse is what really sets it apart from many other social media platforms,” he continued. “Clubhouse allows users to participate directly in live discussions, making it a far more active experience when compared with other, more passive forms of social media interaction.”

Jouer Cosmetics was the first beauty brand to have an account on the platform, making founder Christina Zilber an early adopter. Brands like OPI, Glow Recipe, Boxy Charm and ReVive Skincare, too, were active and hosting rooms early on (though don’t hold accounts).

The latest and biggest news at Clubhouse is the unveiling of a payment option, which began rolling out on Wednesday of last week. Users can now click on a button to send each other money.

“As we grow and as we think about funding our business, we really want to align our business model with that of the creators, to help them make money and to help them thrive on the platform, so that we’re only growing if all of you are growing,” said Paul Davison — who cofounded Clubhouse with Rohan Seth in March 2020 — during the app’s weekly Sunday town hall meeting.

It’s the first of many monetization features to come on Clubhouse, he added.

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