Maybelline's Full N' Soft Mascara "Soft Set" System Promotes Lash Flexibility

Maybelline's high-tech Full N' Soft Mascara introduction makes use of an advanced system which could work to strengthen the firm's top market share position in the mass arena. Full N' Soft will be available in October.

The first of Maybelline's advanced technologies, "soft set," is a patented "lash flex system" that offers "eyelash flexibility to help lashes feel soft and supple while providing superior adhesion and wear," the company claims. The "highly versatile film former" also "promotes gentle and easy removal" of the mascara, the Cosmair division said.

To further the ease of removing the mascara, a "quick dissolve system" helps color "glide off comfortably with no pulling or tugging to keep lashes full, thick and healthy," Maybelline claims. The quick-dissolve formula begins working as "soon as you begin removing your mascara," the company added.

Maybelline borrowed its third innovation, a patented delivery system, from hair care technology. Vitamin E, panthenol and ceramide are carried directly to the eyelash surface. The latter two ingredients are "known for their restorative properties which help keep lash cuticles smooth and healthy looking," the firm claims.

Full N' Soft Mascara also contains polysaccharide resin, a "unique pigment dispersion," which "distributes pigment from root to tip" and "allows the formula to glide on smoothly." Even the brush is said to be more advanced than existing mascara applicators; the straight wand was designed for easy use while "building and separating lashes."

Market research showed "a significant consumer need gap in the mascara category" - with no product that tended to the "appearance and condition of the lash" or the problem of "hard, brittle lashes." Thus, Full N' Lash was created to "go beyond traditional beauty benefits," the company said.

Maybelline has high expectations for Full N' Soft and expects the mascara to rank in the number-two spot behind its own Great Lash, the category leader. The new mascara rated "extremely well in all areas" in consumer testing with 80% of those surveyed voicing their intent to purchase the product. Maybelline expects Full N' Soft to generate first-year sales of $50 mil.

With the introduction, Maybelline carves yet another niche in its mascara stable. Full N' Soft is expected to skew slightly older than Great Lash, consumers ages 18-49, compared to Great Lash's 15 to 49 target group.

"Mascara has always been an important category and Maybelline has always made it a priority to be first to the market with new technology," the company said. "With this technology, we have raised consumer expectations. Women are interested in cosmetics that not only make them look good, but also do good things for them, as exemplified by the success of products offering treatments," Maybelline added.

Full N' Soft is the latest mascara introduction in a flurry of new and revamped products in recent months. Procter & Gamble reformulated its Cover Girl smudgeproof mascaras with a polymer-based transfer-resistant technology and incorporated a similar technology in three new Max Factor mascaras. Curling mascaras and products with attached combs also have been hot introductions.

Maybelline will back Full N' Soft with a $12 mil. TV and print advertising campaign. The spots, breaking in early January, will star "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gellar signed on as a Maybelline spokesmodel in May (¹ ).

The campaign, still under development, will be "fun, upbeat and energetic" and will detail the technology behind Full N' Soft. Promotional efforts include an FSI scheduled to drop on Jan. 23 and point-of-purchase displays. Four pieces - a floor stand, counter unit, side cap and air talkers - will mirror the look of the print ads, Maybelline noted.

Full N' Soft will be offered in three shades -Very Black, Brownish Black and Dark Brown for $6.25 apiece, in line with Great Lash's $6.50 price tag and Maybelline's Volum' Express, which costs $6.25. Full N' Soft is priced slightly higher than Maybelline's Wonder Curl, which costs $5.99.