Birchbox

Savannah Pierce, Tiffany Valdez, Rikki Willingham

University of North Texas

Overview

Summary of Project

Our long term objective is to increase the Spring Time Birchbox sales by 15% in 2015. We plan to reach are margin by researching and developing the perfect Spring Time box for consumer. In this project we:

Developed a SWOT analysis for the Birchbox Company. Determined the Target Population/Audience via MRI. Prepared Information and Questions for scheduled Focus Groups. Coded and Gathered Information from Focus Group Transcript. Developed Qualtrics Survey for Consumers.

Justification and Goal

This project will help us with gathering data and information needed from the consumers to develop the Spring Time box. Our goal is to help the company sell more boxes this Spring, and to increase customer satisfaction rates with the boxes.

Research on Client and Topic

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths:

Unique Multiple Partnerships Personal Branding Helps consumer learn about new products. Third Party brand marketing Boxes can be sent as a gift, which is a form of advertisement in itself. Can be mailed directly to subscribers front doors. Globally known Accessible for customers: New Store Launch and Online Shopping. The Personal CEO. (The women that started the company have experience with the

problems that the company wants to solve.)

Weakness:

Limited to the number of partnership that will appeal to the average customer. Still considered a novice company... (started in 2010) Prices are a bit high for the average person. Products aren’t as varying to appeal to all demographics.

Opportunities:

Extended outside of just beauty. Spring time is near. New Store just launched. Personal Boxes are now available. Gift boxes are also available: Graduation, Prom, Valentine’s Day and etc.

Threats:

IPSY Company Other Beauty Stores: Sephora, Mac, Ulta, and etc. Drugstores: CVS and Walgreens

Overview of Topic

Partners:

Birchbox partners with other companies that send them the products to put in the monthly boxes. Birchbox is a PR tool for the companies that partner with them. The Public Relations departments of the different beauty/grooming brands normally send Birchbox their products to promote their products to reach more customers.

Birchbox Partners (partners we are considering for the spring):

Benefit Cosmetics Dr. Brandt Juicy Couture OPI Origins Philosophy POP Beauty Stilla The Honest Company WEI

Consumers:

Birchbox consumers consist of both males and females. Not all of the consumers are makeup artists, but most of them are average people that enjoy sampling new products.

Results from the MRI:

From researching the MRI database we learned that the main products that would appeal to our demographic would be hair care products: gels, lotions, oils and etc. , lip care products: lip stick, lip balms, lip gloss, and etc., eyeshadows, and fragrances: cologne and perfume. We also learned that the target audience for these products and for our company would most likely be young to middle aged women.

From our outside research on the company, the company’s consumers do match up with the MRI information that we collected prior to our outside information. The company is starting to try to appeal to the male population by promoting a “male box”. There are no statistics released on this information and the male sales rate, so young to middle aged women are still the primary consumers.

Research shows that young women would be more open to exploring with new make-up products, as to they are the more open minded population. Middle aged women would also be more to exploring new products as well since they are typically the ones in the workforce and would need to look crisp and professional.

Consumer Research Strategy for Birchbox:

The Company sends out surveys to their subscribers to get information about how the customers enjoyed their boxes.

Consumers can customize their own boxes on their website. This allows the customers to test specific products and review them for other customers. This also allows customers to enjoy their own personalized boxes.

Birchbox also connects with Youtubers that specialize in beauty/grooming products by sending them the box of the month for them to review the products for other consumers.

How the Company Works:

The company is a third party company where the brands/partners pay the company to promote their products through the boxes, website, and store.

Subscribers get their own personal boxes in the mail each month for ten dollars a month. They can either customize their boxes are pick the standard box available to them.

Focus Group

Focus Group Goals

We each individually scheduled and held Focus Groups around the DFW area. The groups involved 4-8 participants and lasted about 30-45 minutes each. Our primary goal behind arranging the focus groups was to obtain pertinent information from potential consumers that will assist us with constructing the perfect Spring Time Birchbox. This information will also help us with the development of our Qualtirics survey as well.

Research Question

What beauty products would consumers prefer to use in the Spring Time and would they be interested in trying out new products similar to the products that they currently use?

Focus Group Guide Questions

Basic Questions:o Age? Gender?

Warm-up:o What did you do for fun this Spring Break?

Focus:o Does your morning (afternoon) routine change for different seasons?o Are there any specific events that effect your routine (how you get ready)?o What colors do you associate with spring? Fragrances?o How does your choice in clothing change in the springtime? Any change in color

selection?o What beauty products do you use daily?

Include hair products, makeup products, moisturizers, lotions, face washes, body washes

o Do you apply more or less products in the spring time?o Do you use certain products during spring time?

Wrap-up:o What’s your favorite thing about spring time? Least favorite?

Procedure

Focus Group A

Organized focus group at Home in The Colony, Texas on Sunday on April 12, 2015. The participants included four women ranging in ages. The participants were her

family and people she knew from church. The Focus Group lasted about 35 min.

Focus Group B

Held focus group at dorm room on the University of North Texas Campus on March 21, 2015.

The participants included women ranging from 18-49. The participants were the interviewers friends and friend’s family.

The focus group lasted about 35 min.

Focus Group C

Focus group was held at her Apartment Home in Denton, Texas on Sunday on April 9, 2015.

The participants included seven women varying in ages. The participants were her sorority sisters.

The focus group lasted about 40 min.

Themes/ Quotes

Major Themes:

Unknown sensitivity towards other products that would prevent them from subscribing to Birchbox.

o Evidence (Quotes) Focus Group A: Focus Group B: “I do have really sensitive skin and I don’t want to harm it

by adding so many products. I would like tot ry out some sensitive skiin products.” (Ottressia Williams, 2015)

People prefer to wear and associate lighter colors with the Spring Time. o Evidence (Quotes)

Focus Group B: “I think lighter colors bring out the spring time. Like pastel colors look really pretty” (Marylana Brown, 2015)

People are loyal to the products that they currently use and are typically no interested in trying out new products since these products already work for them.

o Evidence (Quotes) Focus Group B: “I am pretty consistent with my product usage” (Terran

Garret, 2015) “I think I use the same products all year around” (Justice Houston, 2015)

Focus Group C: Birchbox could be a financial restraint to some potential consumers.

o Evidence (Quotes) Focus Group A: Focus Group B: “Ten dollars a month! That’s expensive when I can go to

the store and try out products, especially since I am not a heavy beauty product user and I already know what I like.” (

Minor Themes:

Some people believed that the Birchbox would not have enough products that would suit them. (For Example: Foundations come in different tones and some make-up or skin care products might work for all.)

o Quote:

Focus Group B: “I am not sure if the Birchbox hair products would benefit me since African Americans have different textures of hair that cannot use certain product.”

People have a concern that Birchbox might not supply enough hair products for them to choose from.

One problem that potential customers had with the company was they were not offered the opportunity to customize the time frame in which they would receive the Birchbox.

Fragrances/Perfumes are a popular consumer product in general.o Quote:

Focus Group B: “I think sweet and flowery scents go with spring.” “. I personally like to use Vera Wang for my perfume. I just love the way all her perfumes smell.”

Lip products are a popular product among potential customers. Consumers prefer to wear make-up on special occasion versus every day.

Analysis

From the focus group we can conclude that people are going to be reluctant to subscribe to BirchBox due to the fact that they already know what they like and they don’t want to risk the possibility of an allergic reaction from the new products they are trying. For some the subscription might be a financial restraint that is not worth investing in. We also concluded that the target audience would prefer a box with lip products that are pastels such as pinks and purples. For a spring time box people would prefer light and floral colors during this time of the year.

Information Learned from Focus Groups

From the focus groups we learned that people are more concerned about their skin sensitivity issues versus trying new products. We also learned that the primary reason why people of this focus group wouldn’t subscribe to Birchbox because they are loyal to the products that they use on a daily basis and they reserve make up for special events such as birthdays, interviews, and dinners. People were also concerned with the products not suiting their skin tones and types, hair type, and etc. We also learned that the companies’ subscription pricing can cause financial burdens for some people. Paying a ten dollar a month fee is too costly. The target audience would prefer if they were able to choose the time range in which they received the Birchbox in the mail. People would most likely want lip and fragrance options provided for them in a monthly Birchbox. They also associate lighter colors, such as pastels, in the spring time.

How this information helped develop our Qualtrics survey?

This information help form the content needed to form the questions for the survey. It will also help with knowing what to ask potential and current subscribers of Birchbox. These focus groups also helped narrow down the audience that we would want to participate in the survey.

Survey

Survey Goals

Our survey goals are to obtain information from potential Birchbox customers about: o Thoughts on springtime products.o Thoughts on what they like and do not like about Birchboxo Narrow the search on the demographic that Birchbox should focus on.o And get current customer reviews on Brichbox.

Research Question

What products would appeal to the Birchbox brand and how do current and possible customers feel about the products they receive from Brichbox?

Design

We used a single phased survey using qualtrics. The design of the survey is aimed towards collecting textual and numerical data. Our

questions are set up as open ended and closed ended questions. Our closed ended questions were measurement based questions such as the Liker-Type Style (Agree or Disagree) and the Semantic Differential Style questions. We also used the standard multiple choice style as well. For our open ended questions, we used a simple fill in the blank style. This allowed the survey pertain a good mixture of Qualitative and Quantitative data, but at the same time, we are keeping it quick and simple for our surveyors.

Dependent and Independent Variable(s)

Independent Variables: o The demographic characteristics of each participant (age, race gender, and

occupation) o If the person is a current subscriber or future subscriber to Birchboxo If the person wears, make up or not.o How often and when the person wears make up .

Dependent Variables:

o Determines the person’s review of the Birchbox company and if they think that the company is useful.

o If and when the person would receive or gift a Birchbox.o If the customer would prefer to receive the Birchbox in the spring and the

products they would want in the box. o What the person thinks about the Spring time.

Measures Summary

Birchboxo The questions that pertained to Birchbox consisted of how people felt about the

company in general, the customer service and website, when and what kind of products they would like to receive, and when would be the perfect time to gift a Birchbox.

Productso The questions that pertained to Products consisted on people’s products they used

in their daily routine, which products were the more important, what brands they preferred, and haircare and skincare products they use.

Springtimeo The questions that pertained to Springtime consisted of understanding what

people associated with springtime, such as colors and scents. Demographic

o Our demographic questions consisted of the basic demographic questions asked within a survey, such as ethnicity, age, gender, and occupation.

Procedure

Our approach to collecting a good sample for this survey would be a non-probable strategy such a “Snowballing”, where we would use our connections gain people to take the survey.

Snowballingo Asking friends and family from Focus Groupso Asking people from our jobso Asking people from school organizationso Asking students in our classes

Hold survey sessionso By recruiting as many people as possible, we could hold sessions with

refreshments for people to take our survey. Email

o Send out the link via email and have people to continue to send the email to other friends, family members, or co-workers

Analysis Plan

From the Qualtrics survey we would like to learn the affects Birchbox has on their current subscribers. We would also like to know what their current subscribers think about the brand and company. Our questions are also designed to gain information from potential customers as to why they are not subscribes to the company and what would appeal to them, to get them to subscribe to the company. We are interested in what potential and current customers think about the spring time and what they would most likely want to see in a Birchbox dedicated to the spring time.

Appendix

Focus Group Transcripts

Key:

Major Themes Minor Themes Skin Sensitivity Colors Brand Loyalty Finances

Amount of Suitable Products Hair Products Customizable Time Frame Fragrances Lips Occasion

Focus Group A: Savannah

I guess everybody if you could go around and give just like your name and your age just so I can I guess. So yeah we can go ahead and go around

Do I have to say my first and last name? (S)

No you can just say Sara just so I can differentiate your voice a little bit better

Sara 24 (S)

Josie 19 (J)

Darla 51 (D)

Alissa 27 (A)

Ok, what did you guys do for fun over Spring break?

Nothing, I worked (D)

Yeah I worked too (A)

I worked but I went to the movies, that counts (J)

I didn’t really do anything fun (S)

Ok, what colors do you guys associate with spring time?

Pink (D)

Pink and yellow and green, bright green (S)

Orange (J)

Mint green, pastels (A)

Baby blue (J)

Any other colors?

White (D)

Does your choice in clothing change in the spring time? And if it does, what specifically? You can say like color wise maybe certain stuff you wear

More floral designs or more of the colors we mentioned a second ago because during fall it’s more like blacks and browns and tans and gray, dark green, but spring colors yeah probably so and the nail color changes too. (A)

I wear more short sleeves in the summer and long sleeves in the winter at work (D)

Sandals (A)

Sandals, yeah (D)

My colors really don’t change but it’s more of the style of clothing changes like the short sleeves and the dresses and shorts and sandals (J)

Yeah I would say dresses and shorts (S)

Ok, what beauty products do you guys use daily? You can include hair products, makeup products, different moisturizers or lotions or any face washes or specific body washes. Or maybe like perfumes or anything.

All of the above (A)

You don’t have to give me like everything, but like I guess if I would say I usually use like a powder, a blush, eyeshadow, mascara and like a pencil for my eyebrows, like that’s usually what I wear

It depends because for work I don’t do a lot of makeup because I just don’t care. I would say I do a little blush, mascara a lot of eye liner but that’s about it and some powder but if I’m going full makeup it’s like a foundation the powder the eyeliner mascara eyeshadow all that stuff (A)

Is there any like specific brands you guys prefer, like makeup wise, one over the other, any brands y’all prefer?

I like mac I use that for my foundation, and I use cover girl and Revlon I think for the other stuff (A)

Yeah that kind of mine too, cover girl, Revlon I don’t use mac (D)

I prefer macs eyeshadows but I usually use Maybelline’s eyeliner and I’ll use this brand called tart if I wear foundation it’s like organic and its better for my skin (J)

I don’t wear any makeup (S)

You can tell me what kind of hair products you like to use

Right now I’ve kind of gotten into the groove of the new product dove quench for curly hair, I know they have it at Walmart so you need to go there and I also use dove body wash and I’ve also gotten to where once every couple weeks I’ll put coconut oil in my hair and leave it in there for like four hours then wash it out (S)

Anybody else do anything specific for their hair? Anybody use any specific hair products?

I just have to make sure I condition every time since my hair is getting longer and if so fine that it gets tangled and matted so easy that it needs to stay smooth (J)

Anybody like a certain like perfume or anything that they usually like to wear?

I don’t wear perfume, it gives me a headache (D)

I wear a mixture, I have a couple Brittney spears sprays and a Jessica Simpson I have a Victoria secret. There’s never a day I don’t wear perfume (A)

It has to be approved by me (D)

I love perfume I wear like for a daily thing I use this Hollister body spray that’s a light floral that smells nice but it’s not too strong, but if I’m going somewhere nice I have this in bloom by Reese Witherspoon that I just love that scent, I’m trying to conserve it. (J)

Really in the fall and the winter is when I wear perfume I have a Victoria secret that I like but during the summer time I use sunscreen every day and it smells like coconut and I just go with that. (S)

Do you guys use any different products? Like I guess especially for your hair since hair gets a little but more frizzy over spring time. Do y’all use anything specific for spring time?

No, I use the same stuff all the time. I use this stuff called it’s a ten it’s a not a detangler but its more to control the static and frizz and stuff and then I use an ion they’re called ion silk drops I think for my hair which you can actually use on your body as well (A)

Would you guys from what I kind of told you what it is, would y’all ever be interested in joining it (Birchbox)?

What’s in it? (D)

You pick some stuff you like specifically and then you get a little sample box of it, so if you really like it you can go out and get it. Its little samples so you can see if you really like it or not and if you don’t like you just had the little sample and I’m not sure how much stuff comes in each box, but

It’s like a handful. I’ve seen my friends post about it (S)

It’s on Instagram (A)

I think you get like a cute bag with it every single time you do too, but I think it’s a yearly thing. And now I know they’re starting to make a Birchbox store so if you actually really like a product you can go to their store specifically and find it there. Would any of you guys be interested to get it or not?

To be honest with you, probably not. I’ve never really been into stuff like that, I think it’s an awesome idea it’s just for I know which products I like and I know what works for me and I have pretty sensitive and if I try new things often times I’ll have a reaction to it and so I probably wouldn’t use it I feel like for me it would just be a waste of money so, but that’s just me. (A)

That’s me too like ya know it used to be the Mary kay that used to go around and give facials my face just broke out like crazy like that bright red I had to be real careful what I picked but I probably wouldn’t. Even if I got samples I probably wouldn’t try them. (D)

I probably won’t because I don’t wear makeup that often and if I do its very little like my eyes, but I know that my sister might be interested because she wears makeup all the time she’s so

interested in new things and new makeup and whatever and so and she’s so interested in urban decay and Sephora and mac she loves mac and she wants to go into cosmetology so I know that might be something she wants (J)

And would you Sara?

No just because I don’t ever wear makeup (S)

Because I know it’s not specifically makeup because they actually have a line for guys too. They have perfumes, colognes, body washes, moisturizers, I mean it’s not just makeup, but I think it’s primarily, like they’re known for makeup.

I just know what I like (S)

Yeah (D)

Let’s be super specific. Have you guys like I guess some makeup you’re just like “I do not use this, I would not suggest anybody else use this?

I definitely wouldn’t use Neutrogena face wash because it broken out my face before. (A)

You try the proactive? (D)

That sucks (A)

It burn my skin (S)

I broke out so bad (J)

It’s bad. When I was in high school my skin was great but when I turned 18 or 20 I broke out like crazy and so I went to the dermatologist and they actually recommended eucerin and so I use eucerin lotion every night it’s not, there’s no scent. I can’t do like scented body wash and scented lotion I just can’t because my skin is too sensitive so I use its eucerin redness relief that I use at night. It’s my nighttime lotion. I don’t know if there’s any brands that I wouldn’t use. Like I said I know what I like and so I wouldn’t want to like dog anybody else’s because I just don’t know their stuff really (A)

Mary Kay people will tell me that oh it’s changed since then well I’m not going through that again. I would never put Mary Kay on me. (D)

They do have a new lotion that my aunt has given, she gave me and Rachel to try it’s like oil free, it’s for your face, that’s the only Mary kay that I’ve used that hasn’t done that to my face that you’re describing (S)

Maybe it’s the oil that they use (A)

The makeup remover does the same thing because for my drill team competition I had top change very little of my makeup so I had to put something on a cue tip and remove and I didn’t have anything that would go on a cue tip I just had the Neutrogena makeup remover wipes. I love those things. So I thought I would give Mary kay makeup remover. So I put a little on a cue tip to remove my eyeliner and I had a red line and like right up on my eye I was like oh my gosh what do I do? So I put a little bit of lotion there and I had to remove all my eye makeup on that side and then redo it and it covered it up but I had to put more foundation on just to cover up the redness. My mom can use it, but I can’t. (J)

My mom used to work for Mary kay, so we would get stuff all the time, we had the makeup remover and it never did that to me. But that sucks.

It just depends (D)

Everybody is different and that’s why there’s so much stuff out there and they will market to the people they know who have sensitive skin or the types of people who have darker skin. It’s kind of overwhelming but the amazing thing is when you look at reports the money these beauty company brings in. cover girl alone, it’s amazing how much money they make (A)

What colors do you guys typically use if y’all ever do your eyeshadow?

I just stick to beige and brown (D)

I don’t use any colors I mean I think that I’ll use, I can’t tell you the last time I used a color. I typically use the more neutral colors probably because I go pretty heavy on my eyeliner so I feel like if you do that plus a really bright eyeshadow—(A)

(Growl, Barking- Holly)

Holly wants to tell us what kind of eyeliner she uses. I think browns (D)

I just use brown.(A)

The brown that I’m wearing is the only one that I use I got from mac and I’ve had it forever and it’s the only color that really worked and the only time that I really used a color in a very long time was at your wedding Alissa whenever I had like a purply-pinkish dress and so I put on a very light pink eyeshadow that was like the only time I used something like that but it was really natural because I didn’t want the brown to go with the pink and so I was like ok and so I went softer with it (J)

Everyone once in a while there are exceptions, but if anyone from mac is listening on this, offer coupons, I’m just saying (A)

I love mac eyeshadow but it’s so expensive (J)

They’ll send you little pamphlets and stuff through the mail and I’ll go is there a coupon? No! (A)

That’s why I’m wondering if Birchbox would be like, because I’m not sure what all products they have but if they had mac and your only paying pretty much ten dollars for this little sample which would probably be cheaper than buying it at from these expensive stores but I’m not sure exactly what all they do.

For that one brown that I use it was fifteen dollars, I got it for Christmas but when I flipped it over and looked at the price. (J)

What is so great about mac? Why do you prefer mac?

I was first introduced to mac when I was in Haley McLand’s wedding several years ago and she had a mac makeup artist come and it’s just really good for your skin. I think that they really go above and beyond to try and I think it’s the first, because what I use is a foundation powder so it’s not the liquid or anything like that, and it’s the first foundation that I’ve use that does not make my skin feel oily. I think that my face always gets so shiny and I mean it lasts all day. Its, to me, it’s just a very premium product, not that the other ones that you can buy at CVS aren’t good, but to me they would wear off after two or three hours and that one just is yeah.(A)

So even though you are spending higher dollars it’s worth it?

It’s worth it to me and kind of what Josie as saying. It last you forever. I don’t know how they do it but and mines just like a compact. If it was something that you use very quickly then I would definitely have to rethink it but because it does last you so long you can just buy yeah so. (A)

The mac liquid foundation that feels pretty heavy on my skin and not like the powder, the powder doesn’t at all but one day my sister, her friend Meredith came over and she was studying cosmetology and she was like can I do you makeup? I really want to try something on you. And I was like, ok sure. So I sat down and she did my foundation and it felt so heavy on my skin like that I felt like a Barbie doll and it wasn’t even my skin tone either. I look like from my chin up, I looked like I have been transformed into Malibu Barbie. It felt, I didn’t feel myself so that’s why I use the tart by Sephora because it’s really fluffy when you put it on your wrist it comes out and its super fluffy and it goes on really light and you don’t have to put much on at all and it doesn’t have any preservatives so it expires so you have to use it within the year that your given it and it comes off really well and it stays on all day. I used it for performance makeup and it worked really well every day and during performances. (J)

I could ask you guys whenever you’re getting ready for the day, what is your routine?

Mine has not changed. I get up and usually have to go to the bathroom, that’s pretty typical. (A)

I think she’s talking about hair and getting ready (D)

I mean I do my hair first because it takes the longest and then. (A)

Be really specific, like what you do with your hair.

Straighten it. (A)

Do you put any other products or anything?

I do at the very end, not in the middle (A)

It’s already been straightened but she restraightened it. (D)

Yeah because when you sleep... (A)

Do you use that ten spray on your hair every morning? (D)

Yeah (A)

It’s like a leave-in conditioner, right? (J)

This one is like (A)

Is it in like a purply-blue bottle? (J)

That’s what all of there’s look like. I think there some that have a screw top, but then there’s, that one is a I think it’s an anti-frizz or something. I don’t know what exactly it says. (A)

I use that whenever I get out of the shower and I’ll put that in my hair. It just makes my hair feel smoother when I blow-dry it. But usually I’ll shower at night but if I have to shower in the morning that’s fine, I just have to give myself a little more time to blow-dry my hair but if I do blow-dry it I usually just leave it straight, but whenever I sleep on it, it becomes curly and so I have a kind of a free range of what I want to do with it. I usually just like touch up the curls sometimes or I’ll throw it up in a bun like I do now. But yeah, I do my hair first just to see if I need to do my makeup or not. That like is the deciding factor for me. If I feel like to plain in my face like I need something else or if “oh I’m fine” if I’m just wearing my glasses or something. At school I never wear makeup and I don’t wear my contacts so I don’t really do anything special for school. It really just depends day by day what I do. (J)

Mine’s the same every single day. I take a shower every morning and wash my hair then I put on a moisturizer its palms for sensitive skin. I put that on before I start the makeup and then I do my hair I blow dry my hair every day and fix. It’s the same every day. Saturday doesn’t matter. Saturday Sunday, every day. I put makeup on every day. I am never makeup free. I would scare everybody. (D)

My mom never goes makeup free either. (J)

What do you do every day Sara?

I sleep with my hair wet and then I’ll get up in the morning and I either leave my hair as is or just curl it or I braid it and don’t have to deal with it. I used to straighten my hair all the time but it dried my hair out so I rarely straighten, only for special occasions. (S)

Is there any specific makeup product that “I love this, it’s amazing, everyone should get it?”

What’s our eyeliner that we use Alissa that we have to order special? (D)

It’s Revlon, but it’s called like color stay (A)

We have trouble finding it a lot of times so I order a lot of stuff on drugstore.com and it’s cheaper and there’s some on sale there’s no tax and it ships free, so we get a lot of stuff from there.

I need to remember this place.

That’s where we get the Chap Stick too (A)

That’s where we get everything. Drugstore.com. You do have to order $35 worth but that’s not hard to do to get free shipping because we would go in together and order stuff and it keeps a list of what you’ve ordered before. I get all my makeup on there. I don’t even go to CVS anymore to buy makeup I get everything from that site. And you can get vitamins you can get we got our chap stick everything so that’s eyeliner. I gave her six for Christmas one year and she lost them all. (D)

Do y’all ever wear lipsticks? (J)

I do Chap Stick (D)

I do lip gloss and lipstick, just depends. (A)

I know I really like the new matte lipsticks. Flower, there’s this new and it’s at Walmart and its called flower and that’s where I first got matte lipstick just to try it because I really wanted some because I really like the way it looks on people. I actually really like them.

Is it in a tube? (J)

It’s not like a tube but it’s like a giant pencil, well it looks like a pencil, but I really like it.

I have to order on drugstore.com the mousse I use on my hair. I can’t find it anymore. It’s a loreal mousse type thing that Jessica loved at your wedding Alissa. She goes, “Where do you get this?!” I get that on drugstore.com. A lot of things that store quits selling, you can look on there and they’ll have it. (D)

Is there any like shampoo and conditioner you guys prefer to use?

Pantene. I prefer Pantene. I really like their conditioner. For me it stays really well because of my fine hair. I tried to use suave and garnier, but every time I’d wash it out my hair would frizz up really bad. (J)

I did not like garnier. I don’t know what it is with garnier, but it’s not good unless you have super long hair I feel like.

It always somehow makes my hair oily. (S)

I use herbal essence and I’m really lazy because I have so much hair so it’s a two in one. (A)

I can’t do two in one because two in ones don’t work for me. I have to buy a separate conditioner. (J)

I just, my hair is so thick and so long that I’m already in the shower so long I can’t stand doing it separately. I’m just that lazy. And so I like it. It’s for dry hair because I have a very dry scalp. (A)

You use herbal essence? (D)

Mhmm (A)

See herbal essence makes my head itch. An so I can’t use it (D)

And I use treseme hairspray and herbal essence mousse. (A)

I like suave hairspray. I can do their hairspray. (J)

I’m cheap I use suave everything. (D)

I love suave. It’s cheap and it smells so good.

I just don’t like their conditioner. Their shampoo is good it’s just that the conditioner is too light. I need something heavy. (J)

I never use body wash, I have to have the bar of soap. Dove sensitive skin. Everything I have to do is for sensitive skin. (D)

I have the dove body wash it’s unscented for sensitive skin in the bottle. (J)

Yeah. Unscented for sensitive skin. (D)

That’s what I have to use I use something scented, because I tried it again the other to use something scented so I got a scented body wash thing for Christmas and it smells so good so I

was like, “ok, I’ll try it.” And I got out of the shower and I had red bumps all over my body, and so I just had to put on lotion, and I just had to wait for it to go away and take Benadryl. (J)

My preference on anything is unscented anything and sensitive skin anything but mainly unscented. I can’t stand the smells. (D)

I love the smell, I’m so sad I can’t use it. But they just like irritate my skin sometimes like okay do you want the smell or do you want bad skin? (J)

And what kind do you prefer?

I go through periods of trying things and seeing if it’s something I like because I feel like if I use something too much my hair gets greasy after a while. (S)

Yeah I feel like my hair gets immune I always change my conditioners and shampoos every time I have to go get a new one. I always change.

I found this one shampoo that is you want to like really deep clean your hair, it’s great. It’s like this tea tree oil. I don’t know. My dad gets it at pro cuts. I then I use, I love dove body wash. It can have the scent in it. (S)

There’s this one body wash that my mom got. It’s called cinnamon buns and it smells like a cinnamon roll. That is exactly what it smells like.

I love scents like that. There’s this one from bath and body work called gum drops. Oh I was in love with it, but it hurt my skin. (J)

Do you still use your bath and body works lotion Alissa? (D)

Mhmm. (A)

What’s your scent? (D)

It’s called sensual amber, and I only use it on my hands I don’t put it on my legs or anything like that. (A)

I’m actually ok with scented lotion. It has to be the bath and body works shea butter. I can only have something scented if its shea butter because of how, I don’t know. It’s so different because everything that I would use as a moisturizer for my face it would always break out my face no matter what. It sting, it would burn it would dry it out really bad and it was a moisturizer so that’s why I didn’t understand, and so but I would use the shea butter on my face and it was perfect and it left it moisturized but not oily. It didn’t break out. It didn’t burn. It didn’t dry. Nothing. So that’s what I use now. (J)

Besides a Walmart or CVS or drugstore.com, where do you guys like to go to get any of your products?

Walmart. (J)

I said beside Walmart or CVS.

Nowhere. I got Walmart or target (s)

Target. (J)

The actual mac store or they have booths or kiosks and Macy’s and Dillard’s have them too. (A)

Nordstrom’s has the big mac area. That’s where my mom went to get the little mac things because they keep track of what you buy, so if you forget your color they just look you up in the system and they’re like, “oh this is what you bought last.” You know and then they’ll get it for you or order it or whatever you need. That’s the good thing about Mac. They keep track of what you’ll buy because sometimes you’ll use it and you’ll not go there for a long time and just forget what you got and you threw away the bottle and so you’re like “oh my gosh! What’s my skin tone?” and you’ll have to go through that whole process all over again. But yeah. The mac store there, I’ll go to there or Sephora in the mall. I’ll go there. That’s where I buy tart. Or Macy’s for Estée lauder. That’s what my mom likes. She’ll buy so much and then you get a free kit and there’s stuff in the free kit that she can’t use, so I can. And so she’ll give me what she doesn’t want or what she already has. She just likes the cute bags and the stuff that comes with them. If you buy $50 or more you get the cute kit. (J)

What’s your favorite thing about the springtime?

The weather. (J)

Mom’s is the allergies. I’m just kidding. (A)

You can also say your least favorite thing. So you can say your least favorite and you favorite.

I really do like the colors that come out because I mean one of my favorite store’s is charming Charlie’s and they really like go bring in so much stuff and all the flowers that come around. I saw a lot of bluebonnets and that made me happy. (A)

I started realizing all the flowers because UNT is pretty dull during the winter and it’s not very colorful. But then I was walking around, and I was walking past the science building that’s getting worked on and there are these like beautiful pink bushes that started coming up around there and people were stopping and taking pictures of them and looking at them and smelling them. And I was like, “oh my gosh! It’s so colorful!” and I turned the corner and there’s more bushes coming out now and so it just like gets endorphins going because it makes you happy I guess, seeing all the colors and it brightens your not seeing all the dullness of the dead grass, the bare trees, you know the cold air. You get to actually walk around and enjoy and put your sunglasses on. (J)

It’s the weather. I’m able to get outside. (D)

I get to wear my shorts! (J)

Yeah, I like that its warmer and I get to wear shorts and I hate the allergies. (S)

I hate the allergies. I don’t like the bugs because I was feeding my friend’s dog last night and I stepped outside with her and I started getting bit by mosquitos and I was like. “Ahh, mosquitos. Here they come again.” (J)

And June bugs. I hate June bugs. I mean I know that’s more summer time, but still.

There are a few around my front door. (J)

Ebby’s (her dog) been eating them. (S)

Yeah they’re around. (D)

Yeah my sister told me to not lock the front door until she comes home because its June bug season. So he can just like run inside. (J)

Focus Group B: Rikki Willingham

Participants: Marylana Brown (MB): 35, Justice Houston( JH): 20, Terran Garrett (TG): 19, Ottressia Williams (OW): 48

Date: 4/4/2015 at 7pm

Focus Group Leader: Rikki Willingham (RW): 19

RW: Good Morning Everyone! Did everyone have a good spring break?

MB: Yes it was! I went to San Antonio with my family and it was great! (smiles really big and seems excited to talk about her trip, others also smile as well)

OW: (nods in approval of MB) San Antonio was a really great experience.

JH: I spent my spring break at home doing homework.

TG: My spring break was good.

RW: Does your morning or afternoon routine change for different seasons?

(brief pause)

JH: No my routine is the same throughout the year.

TG: No it pretty much stays the same for me as well.

MB: In the winter I sometimes put on a heavier moisturizer because that when my skin tends to feel the driest and in the spring and summer I prefer a lighter moisturizer because of the heat.

OW: I have extremely dry skin so I moisturize daily with a deep moisture lotion. My routine really doesn’t change much throughout the seasons. I like to use this face mask I picked up from the body shop. It works really well and makes me feel refreshed and relaxed. It is kind of hard to get in Texas since there aren’t any store really in Texas unless you go to airport and who wants to go to the airport to buy body products. I don’t even think that you can even get pass security without having a boarding pass, so I would literally have to buy a plane ticket to shop. Oh nuh uh. Justice didn’t use the mask that time you were here? Did you like it?

JH: Yes I remember the mask. It worked really well on my skin. It really helped with my acne and helped control my breakouts and reduced the size of my dark spots overall. I really wish that we could find an alternative to the mask or if the Body Shop could at least open a store in Houston. I mean Houston is one of the best cities and I don’t understand why we wouldn’t have one.

MB: I used that mask to and it was great for me too.

RW: Would you guys be interested in possibly trying out new products to see if you can find a mask that works just as good?

JH: I personally would be hesitant about certain products because I have such Sensitive skin and some products break me out. I think I would go in store to get different recommendations and then read about the product. I wouldn’t try the product until I was for sure that it was for sensitive skin and it wouldn’t harm my skin. I really don’t want to risk breaks out over a product.

TG: I want to try this mask so when ya’ll find a replacement product let me know. It seems to work really good. I currently use Noxzema and it is a bit strong but gets the job done, but I would like to find something a little less strong but still gets the job done.

JH: Yeah the mask wasn’t strong at all and it worked liked magic on my skin. We should try to get it from Amazon. I bet Amazon would have it.

MB: OMG!! Yasss look on Amazon. If you find it Jay let me know.

OW: We need to get that ASAP because I am almost out of it.

JH: Imma look when I get home.

RW: Are there any specific events that may affect you routine?

MB: (laughs) Yes! Of course if I’m going out I’m going to spend more time picking out my outfit for the night or day and putting on make-up and spending extra time on my hair. Just to make sure I look good.

OW: *no verbal responds just nods head*

JH: If there was a party or I’m going somewhere special, my friend would help me with my outfit and make-up (laughs).

TG: If I had somewhere really important to go I would put on a nice outfit and make sure I look presentable.

RW: What colors and fragrances do you associate with spring?

JH: Pink!! And Yellows and Lilac. I think sweet and flowery scents go with spring. I like this certain scent from bath and body works. I think its called Paris Amour its this really pretty cute flowery scent. I use the body wash and lotion. I sometimes use the spray but it can be too much for me sometimes.

TG: Yeah floral scents tend to be better for the spring. Since the weather is nice and everything is sunny and bright. I also like bath and body works as well. I like the scent Beautiful Day, because it’s a light fresh scent and it’s not too strong. I like smells that are light and not too strong and last all day, and Beautiful Day does the job.

MB: I think light colors bring out spring. Like pastel colors look really pretty. I personally like to use Vera Wang for my perfume. I just love the way all her perfumes smell. They have a very mature scent, with a pinch of floral. I have all of her scents and they are amazing. I wouldn’t want to wear anything else.

OW: I like to wear lighter colors in the spring since it’s so hot and lighter colors are cooler. I personally like bath and body works too. I love all their scents especially their spring line Country Chic. I think it is a really pretty smell and it is so feminine and girly and I love girly scents. Justice don’t you use it too?

JH: Oh yeah I remember you had on the scent that day and it was really pretty. I should go get the lotion at least in that scent. It was extremely girly and reminded me of my favorite color pink. (laughs)

RW: How does your choice of clothing change in the spring time? Any change in colors?

JH: I wear more shorts and skirts because it’s so hot. But I pretty much wear the same colors all the time so my colors don’t change just the clothing.

TG: I sometimes wear shirts in the spring but nothing else really changes except me putting up the winter coats and sweaters.

JH: (laughs) yeah no one with sense would wear a coat in this heat!

MB: It’s too hot for all of that! I like to wear dresses. Like the maxi ones because they are cooler and I like to wear lighter springy colors.

JH: Oh yeah! I like maxi dresses too! They are really comfy!

OW: I like to wear those and regular dresses! I just posted a picture of me on Instagram in my favorite dress to wear in the spring. I was cute!

JH: I saw it! You were cute!

RW: Okay, now what beauty products do you use daily?

JH: I just use a facial cleanser every night like an apricot scrub and a mask now and then and I just started using an Olay moisturizer. Oh and of course soap to bathe with. I like dial because it has a fresh scent and I feel really clean after using it.

MB: I use Olay body wash. It smells really good and I use facial cleanser as well and I use some eyeliner occasionally. For my hair I do use oil daily and conditioner so that my hair isn’t dry I also use holding spray when I style it. I think it’s by Olive Oil.

OW: I use sunscreen daily. Its Coppertone. Just to protect myself and I also use shine spray since I have a beautician all I have to do is spray shine daily so my hair doesn’t look dead.

TG: Ummmmm….. I don’t really use that many products but when I do I like to use Noxzema mask and Ambi cleanser. But I do put oil in my hair regularly to keep it moisturized. I use Tea tree oil. I also use Treseme Conditioner and Shampoo

RW: Do you use more or less products in the spring time?

JH: I dunno. I use the same amount. (laughs)

TG; The same.

OW: I think I use less because it is so hot out.

MB: I think I use more variety of products. Like with make-up.

RW: Do you use certain products in the spring?

JH: No not really. I think I use the same products all year around. I probably wear more masks in the spring since it is warming up and I have really oily skin and I want to clean out my pores. My favorite ones are by Freemans and St.Ives. I like to use the Black Charcoal by Freemans and the Oatmeal Smoothing Mask by St.Ives.

TG: No not really. I am pretty consistent with my product usage. I use the same products all year around. I’m not a huge make up girl.

MB: Well I’m not a huge make up person either but in the spring I like to wear fun and bright eyeshadow colors such as yellow, purple, or maybe a pink. I think it really brings out your face in the spring. I like to use different palettes of bright eyeshadows: such as the ELF, Wet N Wild, or L’Oréal. They are really fun to play with. I use them with my daily mascara and eye liner. I don’t use specific brands for eyeliner and mascara as long as the products are good and they do their job they are perfect for me. I don’t really pay attention to brands.

OW: I don’t wear make-up and there aren’t really certain products I use for the spring besides the sunscreen by Coppertone to keep my skin moisturized and protect me from the sun.

RW: Do you guys know anything about the Birchox company?

OW: No I’ve never heard of the company. What do they do?

JH: Oh! I’ve heard of them! Aren’t they the company that send you the little boxes in the mail each month. And the boxes have beauty products in them right. It’s kind of like a Barkbox for the beauty people. I’ve seen the commercials and advertisements for it. It’s like you pay once a month and you get a box once a month.

TG: What kind of products are in the box? Like make up products or grooming products?

RW: The company focuses on a mixture of make-up and grooming products. For example there might facial cleansers, fragrances, body washes, eyeshadows and other products.

MB: That sounds really cool. How much does it cost? How do they know what to send me?

RW: The Birchbox subscription is dollars a month, and the company allows you to either customize your box or receive the standard box. Each box has either full size or trial size products for you to try out. And if you like the product you can go onto the companies site and see where to get the product or buy the product directly from the company’s website.

MB: Ten dollars a month! That’s expensive when I can go to the store and try out products, especially since I am not a heavy beauty product user and I already know what I like.

OW: I agree with Layna. I wouldn’t waste my money on that, especially when I use the same products all the time and I am not interested in switching up. I would probably use it if I was an avid beauty guru. Since I am not a guru I would probably not be interested.

JH: Since I am new into the beauty world and would like to get more involved I would consider possibly trying out one box to see how it works. I wouldn’t only do this once I have found an established job and can afford the price. I believe that this would help me find the perfect products for me since I am not sure about any products out there and I would need to learn more about the different products. Do people test out the products and are they for all skin types?

RW: The products are tested in house and the company tries to be as versatile as they can with their products but as I said before you can always customize your box to your specific needs.

JH: I think it is an interesting concept but I think that it is a bit pricey for me. Terran you should get it. Since you are also trying to become more invested in the beauty world and want to try different beauty products out like make up. I noticed that you bought a BB cream from Walmart and when Rikki did your make up that day you said that you like it and would like to try more stuff. You got a job so you could afford it plus you could use the help looking for products. Rikki could even help you build your own box, and it would be easier to buy the products since you can get them right from the website and not have to go to the store. Imma look them up on Instagram for you girl. (Checks Instagram). Look girl ! It looks interesting. They have all kinds of products for hair and skin. I’m not sure If these products are for African Americans though. They do have a lot of make-up products, but I don’t know much about make up so I couldn’t help with that, but it does look really interesting and their website is really cute girl.

TG: I am not about to pay 10 dollars a month for that box. Maybe if it was solely hair products, since I am now natural it is hard to find hair products that actually work on my hair, but I am not sure if the Birchbox hair products would benefit me since African Americans have different textures of hair that cannot use certain products. I have to use more oiled based products because I have dry hair and I typically use the “black people” products to be safe because other products damage my hair. I also very sensitive skin and certain products break out my skin so I can’t use everything on my skin as well. Yes I do have an interest in wearing make-up, but not a lot of make-up. The basics and I will most likely go to the drug store or Walmart to get started, since I don’t have much experience and don’t want to jump into the high end make up so soon. I did like what Rikki did it looked really nice. I think I’m going to try to experiment with the make-up I have now before I try to start trying so many new things.

JH: Yeah I think I would mainly get my beauty products from the drug store as well. Since the drug store is cheaper and they have really good products that I already know about and I would feel safer there. Plus what college student has the money to blow on make up like that. I know that I personally don’t. I want to look good but not break the bank trying too.

OW: I honestly probably wouldn’t use the box as much. I like to use different grooming products of course just to test out but as long they aren’t too strong on my skin. I am really interested in trying Organic products that are free of harsh chemicals so the box could help with that but I most likely would use it as much to pay for it every month. I really don’t use a lot of make-up. I know that Lyna uses a lot of eyeshadows and pigments, but I personally like to go all natural, when it comes to make up. This is a personal preference since I do have really sensitive skin and I don’t want to harm it by adding so many products. I would like to try out some sensitive skin products. To see what is out there but I am not sure about the basics of make-up and I am not sure how to apply it. So I would have to think really hard about the box.

JH: OMG! The box cost the same as Netflix. Nope I’m sticking with Netflix. I like my movies and TV shows.

MB:I think I would try the box. I like different lipsticks and eyeshadows. I am kind of over the ones that I am constantly using all the time. I would like to try different brands and better brands of these products since I use them all the time. I think if I could customize the products to just these certain products then I would be interested in possibly tying new things. The price is also a major deal breaker for me as well. I would like products that aren’t too expensive sine I am a working mother with five kids and I can’t just go out splurging on certain things.

JH: Yeah if the box really allows you to choose the certain products then I would subscribe and see how it works. I really like lip gloss and masks. So I would like to explore those products but I am still unsure about the pricing. Terran you should look into it maybe they do have hair products you would like. I see some on here that are for dry and damaged hair.

TG: Really girl. Would they work for me. I would have to research the product and make sure that it is not going to damage my hair. I would just base it on one website.

RW: So would you say that you would at least try the box once?

MB: I would try it at least once, maybe in the spring, since that’s wear the most “make up” products. I would like to try different eyeshadows and lip products. Especially if they focus on pastel colors. Like lilacs and peachy colors.

OW: I wouldn’t personally try it. Maybe if there was special promotion going on. But I am not a beauty guru so I wouldn’t use.

JH: I would possibly try it later on in life when I am more stable and have the funds to experiment with other products.

TG: I would maybe try it once to test it out.

RW: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about spring time?

OW: I really like the great weather but I don’t like when it gets really hot, like it does it Texas. Sometimes it is just too hot to do anything.

MB: Oh yeah I hate the heat! But I do love the colors and flowers that Spring brings.

JH: I like Spring Break, because we get a break from school. But when we come back from spring Break spring becomes extra stressful.

TG: I like that it is so close to summer. I too wish it wasn’t so ho in Texas.

RW: Well that’s it. Thank you guys so much!

All: No problem.

Focus Group C

Survey

https://unt.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0BpcIes2Tmnx8UZ