E-commerce · Beauty and personal care
My shade is the one thing the website cannot show, and it is why people do not order.
Makeup is bought by eye, and the eye is the thing the screen gets wrong. A lipstick photographed under a ring light looks different on a phone with a warm display, and a foundation that is perfect on a model is two shades off on the buyer. The returns that follow are mostly shade, not quality.
A 90-minute audit call and a written, scored report. Turnaround, reporting and term are agreed in writing after the audit.
In one paragraph
Beauty and makeup e-commerce is the sale of foundation, concealer, eyeshadow, lipstick, nail polish and the brushes and sponges used to apply them, through your own store, Nykaa, Amazon, Myntra and Instagram. GullySales works on shade matching, swatches and reviews on skin like the buyer's, the way a first lipstick turns into a routine, and the questions that reach you on WhatsApp and Instagram.
So the buyer looks for evidence from people like them: swatches on their skin tone, reviews that name a shade and a finish, a creator who tried it on camera. Without it, a new shade is a gamble they take only on a cheap product.
Last updated 7 Oct 2026. Product, labelling and advertising rules for beauty & makeup differ by product and change. We describe them in general terms, so check the current position with your own adviser or the regulator before you publish a claim.
5 types of product
Each kind of beauty & makeup sells differently, so each has its own page.
Open the one that matches what you sell. It covers who buys it, where the sale is lost and what we would do.
- Face MakeupFoundation is a shade, an undertone and a skin type, and the page gives the buyer none of them.
- Eye MakeupMy kajal is in the corner of my eyes by lunch, so I have stopped trusting the claim on the box.
- Lip MakeupA lipstick is the cheapest way to try your brand, so it has to be the easiest one to choose.
- Nail ProductsA nail polish is a colour on a bottle cap, and the buyer is really asking how long it will last.
- Makeup Brushes & ToolsA brush set looks fine in the photograph, and the buyer wants to know which one is for what.
Who it is for
This is written for you if you sell beauty & makeup online.
- Indian makeup brands selling on their own store and on Nykaa, Amazon and Myntra
- D2C brands whose sales come from Instagram creators and need repeat orders
- Sellers of nail, lip and eye products at lower prices on Meesho and Flipkart
- Salons and artists who have started to sell the products they use
- Distributors of imported makeup brands who handle their own listings
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- A brand that wants to claim a product treats skin, repairs it or has a medical effect
- A seller that cannot show the ingredients and batch details a buyer asks for
- Anyone expecting a new brand to compete on price alone with the large names
How buyers choose
What decides who wins in beauty & makeup.
Shade and undertone
Buyers search for a shade by name, by a number or by words like medium, warm olive or deep. Swatches on several skin tones matter more than a description.
Finish and wear
Matte, satin, dewy, glossy, long-wear, transfer-proof. The buyer reads reviews to find out how it lasts through a day in Chennai in June.
Ingredients and allergies
A buyer with sensitive eyes or a nickel allergy reads the ingredient list and asks about fragrance, parabens and vegan or cruelty-free labels. The page should show the list and not paraphrase it.
Authenticity and batch
Whether the seller is the brand or an authorised one, whether the product is original and how recent the batch is. Fakes have made buyers cautious.
Where sales are lost
What usually goes wrong when you sell beauty & makeup online.
In the words sellers use on the first call.
“The shade came back because it was not the colour on the website”
A photograph is not the product. Every return for shade costs you the item, because makeup is not resold once opened.
“Creators sell it and then the buyers vanish”
A reel brings a burst of orders and no relationship. The buyer was following the creator, not the brand.
“Marketplace listings look like everyone else's”
The same stock photographs, the same description and the lowest price. Your brand disappears on a page of identical lipsticks.
The scope
The work we would propose for beauty & makeup.
Measured on purchases, conversion rate, cost to win a customer, average order value and repeat purchases. Anything here that needs a platform or tool we have not used with you is confirmed in the audit before it goes in the scope.
- Shade pages built on real skinSwatches on a range of skin tones in daylight, a shade finder that asks undertone and depth, and the review that names the shade pulled to the top.
- Creators and try-on videosCreators with the skin tones you sell to, filming a full day's wear, plus a way of sending buyers who watched a reel to the right shade page.
- Search by look and productPages for what people type: foundation for oily skin in humid weather, a nude lipstick for a deeper skin tone, long-wear kajal.
- Repeat purchase messagesWhatsApp and email at the point a product is likely to run out, with the same shade pre-selected and a matching product beside it.
- Paid campaigns on Instagram and GoogleAds built from the strongest swatch and try-on clips, with budgets divided between prospecting and past buyers.
Label and claim review
A check of listing text, packaging claims and creator scripts with your adviser, so a claim about effect or ingredients does not appear unexamined.
What we do
What you get for beauty & makeup.
Each deliverable and what it is there to change.
A shade guide for each range
A page for the foundation and concealer range that shows each shade on several skin tones and says what undertone it carries.
A swatch library
Photographs of each shade on arms and lips in daylight and indoor light, reused on listings, the website and ads.
A finish and wear explainer
A short guide on what matte, satin and glossy mean in your range and how the product behaves in heat and humidity.
A creator brief
What a creator shows, what they may say and what they must not claim, with a code or link so orders can be traced back.
A repeat-order calendar
When each product usually runs out, based on your own reorder data, and what message goes to whom.
How the result is measured
- Purchases
- Conversion rate
- Customer acquisition cost
- Repeat purchase rate
- Return rate
- Returns for shade mismatch
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Free audit call
90 minutes with whoever handles your enquiries: how they arrive, how fast they are answered, where they are lost.
After the call
Written, scored report
Six areas scored, fixes ranked by return and cost. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come with it, in writing.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
Usually the cheapest one on the report: reply time, a follow-up sequence or the marketing-to-sales handover.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
What the work involves for beauty & makeup
- 1
Follow a shade from reel to return
In the free audit we trace a best-selling product from the video that sold it to the review or return that followed, and read the shade complaints.
- 2
Fix the shade and proof problem on the page
Swatches, a shade finder and the ingredient list go onto the listings that already get traffic, with a baseline of purchases and returns recorded first.
- 3
Build search and creator work around the real range
Pages for how people look for makeup, and creator briefs that match the shades you stock.
- 4
Run paid campaigns on what sells
Meta and Google budgets follow the swatches and videos that convert, with a limit on products where the margin is thin.
- 5
Bring buyers back
Reorder messages and routine suggestions go to past buyers, and results are reported against the baseline at intervals agreed in writing after the audit.
What we need from you
What to have ready before the audit call.
None of it has to be tidy. We read what you have.
- Your store, marketplace and Instagram links
- Best-selling shades and the ones most returned
- Ingredient lists and the claims on your packaging
- Creator work so far, with the orders it brought
- Reorder and review data from the last season
Selling in India and abroad
Selling beauty & makeup beyond your own market.
Where you sell decides sizes, units, seasons and returns. We work from Bengaluru and have no overseas office, so for a new country we start from your own sales and the platforms you already use.
Rules differ for cosmetics
Ingredient lists, labelling and permitted claims vary by country, and some countries require registration before sale. Your adviser confirms what each market needs before a product is listed.
Shade ranges for other skin tones
A range built for Indian skin may be too narrow in the Gulf, the UK or the US. Buyers abroad check whether their depth is covered before anything else.
Diaspora buyers first
The nearest overseas buyer is often an Indian customer abroad who already knows your brand. Your own orders show which countries they live in.
FAQ
Questions about selling beauty & makeup online.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How do I sell foundation online when people cannot try the shade?
Do I need a presence on Nykaa as well as my own store?
Can you write that my product is dermatologically tested or hypoallergenic?
Why do creator campaigns bring orders and no repeat customers?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
Sellers of beauty & makeup also need
Also selling from a shop, a workshop or a warehouse? See the page for salons and beauty studios and personal care brands.
This page is part of the e-commerce section. The D2C brands page covers the arithmetic of acquisition cost and the second order for any brand.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with the free audit.
Option 1
The audit on its own
A 90-minute call and a written, scored report. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix the audit ranks first, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
The offer
Start with a free audit of how your beauty & makeup sell.
It is useful on its own, whether or not you hire us.
What you receive
- A 90-minute call with the person who will do the work
- A written, scored report on the six places orders leak
- Every fix ranked by what it returns and what it costs
- The one thing to do first, and why
- An honest line on whether you need outside help at all
- If you do, the scope and the fee in writing
No invoice. No obligation. No sales script.
Your next practical step
Get a free audit of how you sell, and a scored report of where the work is.
90 minutes. A written, scored report. No invoice and no obligation.