MRA-REPORT-FINISHED

Market Research and Analysis The Usage Of Irish Makeup Brands Among Third Level Students A00204065 – Sophie Freeman
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Executive Summary
This report investigates the topic of market research and reports the findings of the survey that was
conducted. The topic chosen for the market research is “The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level
Students”. The results of the survey were very interesting and informative. Blank Canvas Cosmetics was
the most popular Irish Makeup brand with Fuschia running in second place. Cruelty free products are very
popular among the respondents. People did not know that blank canvas were Irish as they ticked “not aware
of Irish makeup brands” then went on to say that they heard of blank canvas cosmetics. Sculpt seemed to
be the least popular makeup brand out of them all. Blank canvaswere mostpopular for their makeup brushes
and contour and highlight palettes.
Majority of respondents said that they were extremely likely to buy a makeup brand if it was sold in known
retailers.
A few mistakes were made in the design of the questionnaire and these have been addressed:
1. Before disqualifying the respondents at the beginning that did not wear makeup, we should have
asked the question “Are you aware of Irish makeup brands?” as this would have given us higher
quality of data.
2. The question “If Irish makeup brands were more accessible in known retail stores,how likely would
it be that you would buy them?” should have been asked to the people who said no to “Are you
aware of Irish makeup brands?”
3. The question “Have you everheard of blank canvascosmetics” should have been askedbefore “are
you aware of Irish makeup brands” because a lot of respondents knew of it but did not know that it
was Irish. More data could have received with regards to those questions but respondents were
disqualified before they could answer.
Each issue that has been outlined is discussed in the body of this report, and recommendations have been
made for addressing them.

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Table of Contents
Introduction & Background................................................................................................................ 1
Research Objectives........................................................................................................................... 2
Research Methodology/Design ........................................................................................................... 3
Literature Review and Secondary Research......................................................................................... 4
Primary Research Findings................................................................................................................. 5
Conclusions and Limitations ............................................................................................................ 17
Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 18
Personal Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 18
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 19
Table of Figures .............................................................................................................................. 20
Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 21

1
Introduction & Background
The purpose of this report is to gather secondary and primary data on the topic of “The Usage of Irish
Makeup Brands by Third Level Students” and record the results. The Irish Makeup Brands discussed are
Fuschia, Blank Canvas Cosmetics, Buff Makeup and Sculpt Cosmetics.
This topic waschosenbecause Irish makeup brands are a small fraction of all of the different makeup brands
that you will find in big retailers.
The majority of Irish makeup brands are found online and are not sold in shops. They do not seem to
advertise traditionally. They do not advertise on the television, or in big retailers. It is very much a niche
market.This report will outline how many third level students know about Irish makeup brands,which ones
they know about the most, and how they know about them. In this report, you will discover the popularity
of Irish and non-Irish makeup brands and the level of popularity among third level students. These brands
are not easily found in shops so this report will show you where the respondents purchase them. This market
research was conducted to investigate if these brands are actually as uncommon as perceived, or if there is
a high demand for them, even though they are not as easily accessible as the brands that you might find in
Boots for example.
This report is aimed at gathering primary research and presenting the results, while also gathering some
secondary data. A survey with twenty four questions was sent out during the week of the 26th of October
2015.
The purpose of this survey, is to find out:
1. Where Irish makeup brands come in the ranks and if students even know about them
2. Who uses Irish beauty products, what they think of them, and why they use them
3. If the brands were in shops, would they be purchased more
4. If students can recognise makeup brands that are advertised on television and in store.
This report presents the findings and recommendations which arise from the research.

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Research Objectives
The research objectives for this report is to find out the level of popularity of Irish makeup brands among
third level students. From a small amount of research,it is expected that not many of the respondents will
know much about Irish makeup brands. It is expected that most of the responses will use all of the leading
makeup brands that are advertised very well and that are easily accessible. It is expected that some of the
respondents will not know about the Irish makeup brands, however, perhaps the results will be surprising
and show some level of awareness of Irish makeup brands and even some usage of the products.
The next research objective of this report is to find out what Irish makeup brands are the most popular
among third level students and why they are popular. There are no expectations for this objective because
these brands are quite difficult to find unless you know the brand name. It would be very interesting to find
out what brand comes on top and for what reason.
The final research objective is to see how many people believe that advertisements influence their buying
behaviour. This report also aims at finding out if there is a correlation between this and their purchasing
behaviour, or their awareness of Irish makeup brands.

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Research Methodology/Design
The secondary data will come from sources such as the internet and books from the AIT library. These
secondary sources were used because the information is readily available and it is free to obtain.
For the primary research,it was decided that the questionnaire would be distributed online and offline. This
is because it was desired to catch the opinions of people who are not from AIT and from around Ireland.
Google Forms was used for the online survey to catch a bigger pool of potential respondents. The point was
to have variety of different respondents. The google forms questionnaire was sent out to different people
that attend colleges from around the country. This was the cheapest means of obtaining the primary
research. It was possible to send out surveys to the students in Blackrock College in Dublin. These students
are studying makeup artistry and would have more knowledge about the different makeup brands.Microsoft
Word was used to design the printed copy of the survey. This helped to gather responses quickly from
around AIT. Approximately 25 surveys were handed out to the students and the demographic that was
targeted were women aged between 17 and 26.
SPSS will be used to input and analyse the data from the survey. It will also be used to design the graphs
that will present the survey results. These graphs will be included when discussing the primary research.

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Literature Review and Secondary Research
There was no previous market research on this specific area. Before fieldwork could begin, there
needed to be some minor research into the names of different Irish makeup brands and their
presence online and offline. For this, Google was used to search for the name of different Irish
makeup brands, also, a little research went into their online and offline advertising presence. In
this research, the names of four Irish makeup brands were found, Blank Canvas Cosmetics,
Fuschia, Buff Makeup, and Sculpt Cosmetics. Blank Canvas Cosmetics have an incredible online
presence and are advertised regularly by Irish YouTubers. Their ambassador is Sinead Cady or
‘The Makeup Chair’ on YouTube. Fuschia is mostly used by makeup artists in beauty salons. Buff
and Sculpt are sold in very few stores around the country and their online and offline presence is
basically non-existent.
Google wasalso used to find secondary researchonIrish Makeup Brands and on the makeup habits
of third level students. This research was inconclusive as nothing was found on either of these
topics. Some data was found by a survey conducted by Makeup For Ever. This data was on the
makeup habits of Irish women in general. The original source of information could not be found
but it was mentioned in a lot of beauty blogs and news sites, such as Irish Mirror. The data that
was found is as follows:
● 50% of respondents admitted that “they wear makeup because it enhances their natural
looks” (Irish Mirror, 2015)
● “Another third say a bit of extra cover on their faces makes them feel more confident and
helps them feel their best while at work.” (Irish Mirror, 2015)
● A third of 18 to 54 year olds admitted that they owned more than 50 beauty products. 82%
of the respondents buy new makeup every month. The most popular item as mascara and
then foundation and bronzer. 51% of responses said that they wore makeup every day and
65% said that they would never go to work without makeup on. Foundation and mascara
are the items that are replaced the most. (Irish Mirror, 2015)
● The most popular tool was a foundation brush and 23% of the respondents own around 9 makeup
brushes altogether. 43% of the respondents said that they hardly ever wash their makeup brushes.
(Irish Mirror, 2015)

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Primary Research Findings
This survey was carried out both online and offline. Half of the surveys were for the students of A.I.T and
the other half were for students from other colleges around Ireland. This survey revealed a lot about Irish
Makeup brands and also a lot about non Irish makeup brands.
Over91.3% of respondents were female with only 8.7% of respondents being male. Alot of the respondents
were young with 93.5% of them being between the age of 17-26, and only 6.5% are between the ages of 27
and 36. Responses were received from 15 different counties! Some people misunderstood the question
“what county are you from?” and responded with ‘Ireland’. The majority of respondents, 20%, spend €20
a month on makeup. Only 4.3% of respondents did not wear makeup and were disqualified after that
question.
Just over 64% of the respondents believed that an advertisement would influence their buying behaviour of
makeup brands. There could have possibly been a correlation betweenthis and the respondents’ recognition
of the slogans (See Figure 7: Can you match the makeup brand names that I have listed below to the
slogans?) and their brand awareness (See Figure 8: Are you aware of Irish makeup brands?), but it isn’t
proven.
Figure 1: Would an advertisement influence you to buy certain makeup brands?

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Figure 2: Would you be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was cruelty free?
A huge 77.78% of people said that they would be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was cruelty free.
This is surprising because they would be more inclined to buy cruelty free products than they would be to
buy Irish or organic products. It seems that the main concern of the respondents is animal testing.
Only 40% of respondents said that they would be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was Irish. A third
of the responses were unsure of whether or not they would be likely to buy a makeup brand if it were Irish
(See Figure 3: Would you be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was Irish?).
The least popular was the organic category. The main concerns of the respondents seems to be supporting
the local economy and animal testing.

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Figure 3: Would you be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was Irish?

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Figure 4: Do you watch Irish makeup blogging YouTube videos?
73.33% of responses stated that they watch Irish makeup blogging YouTube videos. Judging from the
statistics, there is a clear correlation between the people that answered yes to this question and the people
that were aware of Irish makeup brands, and that had heard of Blank Canvas Cosmetics. Unfortunately,
there is no way to show this connection between these variables.

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Figure 5: What products do you currently use in your makeup routine?
100% of people said that they use foundation and mascara in their current makeup routine. Only 55.56% of
respondents reported to using lip liner and 75.56% reportedly used lipstick.
Figure 6: What products do you currently use in your current makeup routine? - Lipstick

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Figure 7: Can you match the makeup brand names that I have listed below to the slogans?
64.44% of people said that advertisements do influence them to buy certain makeup brands (See Figure 1:
Would an advertisement influence you to buy certain makeup brands?) and this wasclarified in the answers
to this question. 86.3% of responses recognised L’Oréal Paris, 80 percent Rimmel and 72.5% recognised
Max Factor. Only 13.7% of people recognised the brand Smashbox, which is strange because the majority

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of people said they would be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was cruelty free yet they could not
recognise the only brand that doesn’t test on animals.
Figure 8: Are you aware of Irish makeup brands?
A staggering 51.11% of respondents were not aware of Irish makeup brands. This result was expected from
the beginning of the research. It was discovered that, in the offline surveys, students answered no to this
question and went on to look at the other pages of the survey and discovered that they had heard of Blank
Canvas Cosmetics but they did not know that it was an Irish brand. This was the most interesting result in
the entire survey. It suggests that, perhaps, the Blank Canvas brand do not want to be identified as Irish.
Their website domain is ‘.com’ so this could be possible although it is just a theory

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Figure 9: Have you ever heard of Blank Canvas Cosmetics?
The respondentsthat were aware ofIrish makeup brands went on to answer this question, where a staggering
86.36% of them have heard of Blank Canvas Cosmetics.

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Figure 10: If yes, where have you heard of this brand? – YouTube
This question came after the “Have you ever heard of blank canvas cosmetics?” question. There were four
variable options in the answer of this question which were YouTube, TV, Magazine, and other. The most
interesting result was that no one heard of blank canvas from a television advertisement. The most popular
way of hearing about the brand was on YouTube with two thirds of the respondents reporting that they
heard of the brand on YouTube. A further two respondents reported that they heard of it from a friend.
Figure 11: If yes, have you ever heard of this brand? - TV

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Figure 12:Which of the followingIrish makeup brandshaveyoupurchased productsfrom? -Blank Canvas
Cosmetics
A large majority of respondents, 68%, have purchased products from Blank Canvas Cosmetics whereas
none of the respondents had bought products from Buff makeup. This leads to the belief that Buff makeup
are either a poor quality brand or that they have not advertised their brand enough.
Figure 13: Which of the following Irish makeup brands have you purchased products from? - Buff

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Figure 14: Do you purchase mainly in a retail store or online? – Online
Figure 15: Do you purchase mainly in a retail store or online? - Department Store
The majority of products were purchased online at 61.5%. Only 15% of respondents bought their Irish
makeup brands from a department store. This makes sense because most of the brands that were mentioned
only sell their products online.

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Figure 16: If Irish makeup brands were more accessible in known retail stores, how likely would it be that
you would buy them?
Over 84% of respondents said that they were either likely or extremely likely to buy Irish makeup brands
if they were more accessible in known retail stores. This suggests that Irish makeup brands are missing out
on a large market of people who would buy their product if it was easier to buy.

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Conclusions and Limitations
There were some very interesting and unexpected results gathered in this report. There were some questions
that could have had a correlation but this could not be shown as there was not enough knowledge of SPSS
to be able to do it.
Blank Canvas Cosmetics was the most popular Irish Makeup brand with Fuschia running in second place.
A small number of people did not know that blank canvas were Irish. This was concluded as they said they
were not aware of Irish makeup brands and then went on to say that they had heard of Blank Canvas
Cosmetics. This was the most interesting result in the entire survey. It suggests that, perhaps, the Blank
Canvas brand do not want to be identified as Irish. Their website domain is ‘.com’ so this could be possible
although it is just a theory.
Sculpt seemed to be the least popular makeup brand out of them all. Blank canvas were most popular for
their makeup brushes and contour and highlight palettes.
The majority of respondents said that they were extremely likely to buy a makeup brand if it was sold in
known retailers.
Cruelty free products came out as the most popular with Irish products coming second. Many of the
respondents said that they would be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was cruelty free. Here is the
interesting part, in the question which asked the participants to match the brand name with its slogan, the
majority of the respondents recognised the brand that is advertised the most on a number of different outlets
and only 13.7% of people recognised the brand Smashbox, which is interesting because it is the only brand
in the list that is cruelty free.
A lot of respondents had heard of blank canvas cosmetics and they heard about it mostly from YouTube.
A large amount of respondents believed that an advertisement would influence their buying behaviour of
makeup brands. This was a very interesting result because in another question, which asked the participants
to match the brand name with its slogan, the majority of the respondents recognised the brand that is
advertised the most on a number of different outlets

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Recommendations
The first recommendation would be that Irish makeup brands should branch out and sell their products in
major retailers as a huge 84% of respondents said that they would buy their products if they did this. Selling
their products in large retailers would also earn them a larger revenue and would allow them to increase
their brands popularity.
A second recommendation is that Irish makeup brands should try to find ways to not test their products on
animals as a large number of respondents supported cruelty free products and said that they would be more
likely to buy a brand if it was cruelty free.
Irish makeup brands would also do well to advertise more on different outlets. Advertising on YouTube
seems to be working for blank canvas cosmetics but in order to make their brand memorable a suggestion
would be to follow the likes of Max Factor,Rimmel and L’OréalParis and regularly advertise on Facebook,
YouTube videos and on TV. Over 80% of respondents recognised the slogans of Max Factor, Rimmel, and
L’Oréal Paris and this may be because of their advertising.
Personal Recommendations
The question “Would you be more likely to buy Irish makeup brands if they were sold in known retailers”
should have been asked at the beginning of the survey as I would have gotten better data and more
responses. A lot of respondents were disqualified before the end of the survey and didn’t get to answer.
Before disqualifying the respondents at the beginning that did not wear makeup, the question “Are you
aware of Irish makeup brands” should have been asked, as this would have given us higher quality of data.
A person might not wear makeup but they could still be aware of Irish makeup brands.
The question “Have you ever heard of blank canvas cosmetics” should have been asked before “are you
aware of |Irish makeup brands” because a lot of respondents knew of Blank Canvas Cosmetics but did not
know that it was Irish. I could have received more data with regards to those questions but respondents
were disqualified before they could answer.

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Bibliography
Hague, P. N. (2004). Market research in practice : a guide to the basics. London: VA Sterling.
Hague, P. N. (2013). Market research in practice : how to get greater insight from your market.
London: Kogan Page.
Home Page. (2015, November 3). Retrieved from Fuschia: http://www.fuschia.ie/
Home Page. (2015, November 3). Retrieved from Blank Canvas Cosmetics:
http://www.blankcanvascosmetics.com/
Home Page. (2015, October 30). Retrieved from Buff Makeup: buffmakeup.com
Home Page. (2015, October 30). Retrieved from Sculpt Cosmetics:
http://www.sculptcosmetics.com/
Irish Mirror. (2015, November 2). Lifestyle. Retrieved from Irish Mirror:
http://www.irishmirror.ie/lifestyle/make-up-must-65-women-admit-5092749

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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Would an advertisement influence you to buy certain makeup brands?.....................................5
Figure 2: Would you be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was cruelty free?..................................6
Figure 3: Would you be more likely to buy a makeup brand if it was Irish? ............................................7
Figure 4: Do you watch Irish makeup blogging YouTube videos?..........................................................8
Figure 5: What products do you currently use in your makeup routine? ..................................................9
Figure 6: What products do you currently use in your current makeup routine? - Lipstick........................9
Figure 7: Can you match the makeup brand names that I have listed below to the slogans?....................10
Figure 8: Are you aware of Irish makeup brands? ...............................................................................11
Figure 9: Have you ever heard of Blank Canvas Cosmetics?................................................................12
Figure 10: If yes, where have you heard of this brand? - Youtube ........................................................13
Figure 11: If yes, have you ever heard of this brand? - TV...................................................................13
Figure 12: Which of the following Irish makeup brands have you purchased products from? - Blank Canvas
Cosmetics ........................................................................................................................................14
Figure 13: Which of the following Irish makeup brands have you purchased products from? - Buff.......14
Figure 14: Do you purchase mainly in a retail store or online? - Online ................................................15
Figure 15: Do you purchase mainly in a retail store or online? - Department Store................................15
Figure 16: If Irish makeup brands were more accessible in known retail stores, how likely would it be that
you would buy them?........................................................................................................................16

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Appendices
http://blog.lab42.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Millennials-Makeup-Infographic-FINAL1.png , the
foundation of female millennials makeup habits
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Which age are you?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Please Indicate Your Gender
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, What County Do You Live
In?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, How much, on average, do
you spend on makeup every month?
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Do you wear makeup?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Do you follow the latest
makeup trends?
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Would an advertisement
influence you to buy certain makeup brands
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Do you watch Irish makeup
blogging YouTube videos?

25
The Usage ofIrish Makeup Brandsby Third LevelStudents Survey Results,What products do you currently
use in your makeup routine? Other

26

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, when considering buying a
makeup brand, what factors determine your purchase?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Would you be more likely to
buy a makeup brand if it was any of the following? Organic
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Have you ever heard of blank
canvas cosmetics?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, if yes, can you name some?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, if yes, where have you heard
of this brand?

31
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Which of the following Irish
makeup brands have you purchased products from?

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Please tick the box for the
different products that you would buy from each brand?

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of this brand? Other

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The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Which of the following Irish
makeup brands have you purchased products from?

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The Usage Of Irish Makeup Brands By Third Level Students Survey Results, Have you purchased any
services from an Irish makeup brand(s) or from a salon that used Irish makeup brands? Can you describe
your experience?
The Usage of Irish Makeup Brands by Third Level Students Survey Results, Do you purchase mainly in a
retail store or online?

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