Loyalty Is Not Points. It’s Protection.

Beauty is a billion-dollar industry for a simple reason. People love to look beautiful, and when they do, they feel special. That feeling is the key to why loyalty programs work. Points are nice, but belonging is the real product.

I have worked in retail since the beginning of my career in beauty, which started at 18, so basically yesterday.

The thing that has remained constant, and actually grown tremendously, is this: people love a membership. It is a feeling of being in the know. A feeling of being seen.

The way it worked before was brands relied heavily on identity marketing. The type of woman you were became the brand of makeup you wore. A certain woman wore red lipstick. Others only wore their hair a certain way. Things felt simpler, and honestly, more rigid. That is why the history of makeup is so fascinating to me: if you take the time to study where trends and techniques came from, you start seeing the same truth over and over. Most of it came from Black women. Most of it was self-expression before it was ever packaged for mass consumption.

Excuse me, I’m getting a bit lost in the sauce. That topic is for another day and another Edit. But it does tie into this.

Because beauty has evolved. The makeup industry launches new brands and products daily, and it takes a lot more than a “Maybe she’s born with it” ad to get someone to notice your brand, and a hell of a lot more to get someone to become truly loyal. Some people stick to what they know, but social media has changed how we discover. Influencers changed the pace. AI is changing how people search. Brands are fighting harder than ever for attention, and even harder to keep it.

Retailers like Sephora and Ulta have trained consumers to expect choice and rewards at the same time. That’s why loyalty is not a side feature for them. It is the business model.

Ulta literally states that more than 95% of total sales come from its loyalty members. That is not a cute statistic. That is a warning label for any brand still depending on vibes alone.

So the real question is not “how do I get discovered?” The question is “how do I get kept?”

Retail is the shelf. Community is the strategy.

Here is the part nobody wants to admit. A brand can win attention and still lose the relationship.

Sephora and Ulta do a great job of making customers feel like insiders through tiers, perks, and access. Brands get huge visibility through those retailers, but if your business relies on one stream of income succeeding, you’re doing something wrong. That is not shade. That is survival.

We have seen how quickly the climate can shift. Consumers are paying closer attention to where retailers and brands spend their money and what they stand for. People are having bigger conversations about what happens when shoppers pull back from a major retailer and how that impact hits Black-owned brands inside those stores. It is nuanced, and it deserves more than a few sentences. But the lesson underneath is clear.

If customers stop shopping at one retailer, can they still find you somewhere that feels direct and intentional?

Can you connect with them and say, no matter what happens, you can always find us here. On this site. In this community. In this experience.

That is why loyalty started as data, but it has become so much more. It is now one of the cleanest ways to protect your brand and build consistency in a chaotic market.

The Lip Bar is a case study in resilience and strategy

This is where brands like The Lip Bar deserve real credit. When Target faced backlash and boycotts over its DEI pullback, Melissa Butler publicly shared that The Lip Bar’s sales in Target stores dropped significantly, citing a 30% to 40% decline according to an Afro-Tech article.

That is a very real hit. A hit that could shake a lot of brands.

But The Lip Bar is not a brand built on one shelf. The company’s story has always been about ownership, determination, and building something bigger than one moment. They have been explicit, especially on their website, about their mission and brand identity, and that matters when retail gets shaky because identity is what keeps customers loyal.

It is also a reminder for the entire industry. One loss does not define a brand, but relying on one channel can.

Beauty brands have to do more than chase TikTok trends. People are looking for who you are and what you stand for, because trends can be copied. Values cannot.

Loyalty is not points anymore. It is protection.

Memberships may have started as a way to collect data and understand purchasing behavior. Now, they are also a way to stay connected when the market changes, when influencers get canceled, when retailers shift strategy, and when customers want to buy with intention.

The idea of a membership is not just discounts. Brands are building communities because we all need support. People want a place that feels like home, especially in beauty, where confidence is the product they actually buy.

That is the part I refuse to let get lost.

And that is why I created this.

I created the Inner Circle Membership to build a community of beauty lovers, beauty professionals, and brands that understand this, and to offer multiple ways to help you show up beautifully, show up for your brand, and show up for your audience, keeping people feeling seen and heard.

The Inner Circle is a way for anyone, from anywhere, to connect with beauty in a way that doesn’t feel confusing or intimidating, and I want a space where Black women know they will always find the products they are looking for with us. This membership is about access and honesty. Our previous beauty edits showcase that.

That is what loyalty is when it is done right.

And that is what this moment is really about.

Start with the Winter Edit

If you want the easiest way into my world, start with the Winter Edit. It’s the hub. Everything is in one place: The Signature Glam Test and our digital magazine, the Signature GlamaZine, which guides you through this season's trends and more.