Beyond Performance: Why Emotional Resonance Is What Grows Beauty Brands

A great product is a starting point, but if it doesn’t mean something to the person using it, it’s just another bottle in the bathroom. Product performance is the minimum. Emotional resonance is what builds connection, brand loyalty, and sustainable growth.

I say this not just as a strategist, but as someone who has been on every side of the beauty industry; stylist, consumer, product tester, educator. I’ve seen what happens when a product works on paper but doesn’t land in real life, and I’ve seen what happens when a product becomes part of someone’s identity, their ritual, their “must-have.” That difference—the space between function and feeling—is where my RISE Framework™ lives.

The Myth of Performance as a Differentiator

It’s easy to think that if your product performs—

if it defines curls,

holds a style,

or delivers shine—that’s enough.

Performance alone is no longer a point of differentiation. In fact, it’s the bare minimum. Especially in an oversaturated market where consumers have endless options, growing knowledge, and rising expectations.

If your product delivers results but still doesn’t drive loyalty, here’s why: People don’t form attachments to results. They form attachments to meaning.

What Is Emotional Resonance?

Emotional resonance is when a product feels aligned—personally, practically, even energetically. It’s when someone uses your product and thinks:

• “This was made for me.”

• “This brand gets it.”

• “This fits into my life.”

  
  

It’s what turns curiosity into trust, and trust into habit.

Resonance shows up in the tone of your label. The clarity of your education. The subtle nods to lifestyle, culture, values, and ritual.

It doesn’t require over-explaining or over-branding. It requires alignment between the product’s purpose, the consumer’s goals, and the experience of using it.

This Is Where RISE Comes In

My RISE Framework™ is the foundation I use to help beauty founders bridge that gap between product and person.

It’s a four-phase journey that asks:

1. Root – What’s at the core of your brand and this product? Not just the ingredients, but the purpose. The emotional “why.” Why does this matter?

2. Realign – Does this product support your customer’s transformation and your larger brand ecosystem?Are you duplicating a benefit or offering something truly distinct?

3. Resonate – What makes this product feel personal, necessary, and easy to understand? Are your words matching your intention? Does the experience stick?

4. Rise – How do we tell this story in a way that creates clarity, confidence, and connection? Does the consumer see themselves in the product? Does the message land?

   
   

When your product and message move through these four phases, you don’t just end up with a product that performs—you end up with a product that connects.

Performance Gets You in the Door. Resonance Keeps You in the Room.

When a customer feels connected to a product because it works and because they understand it, see themselves in it, and feel supported by it, that’s when the magic happens.

This is the zone where products become routines, routines become rituals, rituals become recommendations, and recommendations become loyalty. Resonance is what drives fewer returns, stronger, more impactful reviews, deeper brand advocacy, and, ultimately, a business that grows organically with really deep roots.

How to Start Building Emotional Resonance

If your product already performs, here’s how you take it further:

• Go deeper than benefits. Define the transformation. What shift does this product support? What story does it help the consumer tell about themselves? This is your consumer's "what's in it for me and why should I care?"

• Teach without overwhelming. Confident customers are loyal customers. Make your usage guidance feel intuitive and empowering, not overwhelming and out of touch.

• Create sensory memory. From texture to scent to packaging feel. Resonance starts in the body. Engage and utilize as many of the senses as possible.

• Be specific and truthful. Broad claims dilute trust. Specific ones build it.

• Structure your line with clarity. When each product in the collection complements or clarifies the others, the whole system feels easier to engage with and easier to love.

  
  

Resonance Is the Future of Beauty

The brands that last will be the ones that move beyond performance and lean into purpose, education, and emotional clarity. They won’t just sell products. They’ll create trust. They’ll support transformation. They’ll build community. In today’s industry, how a product performs matters, but how it feels to use it is what keeps people coming back.

Want to explore how your line can move through the RISE Framework™? Let’s build something people don’t just buy, but believe in.