Posts by Kady Sandel
Logo vs. Brand Identity: Why Your Skincare Logo Alone Won’t Sell
A founder emails: “I got my logo done for $400 on Fiverr — I think the branding is handled.” It isn’t. The logo is one asset. The brand identity is the full system that makes a logo mean anything in the first place. Launching a skincare brand with just a logo is like launching a…
Read MoreHow to Name a Skincare Brand (Without Getting Sued or Sounding Like Everyone Else)
Most skincare brand names fall into one of two traps: they sound exactly like everything else on the shelf (“Glow,” “Pure,” “Radiance,” “Luna”), or they get a cease-and-desist letter six months after launch because another cosmetics company already registered the name. The naming process below is designed to avoid both. You can’t shortcut it, but…
Read MoreHow Long Does a Skincare Branding Project Take? (A Realistic Timeline)
A full skincare branding project — strategy, identity, packaging for a 3-to-6 SKU launch, and the file handoff — takes 10 to 16 weeks when both sides do their job. “6 weeks start to finish” exists mostly in sales pitches and freelancer upsells. Anything under 8 weeks is skipping something you’ll end up paying for…
Read More12 Questions to Ask a Skincare Branding Agency Before You Sign
Every branding agency sounds good on the discovery call. The portfolio is curated, the case studies are wins, and the person on the call is usually the best salesperson in the building. The way to see past the pitch is to ask questions the pitch wasn’t built to answer. Here are the twelve we’d ask…
Read MoreHow Much Does Skincare Branding Cost? (What Agencies Charge and Why)
Most agencies make you book a call to hear a number. Here are the numbers first: a freelancer will brand your skincare line for $2,000 to $8,000, a boutique agency for $15,000 to $50,000, and a large agency for $75,000 to $250,000 or more. All three can be the right answer. All three can also…
Read MoreWhat Sephora and Credo Look for Before Saying Yes
Every indie skincare founder has thought about the moment their product lands on a Sephora shelf or gets accepted into Credo’s curated lineup. Fewer founders understand what actually happens behind that decision. Retail buyers aren’t evaluating your formula in isolation. They’re evaluating whether your entire brand can perform in their ecosystem, sell at their velocity,…
Read MoreBefore You Hire a Design Agency: Do This First
Every skincare founder we talk to has the same instinct once they’ve outgrown their current look. They open Instagram, save ten packaging designs they like, and start reaching out to agencies for a “rebrand.” What they’re actually asking for is a new coat of paint on a house whose rooms haven’t been laid out yet.…
Read MorePositioning Problem or Design Problem? How to Tell
“Our branding isn’t working” is one of the most common things skincare founders say to us, and it’s almost never specific enough to be useful. Branding isn’t one thing. It’s a strategic layer and a visual layer, and they fail differently, get diagnosed differently, and get fixed differently. Founders who can’t tell the difference end…
Read MoreThe Real Reason Your Skincare Brand Isn’t Converting
You’re getting traffic. Maybe from ads, maybe from an influencer post that did numbers, maybe from organic search you’ve worked hard for. People are landing on your product page and leaving without buying. Your first instinct is to blame the ad creative or the price. Usually, it’s neither. Usually, the site itself isn’t giving a…
Read MoreHow to Keep a Skincare Brand Consistent Across Packaging, Website, and Social
Skincare brand consistency is one of those things customers cannot articulate but can feel instantly. The bottle on the shelf, the website hero, the Instagram grid, the email header. When they all feel like the same brand, the customer trusts. When they do not, the customer cannot say why something is off, but the trust…
Read More