Ticking all the boxes: Shakeup Cosmetics expands into skincare with intuitive multitasking launches

Shake-up Cosmetics was established in 2018 by Beijing-born twin brothers Shane Carnell-Xu and Jake Xu. The brand made its debut in the market in 2019 and is best known for its range of men’s make-up products that are enhanced with skin care benefits.

Recently, Shakeup made its entry into the skin care market with the release of two products: a facial moisturiser and a charcoal facial mask.

Hydrate In A Hurry is a portable solid moisturiser stick infused with ingredients such as witch hazel, cucumber extract, and hyaluronic acid. It was developed to be suitable for all skin types.

Like the moisturiser, You Do The Mask is a charcoal face mask in a solid stick format. It claims to draw out impurities while nourishing skin with coconut extract.

The launches are in line with the company’s endeavours to provide an all-encompassing product line-up for the modern male consumer.

“It was always in our NPD pipeline to create innovative skin care and hybrid skin care-makeup. We wanted to provide our customers an end-to-end skin care solution, from cleansing, to treatments; from blemish conceal to sun protection,” ​Xu told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.

Dynamic duo

When it came to the development of the products, Xu said it was imperative that they met two important criteria: innovation and multi-functionality.

“If a product has been done to death by other brands and there is no more innovation that we can bring, whether that’s in the componentry, applicator, or formulation, then we won’t develop it. Equally, if a product does not serve more than one purpose or does not fit into our male consumers’ busy lifestyle, we won’t develop it.”​

The wind-up stick formats of the products helped to “tick all the boxes”, ​Xu told us.

“They are travel and gym friendly. They are portable and easy – not to mention fun – to use. The moisturiser stick not only hydrates the skin, but it also soothes the irritated skin working as a primer, creating a protective layer between your skin and make-up, if you wish to apply it; the coconut charcoal clay mask delivers all the benefits of a traditional mud or clay mask, but without the mess.”​

The adoption of skin care among men has grown rapidly over the past few years. Mintel data reported that in 2020, Chinese men were observed to use 2.3 types of facial skincare products on average, up from 1.7 types in 2017.

However, the demographic is largely new to the concept of a skin care regimen and knowledge. As such, the need to develop an intuitive and easy to use product for men cannot be overstated.

“There’s a general lack of knowledge about the unique challenges that men face with their skin, as well as the best ways to look after their skin using easy-to-understand, fuss-free but highly effective skin care products,” ​said Xu.

Xu remained coy when asked about future skin care launches but hinted that the company had more developments in the pipeline.