Hearst's new site for personalized beauty content launches in beta in early September. Photos: Courtesy of RealBeauty.com
Today, Hearst announced their new beauty site, RealBeauty.com, which will launch in beta in early September and officially in November.
The site will be a mixture of beauty-related content from Hearst properties like Cosmopolitan, Bazaar and Marie Claire and other sources, including non-Hearst magazines and books that concentrate on specific areas of expertise. "To expand our ethnic beauty coverage, we have formed content partnerships with Hype Hair and Latina magazines, and will pursue other similar partnerships to make sure we can offer full-service beauty content," founding editor Nicole Stagg told StyleList via email.
But the real star of the site will be "The Beauty Book," a personalization tool that provides consumers with customized beauty and wellness information and product suggestions. The recommendations will be based on information they provide RealBeauty.com, such as their age, ethnicity, hair color and beauty interests. Consumers will then be able to port their Beauty Book across the Hearst Network to sites like Cosmopolitan.com, Redbookmag.com and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
Hearst saw room in the online space for a personalized beauty site. "Currently, the top 10 sites for beauty are connected with retailers and manufacturers," says Stagg. "While they have some great information, we will be the first large scale, editorially-driven destination for beauty content."
Real Beauty comes as part of a push from Hearst to expand its reach on the internet and in print. "Hearst believes in continuing to roll out new products, regardless of the economic climate," says Stagg. "With risks can come great rewards: In the past year alone, Hearst Magazines has launched Delish.com, a top 10 food site, Food Network Magazine, a huge seller on newsstands, and now Real Beauty, which we feel will be a top 10 beauty site out of the gate."