David Rooney - July 2022
The Robinhood of SPF – How Minnie Makeup Started a Sunscreen Crusade
Skinfluencer Minnie Isaac is on a mission to get more people wearing SPF. So, she divides her PR samples into tiny containers and sends them to her audience around the globe.
Okay, she's not quite stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But the girl behind the up-and-coming Instagram page 'Minnie Makeup' has ambitious goals to get more people wearing SPF – especially women.
"I want to see beautiful women walking around with protected faces."
Known to her audience as an advocate for mineral sunscreen, Minnie is on a crusade to reduce the eye-sting often associated with chemical S PF – and tout the benefits of Zinc (a common mineral sunscreen component).
Her method? Send 3ml tester pots to some of her 5000 followers all over Australia and around the world.
Skinfluencer Minnie Isaac - @Minniemakup_
Minnie says skincare is never one-size-fits-all, especially when it comes to sunscreen. Your skin type, skincare, and makeup all play a role in how your sunscreen looks, feels and performs. And you need to try something to know if it works for you.
You might have used a mineral SPF before and hated it. The chalky, unpleasant first-generation SPFs often leave a horrible white cast and distinct smell on your face. Minnie wants people to know that times have changed. Now, the tone, texture, colour, dry down, and finish is more important than ever.
The differences between each mineral sunscreen are subtle but noticeable.
And consumers want a perfect fit. Minnie wants her audience to know about some of the great Aussie brands.
"I think a lot of us have probably given them (mineral SPF) a try, bought a tube, used it once and then put the tube in the corner of the room – and never used it again. I wish people could try it first before they committed to a 100ml tube that they might not like." And Minnie says if you don't like your SPF, you're not going to apply it as much, let alone reapply it.
The 'SPF Wardrobe Trial' saw her approach five Aussie brands for scuffed and damaged bottles or allocated PR samples.
What started with only 20 people receiving samples now has over 100 followers requesting to take part.
500 small containers in total, hours of inspirational Tony Robbins podcasts, and many tubes of SPF, with Minnie giving everyone a 3ml sample of each of the five Australian sunscreens.
Each parcel costs $2.20 to ship around Australia, and with a few overseas people taking part and the cost of containers, she spends over $400 of her own money on the initiative.
But for Minnie, it's more than encouraging people to wear SPF – she’s building a community.
"I think a lot of women can fall through the cracks of society. We can be in really unhappy situations and feel like there's no support. I know that a lot of people in the beauty community use that to reconnect, and that's how I felt. I want to reach women who fall through the cracks."
And she even thought through the stability concerns, associated with shipping sunscreen outside of its intended packaging.
As soon as a product leaves the bottle, you risk the active ingredients becoming oxidised, exposed to light and heat, and microbial growth. For SPF, that can be troublesome.
Minnie says these small samples were never to protect people from that big ball of heat in the sky. They're to smell, rub in, test, trial, and for her audience to decide if it's for them.
"I don't want women spending $30-$40 on an SPF and hating it."
Minnie would include a small disclaimer with every send out to educate her audience, which mentions stability and encourages them to try at home. Inside.
Each time Minnie does a send out, the feedback is incredible. Not only do people appreciate the gesture, but they find a sunscreen they love and purchase a full size. An SPF "soulmate".
"I know a lot of women really value the beauty community because of what it gives them emotionally and because of the confidence it gives them physically. SPF is an extension of self-care."
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