On the Road: The Inkey List _
Ask the experts, test out Inkey products and discover all your skincare needs at the immersive Covent Garden pop-up.
Knowledge is Power
Befitting its trade name, The Inkey List is a natural, no nonsense, results-driven skincare brand. It launched itself into the skincare market in 2018 and more recently into haircare in 2020. Stocked online and in popular highstreet retailers such as Boots, the brand is already very well established. But this didn’t stop the ambitious brand from wanting to further amplify its presence within the beauty sector via an empowering pop-up shop in London’s shopping and entertainment hub, Covent Garden.
The design of the store reflected the brand’s ethos, particularly with regard to its transparency. The event was an immersive ‘phygital’ walkthrough of the brand’s recommended 5-step skincare and scalp routine; Cleanse; Hydrate; Treat; Moisturise and Protect.
Before entering the pop-up, customers were prompted by a QR code on the shop window to create a ‘myINKEY’ profile which could be used to help you navigate through the skincare journey. The profile allowed customers to build their own personalised skincare recipes by scanning product QR codes. Once built, this skincare recipe is delivered straight to your door. Due to the pop-up being a purely educational experience, there were no products to physically buy on-site, however, all products were available to be tried and tested before adding them to your skincare recipe.
Although the week-long pop up was focused on awareness and education, it was kept fun with addition of interactive games and various quizzes within each of the immersive target areas. One interactive element included ordering a 7-stage everyday skincare routine into the correct sequence…but when I heard there was a prize for the winner, something told me it wouldn’t be easy…and it wasn’t!
Within the first area – ‘Cleanse’ – customers were able to challenge how well they knew their cleansers by placing magnetic “true” or “false” stickers onto various statements before revealing the answers and winning The Inkey List goodies. Moving onto ‘Moisturise’, there was a locked box where customers could guess the code to unlock a year’s supply of Inkey products…safe to say I was not the winner…
On every available space within the monochrome store was information about which product was best for you, how to incorporate certain products into your routine, product benefits, fun facts, product photography, and ingredient lists. On top of this, there were dermatologists and trichologists on-site to offer advice on your skincare needs. If customers felt they needed a more in-depth consultation, they could book a 30 minute 1:1 to build a routine that matched their skin through the ‘askINKEY’ service.
Lastly, it wouldn’t be a pop up without the freebies…free Inkey List totes were available as you left as well as getting a polaroid of yourself (& your new tote!) on the “knowledge wall” , accompanied with something that you’ve learnt from the experience!
