Beauty Brand Marketers, Rejoice! Advanced Facebook Ads Strategies from Estée Lauder & NARS
The beauty industry is undergoing a digital transformation, with Meta platforms becoming the primary battleground for customer attention. As Meta launches its groundbreaking AI app built with Llama 4 technology—featuring voice-controlled personalization, cross-device continuity, and an interactive Discover feed—beauty brands must rethink their Facebook Advertising Strategies. This technological leap coincides with fascinating case studies from Estée Lauder Turkey, UL Skin Sciences, Blue Lagoon Skincare, and NARS Thailand,
I. Product Launch Mastery with Advantage+ Catalogue Ads
Estée Lauder Turkey's campaign for Revitalizing Supreme+ Bounce Crème demonstrated the power of strategic creative diversification, leveraging a 360-degree media plan that combined CGI video ads, creator-built content, and carousel photo ads—all powered by Meta's Advantage+ automation. The AI-enhanced catalogue ads dynamically showcased products to audiences with skincare interests, while Advantage+ placements optimized delivery across Facebook and Instagram feeds. This technical sophistication drove measurable results: a 5.8-point lift in brand awareness and 1.7X incremental ROAS. The campaign's success hinged on its hybrid approach, balancing broad-reach awareness objectives with hyper-targeted conversion tactics. By utilizing Meta's automatic advanced matching, Estée Lauder attributed 18% of paid search visit lifts directly to the social campaign, underscoring Meta's cross-channel influence.
For brands seeking similar precision, Topkee's TAG technology offers a parallel advantage. By collecting and analyzing user behavior across platforms, TAG enables precise audience segmentation and dynamic creative customization—mirroring the efficiency of Advantage+ but with deeper integration of first-party data. For instance, Topkee's audience segment lists allow brands to tailor content (e.g., prioritizing discounts for past interactors), while its TTO creative workflow streamlines ad updates to combat fatigue, ensuring sustained engagement—critical for Facebook Ads.
II. The AI Advantage: Manual vs. Automated Campaign Synergy
UL Skin Sciences'Philippine experiment revealed the untapped potential of blending manual and automated Facebook Ads campaigns, pitting traditional catalogue ads against a hybrid model incorporating Advantage+ shopping campaigns. The AI-powered solution delivered 51% lower cost per conversion and 2.3X higher ROAS compared to manual setups, validating Meta's machine learning in optimizing creative rotation, bidding, and audience targeting in real time. Automated campaigns also drove 3.5X more "view content" actions, highlighting superior top-of-funnel engagement.
This synergy dovetails with Topkee's Facebook Ads conversion strategy, with Topkee's Similar Audience Extension (based on data collected by TAG) and TTO Topic Management able to optimize targeting and creative delivery. For example, Topkee's tools can identify high-potential audiences akin to Meta's AI, while its call tracking module bridges offline conversions—offering a holistic view akin to Advantage+'s cross-channel attribution. Brands can replicate UL Skin Sciences'success by allocating 30–40% of budgets to automated systems, supplemented by Topkee's granular audience insights for manual adjustments during peak seasons—key for Facebook Ads optimization.
III. Borderless Commerce with Checkout-Enabled Shops
Blue Lagoon Skincare's global expansion strategy highlights the power of frictionless purchasing. By integrating Checkout-enabled Shops with Advantage+ campaigns, the Icelandic brand achieved 2.3X higher clickthrough rates and 1.2X more link clicks versus standard ads. The technical implementation—allowing US customers to complete purchases without leaving Instagram—reduced checkout abandonment by 37%. This seamless experience is particularly impactful for premium skincare, where impulse purchases account for 62% of online sales. The campaign's success hinged on strategic audience targeting, focusing on US consumers exhibiting interest in geothermal skincare and luxury beauty rituals. For international brands, this case proves that Meta's in-app checkout can replace costly localized e-commerce infrastructure, with the added benefit of first-party data collection for retargeting.
IV. Mega Sale Dominance Through Collaborative Ads
NARS Thailand's 9.9 sale campaign revealed a critical insight: optimizing for "view content" outperforms link-click objectives by 2.9X in add-to-cart actions. Their FB Ads Strategy combines influencer video ads with a retargeting sequence — first attracting beauty enthusiasts with tutorial content, then attracting converters through a product-specific carousel. The conversion lift study demonstrated the power of sequential messaging: audiences exposed to educational content first showed 80% higher purchase rates when later served direct-response ads. This aligns with broader industry findings that beauty shoppers require 3.2 touchpoints before converting (Bazaarvoice 2024). The campaign's technical sophistication included Lazada marketplace integration, allowing real-time inventory updates across 44 SKUs—a must for limited-edition holiday sets.
V. Decoding the No-Compromise Beauty Shopper
Modern consumers demand hybrid experiences blending digital convenience with tactile engagement. Meta's 2024 research identifies five non-negotiable expectations: AR try-ons (used by 43% of beauty shoppers), hyper-personalized recommendations, livestream shopping integrations, social commerce capabilities, and instant access to human expertise. Estée Lauder's CGI-enhanced Facebook Ads and NARS' influencer collaborations address these needs by creating multisensory experiences. Emerging technologies like haptic feedback and AI skin analysis (pioneered by brands like L'Oréal's ModiFace) will further blur digital-physical boundaries. For advertisers, this means creative must serve dual purposes—educating while entertaining, with every asset optimized for both broad reach and personal relevance.
Conclusion
These case studies converge on three imperatives: leverage Advantage+ AI for dynamic optimization, implement seamless checkout experiences, and design campaigns for the hybrid consumer journey. Practical implementation starts with auditing existing creative libraries for AR compatibility, then gradually testing automated budget allocations. Brands seeing >20% of sales from social should prioritize Checkout-enabled Shops, while others should focus on Collaborative Ads for retailer partnerships. As Meta continues innovating with Llama 4 AI and advanced attribution tools, early adopters will gain disproportionate advantages in the $800B global beauty market.
Ready to transform your beauty brand's social presence? Contact Topkee's professional team of consultants for a customized Facebook Ads plan.