We visited Gloss.com to see how a site that hosts a multitude of high-end beauty brands fares as a brand all its own.

With the roster of brands prominently displayed on the home page, shoppers can browse easily or conduct a search for their favorite product. Sleek photos of “in” products are splashed throughout and bestsellers are further promoted with prominently placed links. Armed with the sensibility of a fashion magazine, Gloss.com is functional in utility and slick in design, with content directed at moving product through advice dispensed by a bevy of beauty experts.

However, shopping for cosmetics relies heavily on personal preference, and one tends to rely on that which is tried and true. Attracting new buyers through online sales is particularly challenging for the cosmetic industry. Perhaps to compensate, Gloss attempts to forge a personal connection with its consumers via the implementation of clever, interactive tools that allow users to receive “custom” beauty advice.

A good example of this is the “Fragrance Finder,” where the visitor is invited to click on an image, which is then associated with a fragrance recommendation. Another, less successful feature is the “Color Tester.” A pop-up box appears (seemingly fashioned after a Photoshop mechanism), allowing users to test the season’s latest shades. A brand is then chosen from a pop-up menu and the selected swatches of color appear next to a small blank window. The idea is that the user can virtually test drive the color in the window and print out the results. The problem is – as any makeup artist would explain – skin tone is a key element in determining the true color of a product. So as ambitious as this effort is, it may simply be beyond the capabilities of virtual retail.

“Trends,” one of the main menu options, contains a meaty portion of content. The “What’s New” page within Trends displays seasonal products – must-haves of the season. “What to Pack” asks visitors to plug in a travel scenario while experts recommend assorted products to complement the journey. “Beauty Terms” is just that – a glossary of professional beauty lingo. The “Tips” section is positioned as a beauty expert at your disposal. Got skin issues? The “Solution” section provides links leading to advice and product information for problem areas. The “How-to-Apply” page provides step-by-step instruction for those who wish to learn professional make-up techniques. “Editors’ Picks” is where one can discover how to shimmer seductively in gold dust, or achieve this season’s full-brow.

To enrich the content, Gloss could make use of celebrity endorsement deals linked with the sites various brands. Simple, unique contributions from famous personalities might be a way to drive traffic and further increase visibility, without sacrificing integrity.

All brands featured on Gloss.com also have their own website. Some sell products (e.g., Origins.com, BobbiBrown.com), and some direct sales back to Gloss (e.g., Clarins.com, Prescriptives.com). Each brand’s page successfully blends its look and feel with Gloss, while displaying different products than those on its home site.