Smashbox, Sephora initiate 'beauty guru' contest

SAN DIEGO Cosmetics line Smashbox and beauty retailer Sephora teamed up to launch round one of the “Are You the Next Beauty Guru?” campaign powered by social media advertising platform Brickfish.

The campaign, located at www.smashbox.com/beautyguru, encourages beauty mavens to create videos, develop communications or submit blogs with photos showcasing their visions for the next must-have beauty products.

The grand prize winner will receive an array of prizes including a one-week apprenticeship at Smashbox to design the official Smashbox Fashion Week Makeup Palette and an all-expenses-paid three-day trip for two to Los Angeles to attend Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in March 2009. The palette will be sold exclusively at Sephora nationwide and will be featured in the Sephora catalog.

The winner will be chose during the second round of the campaign, which begins June 25. In addition to the grand prize winner, the Smashbox and Sephora expert panel will be giving away Smashbox swag bags to the top 10 scores from round one and to weekly sweepstakes winners who sign up to receive emails from Smashbox and Sephora. Round one of the campaign ends June 20.

“Smashbox and Sephora have long been at the forefront of beauty innovation, so creating a social media campaign is the perfect way to connect emerging beauty mavens with each other,” stated Brian Dunn, chief executive officer of Brickfish. “The ‘Are You the Next Beauty Guru?’ campaign will spark conversation on hundreds of social networking sites producing highly original and inspired product ideas. Inviting consumers into the campaign will give Smashbox and Sephora a unique way to engage with their consumers and build brand loyalty.”