Rogers Publishing’s bimonthly Cosmetics magazine will launch its website for the first time tomorrow. The site, designed by Beth Anderson, the magazine’s art director, using WordPress, and promises the latest news, product launches and training information for the Canadian beauty industry. It will also contain information on the Canadian Fragrance Awards, the Cosmetics Outstanding Service Awards (COSA), the “I Recommend… Beauty Awards” and a photo gallery to showcase industry events. 


Although the website is designed with that trade component in mind, it is a site that will be of interest to the general public as well,” publisher Jim Hicks says. “It will give previews of launches and what’s going to be in the stores next month.”

According to Hicks, Cosmetics didn’t invest in a website until now because as recently as five years ago, research showed that only 30% of its readers were online on a regular basis. But now, with more products being launched online and cosmeticians behind the beauty counters getting younger, research suggests that number has grown to 80%.

The website will not include banner ads until statistics on site traffic have been compiled. For now, Cosmetics will make do with sponsored boxes and microsites for companies such as fragrance specialists Coty.

The magazine also reaches its online audience through its monthly e-newsletter, which goes out to just over 3,000 marketers, retailers and vendors in the industry, and a month-old Facebook page, which has nearly 300 members so far.

The September print edition of Cosmetics, which reaches nearly 13,000 people in the beauty industry, contains a two-page spread announcing the official launch of the website.