Bloom - Beauty Product Management App

Project Overview

Project Type: Personal Capstone Project (BrainStation UX Design Bootcamp)
Industry: Beauty & Wellness, Consumer App
Timeline: 10 weeks (2024)
My Role: UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer, Branding, UX Writer

I designed a beauty product management app to help users track expiration dates, minimize waste, and promote safe skincare practices. The solution included intuitive reminders, a product scanner for instant organization, and sustainable tips to encourage more mindful beauty routines.

Method Used: Design Thinking

Problem Statement

Many beauty and skincare products have expiration dates that are often overlooked, leading users to unknowingly use expired products. According to the FDA, while some products have expiration dates, many do not, leaving consumers unaware of when they expire. This highlights the need for better awareness to track product expiration dates more effectively.

Secondary Research:

The average woman owns 40 beauty products, but up to 25% go unused before expiration (source: Statista, 2023).

• Expired cosmetics can lead to skin irritation, infections, and reduced effectiveness (source: FDA).

• The global beauty industry produces 120 billion units of packaging annually, much of which ends up as waste (source: Zero Waste Week).

• Consumers are increasingly seeking sustainable beauty practices, with 60% saying they want help reducing waste (source: McKinsey, 2022).

Design Challenge

How may we support beauty and skincare products users in managing beauty products expiration dates to avoid waste and ensure save usage?

Design Solution

✅ Expiration Tracking – Personalized reminders notify users before products expire, ensuring safer beauty routines.

✅ Smart Product Scanner – Instantly log and organize items by scanning barcodes for easy management.

✅ Sustainable Tips – Curated guidance helps users reduce waste and make mindful purchasing decisions.

✅ Organized Library – Central hub to view, sort, and track all beauty and skincare products in one place.

1. Primary Research - Emphasize

To better understand the why behind user needs, I approached this research by creating a structured plan. I focused on Beauty and Skincare Enthusiasts – individuals who regularly use beauty and skincare products and are invested in maintaining their skin's health.

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More specifically, I targeted:

• Young Adults (Ages 18–35): This group often adopts new beauty trends and products quickly but may overlook expiration dates due to a focus on product performance and aesthetics.

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To gain deeper insights into their Pain Points, Goals, and Motivations, I conducted 3 interviews:

• 2 out of 3 were in-person interviews.

• 1 out of 3 were conducted via phone calls after meeting participants in public spaces.

Affinity Map 

Interview Quotes that stood out

“Knowing what side effects happen from using expired products would motivate me to pay more attention to expiration dates.”

"If it didn’t cause any reaction, I would still keep using it. I know that’s bad."

"It feels like a waste of my money! It’s frustrating to buy something expensive that expires in 6 months."

“I just throw them out when I feel like they are gross.”

“Knowing what side effects happen from using expired products would motivate me to pay more attention to expiration dates.”

2. Defining

Persona

Based on these insights, I created a user persona, Sara, to represent beauty and skincare enthusiasts who are mindful of expiration dates and the financial cost of wasted products. Sara guided my design decisions, ensuring the solutions address her motivations, pain points, and goals effectively.

Experience mapping

✨ Insights & Opportunities

• User struggles: Many users feel guilty and frustrated when wasting high-value products due to expired dates.

• Gap identified: No accessible tools exist for tracking and managing expiration timelines.

• Opportunity: Provide simple, intuitive ways to help users stay on top of their beauty product usage.

✨ Solution Focus

• Personalized expiration reminders – notify users before products expire.

• “Expiring Soon” section – highlight products that need attention.

• Sustainability tips – guide users on safe and eco-friendly disposal.

User Stories - Link

These user stories capture key insights and needs, organized into three epics:

1. Expiration Tracking & Reminders (Functional)

• As a user, I want to receive reminders before my products expire, so I can use them in time.

• As a user, I want to quickly log products, so tracking feels effortless.

• As a user, I want to see a list of items expiring soon, so I can prioritize them.

2. Maximizing Product Lifespan & Value (Thematic)

• As a user, I want to get tips on extending product use, so I waste less.

• As a user, I want to track usage habits, so I feel confident I’m getting value out of my purchases.

3. Clear Expiration & Safety Information (Functional + Thematic)

• As a user, I want to understand when products expire, so I avoid using unsafe items.

• As a user, I want to see safety and disposal guidance, so I can get rid of expired products responsibly.

Task Selection

I focused on a key user task: scanning a beauty product to set an expiration alert. This task was selected based on user pain points around tracking expiration dates and avoiding waste. The flow showcases how users can quickly input product details, receive reminders, and confidently manage their beauty items.

3. Ideate

Developed potential solutions through brainstorming, UI Inspiration board, sketching, and creating low-fidelity wireframes.

UI Inspiration Board

Sketches

4. Wireframes

Based on my sketches, I built Mid-Fi Wireframes to translate research findings into an intuitive app design.

5. User Testing

Approach

• Conducted usability tests with 5 participants using the high-fidelity prototype.

• Focused on navigation clarity, notification settings, and ease of logging products.

Key Findings

• 4/5 users set up an expiration reminder successfully without guidance.

• Participants wanted clearer labels and tooltips in navigation.

• “Expiring Soon” section wasn’t prominent enough and often overlooked.

Refinements Made

• Simplified and clarified notification setup.

• Added clearer labels, tooltips, and icons for navigation.

• Made the “Expiring Soon” section more visible and accessible.

✨ Key Obstacles

• Time constraints: Had to balance thorough research with limited 10-week capstone timeline.

• Design iterations: Some usability issues (e.g., confusing alert setup) required multiple rounds of refinement.

• Technical limitations: Couldn’t test barcode scanning in full, so relied on prototypes to simulate the feature.

High-Fidelity Wireframes

6. Branding

To define Bloom’s visual identity, I curated a moodboard around themes of elegance, clarity, and timeless beauty, drawing inspiration from natural textures, soft pastels, and modern editorial design.

UI Colors

Accessebility

Accessibility is incredibly important to my brand and to me. To ensure my chosen color palette and typography were used in a manner that is accessible to as many possible, I used the Github Accessible Color Palette Builder prior to designing my UI. 

✨ Typography

• Font: Comfortaa – clean, approachable, and modern.

• Style: Balances readability with elegance and simplicity.

• Hierarchy: Clear levels for headings, body text, and buttons ensure usability.

Final WordMark

UI Library

Organisms & Templates

High-Fidelity Mockups → [Click to Interact]

✨ Outcomes & Reflections

• 4/5 participants successfully set up reminders during usability testing.

• 80% of testers said they would use Bloom weekly to track products.

• Projected to help reduce expired products by 25–30% annually, minimizing waste and saving users money.

Key Learnings

• Empathy-driven design reveals how small pain points (like forgotten expiration dates) cause bigger frustrations.

• Iterative testing and clear, intuitive design are essential for usability.

• UX design can spark better habits and support sustainable futures.

Next Steps

• Enhance with AI recommendations and personalized insights.

• Build community features for shared beauty tips and sustainability practices.

• Expand testing with a broader audience to refine and validate features.