---
title: "At-home trial of a skincare prototype | antedote"
description: "Home use, an online community and focus groups with women who buy higher-end skincare, exploring how they used a new skincare product in development."
url: "https://antedote.com/explore-our-work/at-home-skincare-prototype-trial/"
author: "antedote"
---

# Deciding whether to develop a new skincare product further

A beauty company wanted to see whether and how a new skincare product would become part of women’s routines before developing it further. We followed women using the prototype at home, then met them in focus groups.

**Client**
Beauty company

**Industry**
Skincare

**Market**
North America

**Kind of work**
Concept and product testing

**Our role**
In-home prototype trial and focus groups with women who buy higher-end skincare

## The question

Using the product meant forming a new habit, and the brand wanted to see whether and how that happened before committing more development to it.

It wanted to know where the product would fit in women’s routines, how often they would use it, and what they noticed in their skin afterward. It also wanted women’s own ideas for the concept and the format.

## Our approach

We followed the same women through repeated use at home, so we could see whether and how the product became part of a routine, as well as the first try.

Women showed us how they used the prototype in an online community, through posts, forums and individual challenges with moderated discussion.

The design separated what the product did from what a concept promised. Some women used the prototype without ever seeing a concept, and others read an unbranded concept first.

Focus groups drawn from the community then went deeper on use, benefits and positioning, and introduced the branded concept and pack designs.

## What the team came away with

We reported on the home trial and the focus groups together, drawing on women’s posts, challenges and discussions.

It was qualitative evidence from the women who took part: how they used the prototype in their own homes and routines, what they reported seeing in their skin, and why. It was built to inform the brand’s development decision.

Who we heard from

Women who buy higher-end skincare, in a home trial with an online community, then focus groups

## Related work

[View concept and product testing case studies](https://antedote.com/explore-our-work/?work=Concept%20and%20product%20testing#library)

- Beauty and personal care

    ### [Setting R&D priorities for a personal care device](https://antedote.com/explore-our-work/a-personal-care-device-tried-at-home-first/)

- Skincare

    ### [Judging skincare ideas from three brands by one standard](https://antedote.com/explore-our-work/skincare-pipeline-three-brands/)

**What we do**
[Concept testing and portfolio prioritization](https://antedote.com/what-we-do/concept-testing/)

## Developing new products or concepts?

We’d be happy to help you assess and improve them.

[Talk to us](https://antedote.com/talk-to-us/) · [hello@antedote.com](mailto:hello@antedote.com)

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