What it takes to scale subscription revenue for beauty brands

Most subscription apps were built for simple "subscribe and save" on a single product. Beauty doesn't work that way.

Your customers want to build routines, not subscribe to one product

When Lilac St. came to Loop, they were running a custom Recharge setup where each lash length (10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm) appeared as a separate line item in the customer portal. Subscribers building their ideal lash wardrobe saw a cluttered mess instead of a cohesive bundle.

Loop's Range Bundles let Lilac St. create a single subscription where customers pick multiple variants—all managed under one clean bundle ID. Subscribers swap out lengths, add new styles, or remove products they're not using. All self-service.

The result? A 13% immediate conversion rate increase because the experience finally matched how customers actually shop.

Products run out at different pace

A daily cleanser might last 30 days while a serum lasts 60. An eye cream could stretch to 90+.

At Lumin, they solved this with Loop Flows that automatically transition subscribers from trial sizes to full-size products when the timing is right. A customer signs up for a trial kit. After they've had enough time to use it, Loop automatically swaps their subscription to full-size products—no manual intervention, no awkward upgrade emails.

Combined with smarter payment recovery and retention programs, Lumin saw a 17% revenue increase from existing subscribers.

Discounts alone don't create loyalty

Ever Eden faced a classic dilemma: how do you offer compelling discounts without devaluing a premium baby skincare line?

Their solution: dual pricing. 20% off the first subscription order (substantial enough to overcome hesitation), then 15% ongoing (sustainable and premium-feeling). They also implemented promotional period protection—when they run site-wide sales, existing subscribers automatically get the sale pricing too.

This balance helped Ever Eden achieve 8X subscription growth in 3 months—during December, traditionally the slowest subscription season.

Most churn isn't "I hate this product"

Look at why people actually cancel: "I have too much product." "It's too expensive right now." "I want to try something different."

These aren't goodbyes—they're objections. OSEA Malibu had fewer than 30% of subscribers making it past order 3. The product was great—subscribers just couldn't see the value of staying.

Loop's cancellation flows changed that with a 3-layer approach: show what they're giving up, understand why they're leaving, then offer a personalized solution. "Too much product" gets a skip option. "Too expensive" gets a discount scaled to lifetime value.

OSEA cut churn from 10% to 5% in six months.

Failed payments kill subscriptions silently

At scale, failed payments aren't minor—they're a significant revenue leak.

Loop's Smart Dunning uses up to 15 retry attempts with payday-aware timing and one-click card updates. For Lumin, payment recovery alone contributed 12.6% of their 17% quarterly revenue increase.

How Loop does it

Build your own bundle

Loop's Bundle Builder lets you set minimum/maximum items, allow multiple variants within a single bundle, and apply tiered discounts that reward bigger orders. Everything shows as one clean bundle in the portal.

This is how Lilac St. achieved 72.7% subscription revenue growth—customers build lash wardrobes with multiple lengths, and the experience finally matched that behavior.

Loop flows (automation engine)

Loop Flows trigger actions based on subscriber behavior—no code required.

Beauty-specific examples:

• Trial-to-full-size transitions: After order 1, automatically swap trial SKUs with full-size products. This is how Lumin handles their trial program.

• Milestone rewards: At order 3, add a free sample. At order 6, unlock an extra discount.
• Free gift automation: Ever Eden uses this to combat second-order drop-off with surprise gifts at key milestones.

Cancellation flows that actually save subscribers

Loop's cancellation flows work in three steps:

Step 1: Benefits page. Remind them what they're giving up—upcoming rewards, perks, progress. OSEA shows "2 orders away from the free travel set."

Step 2: Reason survey. "Too much product" is different from "too expensive." Generic offers ignore this; Loop responds to it.

Step 3: Personalized offer:

• "Too much product" → Skip or reduce frequency
• "Too expensive" → Discount scaled to lifetime value
• "Want something different" → Product swap options
• "Need a break" → Pause instead of cancel

Customer portal

Loop's Customer Portal offers passwordless login and full self-service: swap products, change variants, skip orders, adjust frequency, add one-time items, and see rewards progress.

OSEA uses portal banners showing exactly where subscribers stand in the rewards journey—that visibility helped them cut churn in half.

Smart dunning (payment recovery)

Loop's Smart Dunning includes intelligent retries (up to 15 attempts), payday-aware timing, quiet background retries, and one-click card updates from email.

Lumin's 12.6% revenue recovery came from this system alone.

Zero-CAC upsells

Loop's upsell features show personalized recommendations in the portal and pre-shipment. OSEA grew upsell revenue from 4.5% to 6.8% of total subscription revenue with zero additional acquisition cost.

See it in action: Beauty brands using Loop

Lilac St. — Building the lash wardrobe experience

What they sell: DIY lash extensions in multiple lengths (10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm).

The problem: Their Recharge setup showed each lash length as a separate line item. A subscriber with four lengths saw four separate subscriptions to manage.

How they implemented Loop:

• Bundle Builder with minimum item requirements for subscription pricing
• Any combination of lengths in one cohesive bundle
• Tiered discounts that reward larger bundles
• Single bundle in the portal instead of multiple line items

During migration, Loop's team discovered and fixed a discount loophole that had been leaking revenue.

The results:

• 72.7% subscription revenue growth in 11 months
• 55.2% increase in total subscriptions activated
• 13% immediate conversion rate increase post-launch

Read the full Lilac St. case study →

Lumin — Turning trial customers into long-term subscribers

What they sell: Men's skincare—cleanser, moisturizer, dark circle defense.

The problem: The problem: Their trial kit was a great acquisition tool, but converting trialers to full-price required manual work. Failed payments used basic retry logic.

How they implemented Loop:

• Loop Flows automatically swap trial SKUs to full-size after order 1
• Smart Dunning with 15 retries and payday-aware timing
• Cancellation flows personalized by order count and lifetime value

The results: 17% quarterly revenue increase from existing subscribers:

• 12.6% from payment recovery
• 3% from retention improvements
• 1.4% from portal optimization

Read the full Lumin case study →

OSEA Malibu — Making loyalty visible

What they sell: Clean ocean skincare—body oils, serums, mists, masks.

The problem: Fewer than 30% of subscribers made it past order 3. Monthly churn sat at 10%. Subscribers couldn't see the value of staying.

How they implemented Loop:

Visual progress in the portal: Progress bars show "2 orders away from free travel set." Banners celebrate milestones and preview what's next.

Tiered rewards: Order 3 (deluxe samples) → Order 6 (travel-size) → Order 9 (full-size gift).

3-layer cancellation flow: Benefits page → Reason survey → Personalized offer based on value.

In-portal upsells: Recommendations based on purchase history.

The results:

• Churn reduced from 10% to 5% (50% reduction)
• 3% cancellation save rate
• Upsell revenue grew from 4.5% to 6.8%

Read the full OSEA case study →

Ever Eden — Premium pricing that still converts

What they sell: Premium baby skincare.

The problem: Aggressive discounts might drive sign-ups but devalue a premium brand. Price-sensitive customers cancel the moment a better deal appears.

How they implemented Loop:

Dual-pricing: 20% off first order, 15% ongoing—acquisition incentive without training customers to expect deep cuts.

Promotional protection: Existing subscribers automatically get sale pricing during promos, preventing cancel-and-rebuy behavior.

Bundle campaigns: Welcome emails promoting bundles drove $80 AOV (30% above typical $60).

Loop Flows: Surprise gifts at milestones to combat second-order drop-off.

The results:

• 8X subscriber growth in 3 months (during December)
• 156% year-over-year subscription revenue increase
• 20% higher conversion on bundle emails

Read the full Ever Eden case study →

What beauty brands say about Loop

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See all Loop reviews →

Ready to migrate?

Loop has migrated brands like OSEA without a single customer noticing.

How it works:

1. Audit your current setup and map to Loop
2. Data transfer and validation
3. Theme integration and testing
4. Flip the switch when ready

Subscribers keep their plans, billing info, and schedules. No action required from them.

What's included:

• Free white-glove migration from Recharge, Skio, Bold, Smartrr, Stay.ai, or any platform
• Dedicated success manager whose KPI is your growth
• 24/7 support via Slack, email, and phone

The guarantee: No measurable improvement in 90 days? We'll migrate you back free.

Pricing:

• Starter: $99/month + 1% transaction fee
• Pro: $399/month + 0.75% (includes dedicated CSM, rewards, API access)
• Enterprise: Custom

No per-order fees. Most brands save 40% vs. other subscription apps.

See pricing details →

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