Case Study / Analytical Research

Authenticity, Luxury Beauty, and Gen Z on Instagram

Independent final-year research based on 9 semi-structured interviews and a participant-led Instagram scroll-back task, examining how London-based Gen Z beauty consumers negotiate authenticity in sponsored luxury beauty content.

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My role

Independent researcher

Audience / Market Focus

Luxury beauty communication, influencer marketing, and Gen Z beauty audiences in London

Skills Demonstrated

Consumer InsightQualitative ResearchThematic AnalysisStrategic Translation

Participant-selected luxury beauty Instagram stimulus from the research project appendix

Participant-selected Instagram stimulus from the appendix, showing the kind of luxury beauty content discussed and decoded in interviews.

Context / Brief

Research Project Final

This project examined how authenticity is negotiated where aspirational beauty imagery, commercial persuasion, and moral judgement meet. Instead of treating authenticity as a fixed quality, it reframed the topic as an audience interpretation problem with direct implications for luxury beauty communication.

Objective

To understand how London-based Gen Z beauty consumers interpret sponsored luxury beauty posts on Instagram and translate those insights into more credible brand communication.

Research Basis

9 semi-structured interviews, participant-selected Instagram stimuli, and reflexive thematic analysis.

Process

From research design to strategic insight.

The project moved from literature and question design into qualitative fieldwork, then into a framework and clear brand-facing implications. This structure keeps the research academically grounded while making its strategic value easy to scan.

Step 01

Defined the research question and built a literature review around authenticity, luxury beauty, Gen Z, and Instagram platform behaviour.

Step 02

Conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with a participant-led scroll-back task to ground discussion in real Instagram encounters.

Step 03

Synthesised the data into a triadic framework and practical implications for luxury beauty communication.

Method Evidence

Sample and stimulus design.

This supporting artefact shows how the project was grounded in a defined participant sample and participant-selected Instagram stimuli, helping connect the research question to concrete beauty content rather than abstract opinions alone.

Participant sample and stimulus log from the research appendix

Appendix evidence showing the participant profile and the stimulus log used to anchor the interviews in real Instagram examples.

Authenticity is negotiated, not granted.

Participants balanced aspiration, scepticism, and moral judgement at the same time, rather than making a simple real-versus-fake judgement. London also worked as a lived filter for what felt believable, relevant, and ethically coherent.

Triadic framework developed from the research findings

Empirical framework developed from the findings, summarising how desire, scepticism, morality, and London context interact.

Strategic Response / Outcome

Strategic Response and Learning.

The value of the project was not only explaining audience perception, but translating qualitative insight into a clearer communication strategy for beauty brands working with Gen Z audiences.

Outcome / Learning

This project strengthened my ability to turn qualitative audience research into strategic recommendations for beauty and luxury brand communication.

Implication 01

Keep aspiration, but avoid over-staging. Polished content works best when routines, settings, and endorsement cues still feel plausible.

Implication 02

Build credibility through transparency, proportionate sponsorship, and peer-like proof rather than overly managed influencer theatre.

Implication 03

Treat ethics, inclusivity, and London-specific relevance as central communication signals, not secondary brand values.

Previous Project

Designing a Gen Z Beauty Launch Strategy for Flower Knows

A social-first communication plan designed to build awareness and engagement for Flower Knows among Gen Z and Millennial beauty audiences.

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A future-facing proposal exploring how Kiehl's could strengthen sustainable beauty leadership through circular thinking, transparency, and participatory brand experience.

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