In short: Makeup UGC sells when a viewer can see the color on a face like theirs. The two things to brief are range and truth: creators across skin tones and undertones, filmed in natural light without filters, and a wear check later in the day. Idukki’s beauty playbook recommends swatches across at least eight skin tones for shade-sensitive products, and Vidovo’s guide asks for a short natural-light clip for shade accuracy. Keep claims to what the product is: if makeup claims sun protection, the US FDA treats that as a drug claim as well.
Why shade is the hard part
A shade on a swatch card or a studio model tells a buyer little about how it will look on their own skin. Idukki, a UGC software vendor, argues in its beauty and cosmetics playbook that customer swatches on wrists and faces can show a shade more honestly than studio swatches, because studio lighting can misrepresent color. That is the author’s argument, not a test result, but it explains why makeup brands brief for a range of faces rather than one polished look. The general brief method is in the beauty and skincare brief template.
What to ask for
Range
For products where shade matters, such as foundation, concealer and lipstick, Idukki recommends showing swatches across at least eight skin tones, ideally with the undertone (warm, cool or neutral) labeled, and mentions the Monk and Fitzpatrick scales as ways to describe tone. Its figure of eight is the author’s recommendation, not a standard. Brief several creators with different skin tones, and ask each to state the shade name and how it looks on them, in their own words.
Texture, pigment and finish
Vidovo’s guide lists what creators should show for makeup: texture and pigment (how creamy a blush is, how much color a swipe gives), blending for foundation, the shade and finish of lipsticks, concealers, bronzers and eyeshadows, and the finished look, whether matte, glossy, dewy, sheer, full coverage or textured.
Light
Vidovo suggests asking for several angles or a short natural-light clip for shade accuracy. Ask for a window, no ring light and no beauty filters, and say so in the brief. A filter that smooths skin or shifts color defeats the purpose of a shade video.
Wear
Vidovo says to capture before, during and after, and to add a later-in-the-day check-in for products where wear matters. For foundation, concealer and lip color, that check-in is the part buyers can’t get from a studio shot.
Short extra clips
Vidovo also suggests extra clips without dialogue, five to ten seconds each: opening, swatching, applying, the finished result. Those are what you cut into ads and product pages.
Claims
The FDA’s page on whether a product is a cosmetic, a drug or both says that a moisturizer or makeup that also claims sun protection is regulated as both, and that a product’s intended use is shown by the claims in its labeling, advertising and on the internet. Vidovo’s guide adds that creators should get approved talking points before filming and warns against unsupported product claims and dishonest before-and-after comparisons. In a brief, that means:
- Give the approved claims (“buildable coverage”, “matte finish”) and ask creators to describe what they see on their own skin.
- Say plainly that sun-protection, skin-treatment and long-lasting-wear claims only go in if the brand has approved the exact wording.
- Ask creators to use no filters and no editing that changes color.
- Remind them that the FTC expects free or paid products to be disclosed; see UGC disclosure rules.
Details are in cosmetic claims in UGC.
A makeup brief, in short
Objective: A 20–40 second video that shows the shade on real skin, for the product page and paid social.
Show: the product in the hand; the texture; applying and blending; swatches on your own skin in daylight; the finished look; a check-in later in the day.
Say, in your own words: the shade name, your skin tone and undertone if you are comfortable sharing, and how it looks and feels on you.
Do not: use beauty filters or color edits; compare to other brands; claim sun protection or skin treatment unless [approved wording].
Also send: three to five clips of 5–10 seconds without speech.
Common mistakes
- One creator, one skin tone, for a wide shade range.
- Filmed under a ring light, so the color on screen does not match the product.
- No wear check.
- Claims for sun protection or skin benefits that the brand has not signed off.
On Usicri
On Usicri you pick Beauty & Skincare as the category, paste the brief into the description, set the payout per video and how many videos you want, and say whether you send a product. Because brands cannot search for creators, ask for variety in the brief and set the number of videos high enough to get several faces and shades. If you send a product, interested creators contact you through “Ask a question” and you arrange delivery directly; Usicri does not handle shipping. You approve or reject each video and pay only for approved ones, with no platform fee at the moment. A campaign is not guaranteed to receive submissions. The license for an approved, paid video covers advertising (section 5 of the Terms of Service). See how it works for brands.
Shade range and routine formats: see inclusive UGC for different skin tones and bodies and Get Ready With Me (GRWM) UGC videos.