Competitive Audit of Tarte’s Shape Tape
As part of my Internship capstone, I collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to conduct a competitive analysis and strategic audit of Tarte’s Shape Tape, one of the most iconic products in the beauty industry.
The project culminated in a formal presentation shared with Tarte’s leadership, where we explored how Shape Tape could continue to evolve across web design, merchandising, social media, and digital marketing in an increasingly crowded and fast-moving beauty landscape.
Rather than focusing on aesthetics alone, our goal was to research, compare, and analyze how competing brands show up across digital touchpoints, identify gaps in the current experience, and propose creative, user-centered solutions rooted in real consumer behavior.
This project challenged us to think like strategists and translate insights into tangible recommendations.
The Approach: Research First, Design Second
We began by analyzing Shape Tape’s position within the concealer category, comparing it against key competitors across:
Website UX and product detail pages
In-store Retail Merchandising tactics
Social media content (brand, influencer, and everyday users)
Digital marketing efforts (paid ads, email, affiliates, & loyalty programs)
By looking at how users discover, evaluate, and decide, both online and in-store, we were able to identify patterns, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Within the group, I took leadership of three core areas: Website UX (Review Page Redesign), Social Media Strategy, and Digital Marketing Analysis.
Web Design: Reimagining the Review Section & Loyalty Program Experience
One of my primary contributions was designing an updated two page mockup for Tarte’s overall product review sections and loyalty page.
Through our competitor research, it became clear that reviews play a critical role in reducing purchase anxiety, especially for complexion products where shade, coverage, and skin type matter deeply. Many leading beauty brands have begun enhancing their review experiences with clearer structure, filtering, and visual cues, while Shape Tape’s existing review experience left room for improvement.
I ideated and designed an updated review page that focused on:
Supporting statistics (recommendation percentages, average ratings)
Smart filters (age, skin type, skin tone)
Popular topics surfaced directly from customer language
Reviewer profile context to increase trust and relatability
In addition to redesigning the review page experience, I also mocked up a reimagined loyalty page layout focused on clarity, incentive visibility, and ease of navigation.
What Informed the Design:
Research showed users engage more with loyalty programs when value is immediately clear
Prioritized clarity, structure, and scannability in the layout
Focused on reducing friction between incentives and action
The goal was to make both pages faster to scan, easier to personalize, and more helpful for decision-making, while still aligning with Tarte’s brand tone. This UX exploration reinforced how even small interface changes can significantly improve clarity, confidence, and conversion.
Social Media: How Concealers Lives Online
I also led the social media analysis, comparing how beauty brands concealers appear across:
Branded channels
Influencer and affiliate content
Everyday user-generated content
By studying trends across Instagram and TikTok specifically, I identified clear content patterns driving engagement in the beauty space, including:
Before & after comparisons
GRWM and storytime-style videos
Coverage tests and “proof” content
Informational carousels paired with aesthetic visuals
This research revealed an opportunity to lean further into the balance of education and entertainment, using social content not just to promote, but to prove product performance in real, relatable ways.
From this, we proposed content areas that felt native to how users already consume beauty content, while still reinforcing Shape Tape’s credibility and hero status.
Digital Marketing: Mapping the Full Funnel
I also focused on digital marketing, where I analyzed how concealers shows up across:
Paid ads
Affiliate sites and beauty blogs
Email marketing
Loyalty and rewards programs
By comparing messaging, incentives, and value propositions across competitors, patterns quickly emerged. Brands that clearly communicate benefits, social proof, and rewards at key moments tend to build stronger trust and repeat engagement.
From this analysis, we explored opportunities to:
Strengthen loyalty touchpoints
Better connect education tools (like shade matching) to promotions
Use personalization to reduce friction and increase confidence
This section pushed me to think beyond visuals and consider how strategy, messaging, and incentives work together across the customer journey.
Key Takeaways
This capstone reinforced how powerful research-backed creative problem solving can be. By grounding design decisions in real user behavior and competitive insights, we were able to propose ideas that felt both strategic and actionable.
Personally, this project strengthened my ability to:
Analyze brands across UX, social, and marketing
Translate insights into visual and strategic recommendations
Collaborate within a team and clearly define ownership
Present strategic thinking to leadership-level audiences
Hey, I’m Ashley!
I am a graphic & interactive designer passionate about creating purposeful, fun, and engaging design. Whether it’s a brand identity, a responsive website, or a social media campaign, I love connecting ideas with strategy to make work that’s not only beautiful, but effective.
