How Wonderskin Turned a Viral Beauty Product Into a Brand Customers Keep Coming Back To

When the viral moment is over, the real work begins

By now, you've probably seen it. A bright blue lip mask peels away to reveal perfectly stained lips underneath. The transformation is instant—and almost impossible to scroll past.

That viral moment helped Wonderskin generate $125 million in sales last year, with revenue growing 300% across 2023 and 2024. But viral attention doesn't last forever.

The real challenge isn't getting someone to buy once—it's giving them a reason to come back after the algorithm moves on. That's where Attentive comes in.

Since partnering with Attentive in October 2025, Wonderskin has used SMS to create timely, personalized customer experiences that turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers.

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Turning curiosity into confidence

For Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM at Wonderskin, retention starts with delivering on the promise customers saw on social media.

"My job is to deliver on the promise of the ad or the video. Virality means nothing if your product and your communication as a brand don't match it." — Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM, Wonderskin

That's especially important because Wonderskin created an entirely new beauty category. A peel-off lip stain behaves differently from traditional lip products, so educating customers is just as important as inspiring them. That's why every channel has a clear role. Email helps customers learn how to prep, apply, and get the best results from their purchase, while SMS is reserved for moments when timing matters most.

Rather than treating SMS as another promotional channel, Wonderskin uses it to make customers feel like insiders. 

"Our customers check their SMS more than their emails, so we really rely on this. It's where we communicate limited-edition drops, early access, and exclusive launches because we know our customers check their texts much faster than their inboxes." — Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM, Wonderskin

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Creating moments customers don't want to miss

The clearest example of Wonderskin's VIP SMS strategy was its collaboration with Chipotle—the brand's biggest and most viral campaign to date.

At first glance, the partnership seemed unexpected. But it perfectly captured Wonderskin's core promise: a lip stain that survives even a burrito. The limited-edition shade featured an avocado-green peel-off mask that revealed a nude lip color underneath, turning the product's transformation into a campaign people couldn't stop talking about.

For subscribers, SMS added another layer of exclusivity. They were the first to know—and the first to shop.

"It sold out incredibly quickly, and we had so many customers asking us to bring it back that we relaunched it, then that sold out in just two days as well! That's exactly the type of moment we reserve SMS for. Our loyal customers really do get first dibs." — Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM, Wonderskin

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The same principle applies to every limited-edition launch. Whether it's a high-profile collaboration like Chipotle or a collection with limited inventory like Supergirl, SMS subscribers always get first access. By reserving the channel for moments that genuinely matter, Wonderskin gives loyal customers a tangible reason to stay subscribed.

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Reaching customers when they're most likely to buy

Launches may generate excitement, but some of Wonderskin's strongest SMS performance comes much later in the customer journey.

One of the brand's highest-performing automation is its Abandoned Cart journey, which achieves a 15.26% click-through rate by reaching shoppers while purchase intent is still high. Checkout abandonment messages also perform strongly, with a 13% CTR, proving that the right reminder at the right time is far more effective than another promotional blast.

SMS also plays a critical role in driving traffic to Wonderskin's TikTok Live sessions, where every minute counts. Subscribers receive a text when a live shopping event begins—or when time is running out—creating urgency that email simply can't match. Messaging is further tailored by customer behavior, with different reminders for new subscribers and customers who haven't purchased in more than 30 days.

That level of personalization relies on connected customer data. Michelle explains that platforms like Shopify help feed data into Attentive, enabling more relevant messaging, and calls Gorgias one of her favorite integrations to date because it’s so "seamless and easy to use."

Building loyalty to the brand, not just the hero product

Many beauty brands face the same retention challenge. Customers often fall in love with one product, but not the brand behind it. Michelle and her team have built their CRM strategy around changing that.

"Our job is to get them to fall in love with Wonderskin, not just one product. If someone loves the long-lasting nature of our lip stain, there's a good chance they'll love our brow stain or cheek stain too." — Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM, Wonderskin

Timing plays a huge role here. Rather than cross-selling immediately after a first purchase, the team waits until a customer's product is nearing the end of its lifecycle—typically around the 90-day mark—before introducing something new.

And it's working. Existing customers are expanding beyond their first purchase and discovering more of the product portfolio. That shift is also changing how people discover the brand. The lip stain once accounted for roughly 85% of first-time purchases; today, it's closer to 50%, a sign that customers are finding Wonderskin through a much wider range of products.

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Continuous testing keeps the momentum going

Wonderskin treats optimization as an ongoing process rather than a one-time project. By A/B testing abandonment journey copy, the team increased click-through rates by 44.6%. Testing different sign-up offers delivered a further 14% increase in SMS sign-up rates and a 31% increase in email sign-up rates, proving that even small changes can drive meaningful results.

Results

Since partnering with Attentive, Wonderskin has achieved:

• 76.2X program ROI
• 31X campaign ROI
• 278.5X journey ROI
• 15.26% CTR on Added to Cart journeys
• 13% CTR on Checkout Abandonment journeys
• 14% CTR on retargeting campaigns (vs. 2.82% overall)
• 44.6% increase in abandonment journey CTR through A/B testing
• 14% increase in SMS sign-up rate
• 31% increase in email sign-up rate

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Looking ahead

Wonderskin's roadmap already stretches to 2028, but the team's philosophy on lifecycle marketing isn't changing: reserve SMS for the moments genuinely worth a subscriber's attention, and let every other channel do the work of building a relationship that outlasts the next viral moment.

"If every text is urgent, none of them are. Attentive helps us reach the right customers at exactly the right moment. Whether it's early access to a product launch or a reminder when someone's ready to buy again, we know we're sending messages that are timely and relevant." — Michelle Hurney, Head of CRM, Wonderskin

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