Bio-Active Ceramide Eye Cream · Spec work · Not commissioned by The INKEY List
Brand overview
The INKEY List is a beauty and skincare brand making high-efficacy, ingredient-led products that reduce the confusion and high costs of traditional skincare. Their unique mechanism is single-ingredient driven packaging and the "askINKEY" educational platform, which tell you exactly what each ingredient does and how to build a personalized routine, paired with advanced clinical formulations like bio-active ceramides and peptides targeted at aging, hydration, and skin barrier repair.
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Watch this quick Loom first so I can walk you through my spec work for The INKEY List.
https://www.loom.com/share/da61b2b472a54435848bb0127343fd9e
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The full workbook
A self-initiated creative strategy project for The INKEY List, a real DTC beauty brand, built to show how I think and create ads.
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15qPPRWMYcjJUI05g4qSlFvfCWdgLi9czRVrvPrpCOVU/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15qPPRWMYcjJUI05g4qSlFvfCWdgLi9czRVrvPrpCOVU/preview?usp=sharing)
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The gap I found
- The angles that appear most are before and after, result-led and problem-led, and the statics lean on short claims like “lift. firm. smooth.” and “targets fine lines and crow’s feet.” They tell the audience what the eye cream does, but they never explain why they should choose it over the other eye creams. That leaves a gap with the women who most need a reason to switch.
- Real reviews show what earns the choice: “top tier results without the crazy prices” and a cream that works well under makeup. Other eye creams tend to solve one issue at a higher price, so an us vs them ad puts that reasoning in front of the audience.
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Why this headline
- I chose “I almost got eye botox until I found this” because it speaks to a belief my research shows the audience already holds: when products fail, injectables are one of the fixes.
- In the Reddit threads, women in their 40s say they’ve “given up” on finding anything for fine lines around the eyes and that botox is the only thing that works.
- The headline challenges that belief by suggesting a budget-friendly cream might be enough, and the clinically proven 51% eyelid lift makes the claim believable.
- It’s written in the first person as a personal confession, which fits the brand’s real, girl-talk, relatable tone and reads like a friend sharing a find, not an ad talking at her.
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