Los Angeles-It was a sunny Saturday in LA. The Grove Sally Beauty has become a colorful playground for beauty enthusiasts as it debuts COLORfest, a one-day open-to-the-public pop-up aimed at celebrating self-expression through hair and nail color.
Held from 10am to 10pm on March 14th, this immersive festival-style experience attracted more than 3,000 attendees throughout the day, transforming an outdoor shopping spot into a vibrant hub of product discovery, personalization, and hands-on experimentation.
Photo: Bella Camerino
The event marked the in-person expansion of Chief Marketing Officer Sally Beauty’s broader COLORfest campaign. Chris Kobus It’s described as “Sally Beauty’s month-long celebration of color, designed to foster product education, discovery, and accessibility.”
“The goal was to create a proprietary moment for Sally Beauty that leverages our expertise in an immersive and interactive way while reinforcing our leadership in hair color and nails,” Kobus explained. “The pop-up experience served as an in-person extension of the campaign to engage directly with consumers through personalized color analysis, expert consultation, live demos, and hands-on product discovery.”
Photo: Bella Camerino
Timing also played a strategic role. “Sally Beauty launched COLORfest in March, deliberately targeting a particularly busy time for the beauty industry,” he added. “Rather than blending in with the noise, we offer consumers fresh and exciting reasons to choose Sally Beauty through our carefully selected combinations of seasonal shades and expert-backed selections across key color categories.”
The choice of Los Angeles, and The Grove in particular, was equally intentional. “We chose a pop-up in Los Angeles because it is synonymous with creativity, individuality, and accelerating trends,” Kobus said. “Our launch at The Grove allows us to meet consumers where they are by intersecting foot traffic, diverse audiences, and cultural relevance.”
Photo: Bella Camerino
The layout encouraged exploration rather than a linear journey. “The outdoor festival-style format made the experience feel open, dynamic, and discovery-driven,” Kobus explained. “This allowed guests to explore at their own pace, interact with saree experts, discover new products, and fully immerse themselves in the world of color in a way that felt more experiential than traditional retail stores.”
Across its footprint, the experience was rooted in personalization, with a focus on education and confidence-building. One of the most popular activities was a personalized color analysis station where guests were guided through a process designed to identify their ideal shade. “Providing personalized color analysis was a core part of the consumer experience that our guests were highly engaged with,” Kobus said. “Professional color analysts tested 12 different seasonal color themes to determine the perfect match and complementary tone for each guest.”
Photo: Bella Camerino
From there, attendees “received customized guidance from Sally experts to help guests decide on their best hair color and nail shade using an interactive color wall featuring more than 160 swatches of products available at Sally Beauty,” he said. “This experience combined Sally Beauty’s professional-quality products with accessible education to give consumers the confidence to achieve their beauty journey without the need for a salon.”
Elsewhere, the Glam Bar offered an entryway to more playful, hands-on experimentation. Guests could try out temporary makeovers using Eva NYC Glitter Spray, hair tinsel, and Strawberry Leopard Color Service.
Photo: Bella Camerino
The physical environment played an important role in reinforcing that message. A bold, graphic visual identity featuring Sally Beauty’s signature red color permeates the entire space, from the oversized branded wall to the product display and iridescent arched entryway that doubles as a photo op.
“COLORfest was thoughtfully designed as a fully immersive, hands-on experience that brings color, creativity, and self-expression to life through product discovery, personalization, and educational touchpoints across hair color, hair care, and nails.”
“Social shareability and content creation were at the heart of COLORfest’s design,” Kobus said. “Color was at the heart of the experience, with our signature Sally Beauty red setting the tone, and vibrant complementary colors brought to life through branded photo walls, arched entryways, and product displays that felt camera-ready at every corner.”
Photo: Bella Camerino
Interactive elements are intentionally designed to convert into content. “Moments such as the prize wheel, color analysis station and glam bar provided a fun hands-on experience for guests and naturally translated into social content,” he added. “That bold color-fest look was cut into Sally Beauty’s month-long campaign.”
Importantly, the experience extended beyond the event itself. Guests walked away with an assortment of curated products valued at $100, along with special offers designed to encourage continued engagement.
Photo: Bella Camerino
Sally Beauty measured success from multiple perspectives. “We welcomed more than 3,000 guests during our one-day pop-up, making COLORfest one of our most-attended one-day events ever,” Kobus said. “More than the number of participants, the quality of guests who registered to participate in this experience was important. 84% of registrants were new registered customers, furthering our goal of reaching new customers and building long-term brand equity through COLORfest events.”
He added that the impact also extended to digital and retail channels. “We also saw strong engagement across our proprietary social channels following the event, as well as increased store sales and traffic across Sally Beauty stores in the Los Angeles area. Together, these results reinforce that COLORfest is a successful and high-impact event that we look forward to continuing.”
This event was produced in partnership with Experience Agency 3CSwith PR support from coordinate measuring machineArctic Fox, Good Dye Young, ion, Iroiro, Manic Panic, Strawberry Leopard, Wella, ASP, Beauty Secrets, Dashing Diva, Nailboo, Biotera, bondbar, Eva NYC and more.
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