🫦 Steal Prada Beauty's Playbook for AI-Gen Imagery →

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Howdy! It’s Doone here, your hype girl 💗

Ok so! Back in ‘23 Prada Beauty quietly disrupted luxury marketing by doing something pretty unexpected at the time… they ditched the status quo on campaigns and started using AI-generated images on social. They knew they were ahead of the game.

But now this is totally the norm, and it’s so freaking exciting for founders who operate on a small budget (that are dreaming of luxury level campaigns!).

The reality of today’s world is: If Prada can do it, so can you….. ACTUALLY. And that’s what today’s break down is all about.

But first…

If you’re an OG hype-girl: I have a BIG announcement (and a little love note) for you… 💌

Female Startup Club has been 5 years of sparkle; powered by my endless curiosity around why the world is the way it is for women, and a deeeeeep obsession with cheerleading wealth generation through the lens of business. But here’s the thing: creating high-value content consistently takes time and energy (and money) to keep it shining bright. And while I’ve always wanted to keep the newsy content free, times are a changin’. To continue serving you the good stuff (and thrive) we’re introducing something new!

FSC Premium ~VIP BABY!~ yay!

What does this mean? 

💌 Our weekly newsy (like this) stays free
🍒 But premium members get a cherry on top; Exclusive deep dives and a growing library of automation templates (so you can copy/paste and implement with ease)
🔥 Plus: Paid members will get VIP priority for automation template requests, any collaborations we’re exploring and co-creating assets together - something I’m sooo excited about

So… If FSC has ever given you a spark of inspo, a game-changing tip or a reason to keep going and you want to support our future by being an OH-F*ING-GEE on our premium tier; I’m sending you a thousand thank-you’s in advance 💗 (and I am very obsessed with you).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re a non-techy (or spent your life thinking you were dumb like me) this is our era to sparkle really damn bright.

I’m SO excited to be in your inbox every week delivering ideas, insights and templates that set you up for success in this new economy of innovation 😍 

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Let’s jump in 👇

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💟 FINANCING: female-led firms are outperforming, so why is raising so hard?

💟 LAWSUIT: former Meta director suing the company over a ‘toxic pattern’ of silencing women: ‘I can show what happens when there’s more masculine energy’

💟 FASHION: Miu Miu officially names their new CEO as Silvia Onofri

💟 BEAUTY: Estée Lauder (owner of cosmetics brands Clinique, MAC and Jo Malone London) is shedding twice the number of jobs than planned (& blaming tariffs 👀)

💟 AI NEWS: Raji Arasu calls for diversity in the teams building AI & startup funding overall declined 12% in 2024 buttt AI investments surged 62% to $110B

Why Beauty Founders Should Be Using AI Instead of Hiring Expensive Photographers (and How to Steal Prada’s Playbook!)

*especially if you operate on a small budget

If you're running a beauty brand on a budget, you already know the struggle: professional product photography is expensive, time-consuming and requires constant reshoots to stay fresh. You should be saving that cash to double down on UGC, performance marketing and influencers: basically anything that is a direct money generating thing. Here’s how you can start creating your new product imagery suite today:

Step 1: Choose the Right AI Tool for Image Generation

There are two main ways to create AI-generated product imagery, depending on the style and realism you want:

1️⃣ Text-to-Image AI Tools

• To create: Conceptual, hyper stylized or editorial vibe imagery

• Best for: Dreamy, high-fashion, or surreal product shots that don’t require a base image.

• Tools to try: MidJourney, DALL·E, Leonardo.ai

2️⃣ AI Product Placement & Enhancement Tools

• To create: Super realistic mockups that look like real studio shots

• Best for: Making a real product photo look like a professional shoot.

• Tools to try: Flair AI

Step 2: Upload (or Create) Your Product Shot

👉 If you already have a product photo:

• Remove the background using Canva so AI can place your product into any setting.

• Upload into tool of choice

👉 If you’re starting from scratch:

• Use an AI tool like MidJourney or DALL·E.

• Write a detailed prompt to describe your product and setting (e.g. “A matte glass serum bottle placed on a floating gold cloud, soft cinematic lighting, Vogue editorial style”).

Step 3: Test & Refine

One of the tools everyone’s talking about rn is called Flair.AI so I gave it a whirl using a Rhode product shot with the background removed. The general gist is you upload your product imagery and any supporting imagery you might have (brand icons etc) and play around with the templates they offer, or make your own using prompts.

And for a first try, I think it’s pretty impressive!? At the click of a few buttons you can generate unlimited imagery (and videos!!). And this was completely free. Which means instead of new campaign imagery once in a blue moon, now every email campaign you send, every social media post or every ad; can be refreshed to be super on the pulse based on relevant pop culture-news-whatever you’re vibing in the moment.

Here’s a few additional prompts you could use as a starting point:

1️⃣ Luxe & Minimalist Gloss Campaign

Product: Lip gloss tube
Surrounding: With liquid chrome reflections
Background: In front of soft pink silk texture

2️⃣ Futuristic K-Beauty Aesthetic

Product: Lip gloss tube
Surrounding: With iridescent holographic light
Background: In front of a neon gradient glow

3️⃣ Playful & Viral TikTok Look

Product: Lip gloss tube
Surrounding: With futuristic shapes
Background: In front of a fluffy cloud background

IMO the 3 things that really contribute to a winning AI-generated product image is:

🔮 Inspo: Researching interesting inspo/moodboard imagery
👀 Refining: Most of the time our prompts need to be refined and evolve (it’s usually not on the first try you hit the jackpot!)
⏱️ Time: Don’t rush it. Settle in and take your time to learn and figure out these tools

Final note 👉 if you want a cheeky cherry on top, our paid subbies get access to an advanced list of prompts at the end of this newsy.

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