The Skincare Routine Is the Product: Shopify Agencies That Understand Beauty Bundling

If you want a Shopify beauty and cosmetics agency to build a build-your-own skincare routine, start with four that have public case studies showing routine, bundle or quiz work: Swanky (Bouclème), Lucent Innovation (Trestique), Techtic (Hey Bud Skincare) and We Are Crisp (SOMM Skin and its skincare practice). Each one shows a different strength, and none publishes hard revenue figures for the routine work itself, so ask for them.

That's the short answer. The rest of this post looks at what each agency actually built, what its case study does and doesn't prove, how to compare proposals, and when you don't need an agency at all. We make Push Bundle and DiscountRay, two Shopify apps that can cover part of this work, so we've marked where an app is enough and where it isn't.

If you're still choosing between bundle types for a beauty store, such as fixed sets, mix and match, or build-a-box, read our guide to Shopify beauty bundles on the Push Bundle blog first. This post doesn't repeat that. It's about who to hire when the routine itself is the product.

Key takeaways

• A skincare routine isn't just a bundle with a discount. It mixes product selection by skin type or concern, step order, pricing, refills on different schedules and reviews that buyers can filter.

• Swanky's Bouclème project shows routine merchandising: navigation by curl type and hair goal, a hair quiz, a "Complete the Routine" section and subscriptions limited to one size by custom code.

• Lucent Innovation's Trestique project shows a custom build-your-own kit in React, where ten products show as one bundled item in the cart.

• Techtic's Hey Bud project shows a "Build Your Bundle" flow with real-time pricing and tiers of "Buy 2 Save 10%, Buy 3 Save 15%".

• We Are Crisp runs a dedicated skincare Shopify practice and describes build-a-routine modules, quiz logic and refills on different schedules, though not tied to one named client.

• None of the four case studies publishes measured revenue from the routine work. Ask each agency for numbers before you sign.

• If your routine is "pick three or more from these products and save", an app such as Push Bundle may cover it without an agency.

Why routine work is different from ordinary bundling

A gift set is one decision: the shopper buys the box or doesn't. A skincare routine is a chain of decisions. The shopper has to know their skin type, pick a cleanser that suits it, add a treatment step, pick a moisturiser that won't clash, and maybe add SPF. Each step depends on the one before. If the store doesn't help, the shopper either guesses or leaves.

That changes what you need from an agency. A general Shopify agency can build a bundle page. A beauty agency that understands routines will ask different questions:

• How do shoppers describe their skin, and does your navigation use the same words?

• Which products should never appear together in one routine?

• Does each product refill at the same pace, or does a serum last twice as long as a cleanser?

• Should a routine show in the cart as one item or as separate products?

• Can reviews be filtered by skin type, so a shopper with dry skin sees reviews from people like them?

• Who changes the routine when you launch a new product?

When you speak to an agency, see whether it asks these before you do. The ones below show, in their public work, that they've dealt with at least some of them.

How we chose these agencies

We looked for agencies that meet three tests:

1. A public case study on their own site that shows routine, bundle, quiz or regimen work for a beauty or skincare brand on Shopify.

2. Enough detail to tell what was built, not just "we redesigned the store".

3. A named client we could check.

We didn't take payment from any agency, and none of them knew we were writing this. We also didn't rank them, because the right one depends on your project. For each agency we've noted what the case study shows, what it doesn't show, and what to ask.

One caution: case studies are marketing. They show the agency's best work, written by the agency. Treat each one as evidence of what the team can do, then check it on a call and with the client if you can.

Swanky and Bouclème: routine merchandising on Shopify Plus

Swanky is a Shopify Plus agency. Its case study for Bouclème, a curly hair care brand, is the clearest public example we found of a store organised around a routine rather than around products.

What Swanky built

• A bespoke Shopify Plus theme.

• Navigation by curl type and by hair goal, so shoppers start from their hair, not from a product category.

• A hair quiz using QuizKit that asks about goals, curl type, scalp and treatment history.

• A bespoke "Complete the Routine" section on product pages, which suggests the next steps once a shopper is looking at one product.

• Subscribe and save through Recharge at 15%, limited to the 300ml variants by custom code.

• A loyalty programme, the "Strong Curls Club", on Yotpo, with Yotpo reviews that shoppers can filter by curl type.

• A move from separate UK, US and EU stores to two stores.

What it shows

The project shows that Swanky thinks about the routine as the main way to shop. Navigation, the quiz, the product page section and the reviews all point the same way: start with your hair, then find the products. The subscription rule is a good sign too. Limiting subscribe and save to one size is the kind of business rule that apps often can't express, and Swanky solved it in code.

What it doesn't show

The case study doesn't describe a bundle or a build-your-own kit. "Complete the Routine" suggests products, but the shopper still adds them one by one. It also doesn't publish measured results for the routine work. And Bouclème is hair care, not skincare, though the routine logic is the same.

Best fit

Brands on Shopify Plus, or moving to it, that want the whole store built around routines, with quiz, navigation and subscriptions working together. Less suited to a brand that only needs a bundle builder on an existing theme.

Questions to ask Swanky

• Has the team built a build-your-own routine bundle, where the routine checks out as one item?

• How did the 300ml subscription rule work, and who maintains it?

• What changed in conversion or subscription rate after launch?

Lucent Innovation and Trestique: a custom build-your-own kit

Lucent Innovation is a Shopify development agency. Its case study for Trestique, a beauty brand known for multi-use makeup, is about one thing: a custom "Build Your Own" kit.

What Lucent built

• A custom kit builder in React, using Shopify's Storefront and Admin APIs, on Shopify Plus.

• A cart that treats the kit as one item. In the agency's words, "A customer could pick ten separate products for their kit, but the cart displayed it as one bundled item."

• A cart count that shows bundles, not loose units, and a side cart with a free-shipping progress bar.

• Kit pricing through Shopify's Script Editor.

• An admin dashboard so the brand can change bundles and prices without a developer.

What it shows

This is the most technical routine-style build in our list. Showing ten products as one cart item is harder than it sounds, because Shopify carts are built around individual line items. Lucent also gave the brand an admin view, which matters: a kit builder that needs a developer every time you launch a lipstick shade isn't a kit builder you'll keep.

What it doesn't show

The case study doesn't publish results. It also used Script Editor for pricing. Shopify has been retiring Scripts in favour of Shopify Functions, so if you're hiring Lucent for similar work now, ask how they'd build the pricing today. Trestique is also makeup, so the case study doesn't cover skin-type logic or refill timing.

Best fit

Plus brands that want a fully custom kit builder with their own design and rules, and have the budget to maintain custom code. Overkill for a brand whose kit is "pick any three, save 15%".

Questions to ask Lucent

• How would you price the kit today, now that Scripts are being replaced by Functions?

• How does the single cart item map back to individual products for stock and fulfilment?

• What does the brand's team change in the admin dashboard, and what still needs a developer?

Techtic and Hey Bud Skincare: bundles with live pricing and skin filters

Techtic is a development agency with a Shopify practice. Its case study for Hey Bud Skincare, an Australian hemp-based skincare brand, combines a bundle builder with filtering by skin concern.

What Techtic built

• A "Build Your Bundle" flow with real-time pricing, so the shopper sees the price change as they add products.

• Quantity tiers of "Buy 2 Save 10%, Buy 3 Save 15%", set up through metafields.

• Filters for skin type, product type and skin concern.

• Subscriptions through Skio.

• Reviews through Reviews.io, support through Gorgias and email through Klaviyo.

What it shows

Of the four, this is the closest to a skincare routine as most shoppers meet it: filter by your skin, pick a few products, watch the price fall. Running the tiers through metafields means the brand can change the discount levels without a code change, which is the right instinct.

What it doesn't show

The only result given is a qualitative "notable uplift in AOV", with no figure or time period. The case study doesn't describe step order, so it's a "pick any" bundle rather than a guided routine. It also doesn't say how the bundle behaves with Skio subscriptions.

Best fit

Brands that want a bundle builder with skin-type filtering and a full app stack set up by one team, and don't need a fully bespoke theme.

Questions to ask Techtic

• What was the AOV change, measured over what period?

• Can bundles be subscribed to, and how do refills work if one product runs out first?

• Could the same result be reached with an off-the-shelf bundle app, and why did you build it custom?

We Are Crisp: a dedicated skincare Shopify practice

We Are Crisp is a London-based Shopify Premier Partner, with locations in the UK, Ireland and Spain. Unlike the other three, it has a page specifically for skincare Shopify work rather than one case study.

What the page shows

• SOMM Skin, described as a "trust-centric platform focused on routine clarity".

• Other skincare clients named on the page: Wildsmith Skin, Segle Clinical, Skin Generics and Skin Molecule.

• A description of "build-a-routine" modules, quiz logic using Octane AI, and refills on different schedules. The example given is a cleanser every 30 days and a serum every 60.

What it shows

The refill example is the detail that stands out. It shows the team understands that a routine isn't one product on one schedule. A shopper who subscribes to a whole routine and gets everything every 30 days ends up with a cupboard full of serum, then cancels. Planning refills by product is the right way to think about it.

What it doesn't show

The build-a-routine modules and quiz logic aren't tied to a named client on the page, so you can't tell which brand uses them. There are no published results for routine work. Ask to see a live example.

Best fit

Skincare brands in the UK and Europe that want an agency with several skincare clients and a clear view of routines and refills.

Questions to ask We Are Crisp

• Which client uses the build-a-routine module, and can we see it live?

• How do you set up refills on different schedules in one subscription?

• What did routine clarity change for SOMM Skin in measurable terms?

The four agencies side by side

The pattern is clear: every agency here can show the work, and none can yet show the numbers in public. That doesn't mean the work failed. Agencies often aren't allowed to publish client figures. But it does mean you should ask for results under NDA, or ask to speak to the client.

What a routine project usually includes

When you brief an agency, it helps to know the pieces a routine project can include. Not every brand needs all of them. Pick the ones that matter and say so in your brief, so proposals are comparable.

• Skin or hair profiling: a quiz or finder that sorts shoppers by type, concern or goal.

• Routine logic: which products go in which step, and which can't be combined.

• The builder: the page where the shopper picks products for each step.

• Cart behaviour: whether the routine shows as one item or several, and how it's removed or changed.

• Pricing: a fixed routine price, a percentage off, or tiers by how many products are chosen.

• Subscriptions and refills: whether the routine can be subscribed to, and whether each product refills at its own pace.

• Reviews and proof: reviews filterable by skin type, before-and-after content, or ingredient explanations.

• Stock and fulfilment: how a routine affects stock for each product and how the warehouse picks it.

• Reporting: which routines sell, where shoppers drop off, and how routine buyers reorder.

• Admin: what your team can change without a developer.

The list also helps you spot gaps. If a proposal covers the builder and the quiz but says nothing about refills or stock, ask why.

How to compare proposals

Proposals for routine work vary a lot, because "build a routine builder" can mean anything from a styled bundle app to a fully custom React app. When you have two or three proposals, put them side by side and check:

1. Build approach. Is it custom code, an app, or an app with custom styling? Each has a different long-term cost.

2. Pricing method. Does the discount run through Shopify Functions, an app's discount, or something else? Avoid anything that depends on Scripts.

3. Who owns the logic. Can your team change routine steps, products and prices, or does every change need the agency?

4. Subscriptions. Which subscription app is assumed, and does the routine work with it?

5. Testing. Does the proposal include testing on a phone, with each skin type, and with out-of-stock products?

6. Measurement. What will be measured after launch, and when will you review it together?

7. Handover. Is there documentation and training for your team?

A cheaper proposal that leaves pricing and admin to the agency can cost more within a year than a dearer one that hands control to you.

Custom build or app: the ownership question

Every agency above has built at least part of its routine work in custom code. That's often right for Shopify Plus brands with unusual rules, like Bouclème's 300ml-only subscriptions or Trestique's ten-products-as-one-item cart. But custom code has a cost that doesn't show in the first quote:

• Every Shopify platform change can need a code update, as the move from Scripts to Functions shows.

• New products need adding to the builder. If that's a developer task, launches slow down.

• The person who built it may leave the agency.

Apps carry their own trade-offs. You pay monthly, you accept the app's layout options, and the app decides what's possible. But the app maker maintains the code through platform changes, and your team can usually manage products and prices in the app's admin.

A middle path is common: an app for the bundle and discount logic, with the agency styling it and building the quiz and navigation around it. Ask each agency whether it would consider this, and why or why not. An agency that only proposes custom code, even for a simple "pick any three" bundle, may be quoting for its own convenience.

When you don't need an agency

Many beauty brands don't need an agency for routine bundles. If your routine is a choice of products at a discount, an app may cover it.

• Push Bundle Growth ($14 a month, or $134.40 a year) adds Build-a-Box, Mix & Match, min and max limits and a multi-step builder. A multi-step builder can walk the shopper through cleanser, treatment and moisturiser in order. The free Starter plan includes volume bundles and works on POS.

• DiscountRay can add quantity tiers, such as a better price when a shopper buys three products, on its free Starter plan. Growth ($14 a month) adds B2B pricing by customer group or tag, which helps if you also sell to salons or spas.

• Shopify's own Bundles app is free and handles fixed sets and multipacks, with up to 30 components, 3 options and 100 variants per bundle. It sells on the Online Store, Shop and POS, but can't be sold with selling plans such as subscriptions, which rules it out for subscribable routines.

An app is usually enough when:

• The routine is a choice of products from a set list, with a discount.

• You don't need a quiz, or you're happy with a quiz app on its own.

• Your theme can show the builder well enough with some styling.

• Your team will manage the routines themselves.

An agency is usually worth it when:

• The whole store needs restructuring around skin types or concerns.

• Subscriptions need custom rules, such as refills on different schedules or only some sizes.

• The routine needs to check out as one item with custom cart behaviour.

• You're on Shopify Plus and need custom Shopify Functions.

Red flags in a beauty agency pitch

• Case studies with lots of before-and-after screenshots but no description of what was built.

• No questions about your skin types, routine steps or refill pace in the first call.

• A quote for a custom builder before anyone has asked whether an app would do.

• Discount logic that depends on Shopify Scripts.

• No mention of how the routine works on a phone, where most beauty shoppers browse.

• No plan for what happens when one product in a routine goes out of stock.

• Results quoted without a time period or baseline.

Agencies we looked at but left out

We reviewed other agencies with beauty clients and left them out because their public work didn't show routine, bundle or regimen builds. That doesn't mean they can't do it, only that we couldn't check it.

• Swanky's Silk Oil of Morocco project is a good beauty build, but it's about the tech stack rather than routines.

• Dynamic Dreamz lists beauty clients including EDDUS & Co, RENÉE and Ranavat, but its pages describe services rather than routine work.

• Netalico has beauty clients such as Silverist, evanhealy and Petite n Pretty, but its case studies don't describe routine builders.

• Domaine's work for Olaplex is about professional storefronts, not consumer routines.

If you work with one of these and they've built routine features, ask them for the case study. We'd be glad to add them.

How to use this shortlist

1. Write a one-page brief: your skin types or concerns, routine steps, products, pricing idea, subscription app and Shopify plan.

2. Mark which of the routine pieces above you need.

3. Ask whether an app could cover the builder and pricing. Try Push Bundle's free plan for an afternoon if you're not sure.

4. Send the brief to two or three agencies from this list.

5. Ask each one the questions in its section, plus "what results can you share under NDA?"

6. Compare proposals on build approach, pricing method, ownership, subscriptions, testing, measurement and handover.

7. Ask to speak to one client before you sign.

FAQ