Getting a professional makeover on the go

Plus Beauty makeup booths have been sprouting up across Shanghai's downtown malls over the past year, providing customers with personalized services for between 100 and 250 yuan ($14.6-36.4).

Measuring about 4 square meters, these booths are stocked with products such as Lancome foundation, Givenchy eye shadow and Armani lipstick. Each makeup session lasts about an hour.

"Putting on makeup on every morning before leaving home has yet to become a routine for the majority of Chinese women. For many, they only get their hair and makeup done to perfection on one day in life-their wedding day," says Fu Jiaying, the founder of Plus Beauty, who says these beauty booths are part of the makeup-sharing economy.

"The booths will allow them to attain such perfection more often, and help them to gradually develop the habit of putting on makeup."

Founded by Fu in the summer of 2018, Plus Beauty currently has 15 booths in the city, all of which were opened within the space of a year. Located mostly in shopping malls in the downtown areas, each booth services an average of 10 customers per day. Customers are usually office workers aged between 25 and 40.

"Makeup-sharing booths with convenient and cost-effective services were born to meet growing demand. Our mission is to make Chinese women more beautiful and confident," says the 36-year-old, who used to be a wedding planner.

According to Fu, these booths have been well-received, with reservations growing by 20 percent month-on-month.