L’Oreal, which operates the .makeup top level domain, intends to double registration prices for .MAKEUP top level domains on September 6, Domain Name Wire reported.
Initially, L’Oréal planned to use the domain only for its own use. But the ICANN community banned this idea, mandating that generic strings be open for registration. One of them is, of course, the word makeup.
Large brands soon found quite a few loopholes to avoid the ban. L’Oréal agreed to open up the .MAKEUP domain to the public but burdened this decision with numerous restrictions. It has opened registration to those who are related to the make-up industry, namely makeup artists, and cosmetic designers and companies, who can only use their own names or brands for domain names.
Another and core effective instrument precluding registration is the price tag. The annual registration price for .MAKEUP domains, which initially was about $300 retail, soared to $5,000 in mid-April 2017. It appears that L’Oréal wants more, and the price has been hiked to $10,000 annually from September 6. It is not surprising, therefore, that there are slightly over 250 domains in this zone so far. But L’Oréal does not appear to be concerned by the minimal uptake.
