I was never really sold on Design Pulse to be honest.
When I started using Matrix the Trix line really stood out as a point of difference for me. It was affordable for clients and offered all the essentials they might need at more or less supermarket prices. If I recall it was between £6-£7 per product. This sat nicely with the essentials line of shampoo and conditioner which was a similar price. Biolage was a step up for more premium clients.
Then they discontinued trix and brought out design pulse a few months later. Similar product, new black packaging and a price increase of almost 100% in some instances.
Design Pulse for me has never sat in a "market". For it's price, a client could afford more premium lines such as Tec-Ni-Art (indeed, some Tec-Ni-Art products retail cheaper despite much better marketing support and advertising).
I think this gap has widened even more since they repackaged sleek.look etc. into cheaper packaging with a retail price of £5.99. Now, all of a sudden, the client's shampoo which repairs her hair is recommended at £5.99 but the wax to style it costs over £10? To me, those prices reflect 2 different markets but the interns at L'Oreal marketing dept. seem to think they apply to the same target category?
Also, the imagery used for Design.Pulse is at complete odds to the imagery used throughout the rest of Matrix. Matrix models tend to be 25+. Design Pulse is 18-25. That only works when one range has everything their target group need. Someone who is attracted to the Design Pulse packaging has no option for a similarly packaged wet line. So they tend to buy one or the other (clients need to feel good when they see these products lined up on their bathroom shelf).
I personally think that the packaging for Design Pulse is rather dull and boring ... if you buy 3 products you will end up with a "sea of black" on your dressing room table. It's not one they really thought through from a consumer point of view in terms of packaging or price.