Two in five women have used or bought prestige make-up products in the past 12 months

Lipstick and prestige brands are driving the cosmetics market. Victoria Goldman reports on this fast-changing sector at a key time of year

Beauty bloggers are fuelling sales in the colour cosmetics market. According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) in July 2016, they inspire women to experiment with new looks and trends and invest in a wider range of products. In July 2016, the Euromonitor ‘Colour Cosmetics in the United Kingdom’ report revealed that the ‘selfie culture’ also plays a prominent role in market growth, especially through social media and online make-up tutorials.

So what are the current trends to keep in mind when choosing which cosmetics and fragrances to stock? And which important issues are customers likely to ask about over the coming months?

According to Mintel, lipstick is the second most commonly purchased face colour product. Its popularity was boosted in 2015 by fashion trends. By July 2016, one in four colour cosmetic products launched in the UK was a lip product, while 11 per cent were liquid foundations and 10 per cent were eye shadows.

As many as 40 per cent of all UK women purchased lipstick in the past year, rising
to 48 per cent of women aged 16-24. “Sales of lip make-up are expected to grow significantly this year, thanks to a high number of new product launches in the category,” says Charlotte Libby, senior beauty analyst at Mintel. “While matte lipsticks have been a popular trend, the fuller lip has been made fashionable again by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner. As beauty blogger tutorials continue to focus on recreating the full lip look, sales of lip products are expected to increase.”

According to Mintel, the eye colour market is facing a slowdown, with growth estimated at just six per cent in 2016. But Euromonitor’s 2016 report revealed that the trend for meticulously groomed eyebrows has boosted sales of other eye make-up. Products to style highly defined and shaped eyebrows were particularly popular, as brow gels, highlighters and specialised kits and styling pens accompanied the traditional eyebrow pencil.

Premium brands

Prestige brands are driving the fast pace of sales, thanks to new product innovation and helping women to recreate new season trends. But mass market remains the mainstay of the nation’s make-up bags, says Mintel. Two in five women have used or bought prestige make-up products in the past 12 months, while 68 per cent have used or bought mass-market brands.

Euromonitor’s Colour Cosmetics report found that sales of colour cosmetics sets and kits increased by four per cent in value in 2015, with premium sets and kits outperforming mass-market brands. This was fueled by consumers’ interest in creating specific looks, largely driven by online tutorials that allow consumers to experiment more and try out a variety of styles for different occasions and seasons.

In July 2016, both Mintel and Euromonitor revealed that the rise of contouring, strobing and colour correcting, particularly in young women, is driving the growth of facial make-up. These newer techniques use shadowing and highlighting to sculpt, contour and accentuate the face. One in five 16-24 year-olds have bought a highlighter and 14 per cent a contouring product in the past year.

Foundation/concealer and blusher/ bronzer/highlighter both grew by seven per cent in value in 2015, and powder by five per cent. Products specifically for contouring are also commonly available in a kit, and more kits for highlighting and strobing are expected to be launched.

Colour matching skincare is important too. The UK has a growing ethnic population, with young adults most likely to have mixed heritage. As a result, younger women are most likely to struggle to find suitable colours; 43 per cent of women aged 16-24 who use branded cosmetics say colours not matching their skin tone is their biggest make-up frustration.

Environmental issues

The UK government recently announced plans to ban microbeads in cosmetics and cleaning products, as these small pieces of plastic are thought to damage the environment. A single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean, and potententially the food chain. A number of cosmetic companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, have made voluntary commitments to phase out the use of microbeads by 2020.

Customers who want to avoid products containing microbeads should look for the words polyethylene, polypropylene and polymethyl methacrylate on labels. Nylon may also be listed, under the abbreviations PET, PTFE and PMMA. Many brands include information on their websites.

“With the UK government’s commitment to ban the use of plastic microbeads in skincare and personal care products, pharmacies should see more brands removing plastic microbeads from their formulations,” says Kim Allan, of Botanical Brands. “Some skincare companies have already made the change, but there are still those that continue to use plastic microbeads.”

‘Clean living’ is now influencing the beauty arena, according to Mintel’s GNPD report. The number of new colour cosmetics products launched in the UK with a gluten- free claim grew by 677 per cent between 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, the number of new products claiming to be free from genetically modified ingredients grew by 215 per cent during the same time period.

“The known impact of diet on appearance has sparked a stream of beauty launches in line with current diet trends, such as gluten-free, vegan and detoxing,” says Ms Libby. “As well as appealing to health-conscious consumers, these free- from beauty products also hold opportunity to appeal to other beauty consumers, such as those seeking halal-friendly products.”

Fragrances

Sales of most mass brand fragrances fell in 2015, according to Euromonitor’s 2016 report on fragrances in the UK, as many people shifted to premium brands instead.
According to the 2015 Mintel Fragrances UK report, niche and artisan brands are also on the rise. Artisan perfumes have unique fragrances, higher concentrations of natural ingredients and longer-lasting extracts.

Capitalising on the recent trend for fragrance mists that has been sweeping Japan and the USA, Yardley London has introduced moisture-enriched fragrance body mists to the UK. The new products are infused with English lavender, English rose, lily of the valley, April violets and English bluebell, all designed to complement the existing core perfume and body ranges. Yardley London also added to its Contemporary Classics Floral Fragrance Collection in August, with the English Dahlia collection.

“October to Christmas is the key selling opportunity for the fragrance category, with over 40 per cent of annual sales happening in three months,” says Karen Cullen, of Yardley London. “Pharmacies should capitalise on the demand for fragrances. It is important to ensure that testers of the eau de toilettes are available, so that customers can try the fragrance on their skin. If the customer is buying a fragrance as a gift, it may be more beneficial for them to buy a gift set or a product from the fragranced bath and body care ranges. This can either help with fragrance layering or be more affordable and less of a risk.”

Weleda launched three new 50ml sprays or eaux naturelles parfumées – slightly lighter than eau de toilette and more akin to the strength of eau de cologne – in
April. These new products are each inspired by the scents of Weleda’s Pomegranate, Wild Rose and Sea Buckthorn skincare collections, combining decades of fragrance expertise with the modern consumer’s desire for authentic scents and holistic, natural products. The range is NaTrue-certified authentically natural, and free from the parabens and phthalates usually found in conventional perfumes.