Lash lifts and extensions now more popular than mascara

Anyone working in the beauty business knows that lashes are big business, but with lifts and extensions growing in popularity, are these services making the use of mascara obsolete?  

Well, a new report by Business of Fashion (BoF) is claiming just that, stating that the convenience and quality of lifts and extensions are causing people to ditch their trusty mascara. 

Beauty companies sold $8.1 billion worth of mascara last year, according to Euromonitor International. However, while it remains one of make-up’s biggest categories, growth is expected to slow to 2% through 2021, from 4% in the past three years, the report states. 

Why? It’s a mixture of reasons. Lash treatments are soaring in popularity, giving women beautiful lashes without the need for product. For newer, indie make-up brands, mascaras are tricky to formulate and the sector is so vast that it’s hard to get a stake in it.  

“People are willing to invest a little bit more in going and getting a lash lift or extensions because they know it then makes their routine in the morning that much easier,” Sarah Jindal, senior beauty analyst at Mintel, told BoF. 

“The comfort level with consumers to go and get these different kinds of treatments and services has definitely reached an all-time high.”

For example, on-demand beauty service provider Blow Ltd told BoF that lash lifts are now its fastest growing service, up 50% month on month. 

Meanwhile, cult beauty brand Glossier unveiled its first-ever mascara three and a half years after launching and stated that it took 248 formulations to get it right. 

Lash lifts have well and truly taken off in the past year. We find out why you can’t afford to ignore the most-talked about treatment.

  

Also, Professional Beauty launches first-ever Lash Championships at PB North this October. 

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