Make-up sales decline as Brits embrace K-Beauty “glass skin” trend

UK make-up sales declined in the first quarter of 2018 as Brits turned away from contouring and embraced the Korean beauty trend of “glass skin” – flawless, glowing complexions, discovered global information company The NPD Group.

Consumers put down their make-up brushes and instead opted for high-performance skincare, with the sales of anti-ageing moisturisers growing by 10% in the three-month period between January to March 2018. Toner sales increased by 15% in the same period, while serums (12%) and cleansers (2%) also grew in popularity.

Overall, sales of prestige skincare in the UK grew by 6% in the first quarter, while make-up sales declined by 2%, the report found.

“We have seen a definite shift in the purchasing behaviour of beauty consumers, who seem to be moving away from make-up products that create a defined, chiselled look to their make-up. The trend now is more towards natural enhancements,” said Helen Duxbury, senior account manager at NPD UK beauty.

Old favourites such as bronzers were affected, with sales declining by 5%, when compared to the same period in 2017. Blusher sales were down by 10% in comparison to last year’s figures, too.

However, other face products such as highlighters and primers, which are linked to the trend for glowing, natural skin, grew in popularity, with sales increasing by 19%.

“The increase in skincare sales and decline in make-up sales is a complex story,” added Duxbury. “There was a post-Brexit boost in prestige beauty with global shoppers flocking to the UK to purchase designer beauty brands and make-up really benefitted from this trend.

“It’s also important to remember that there was a social media frenzy around contouring and pronounced, heavy make-up styles on Instagram popularised by Kim Kardashian. However, we are now seeing the K-Beauty trend for ‘glass skin’ take hold and as a result, skincare sales are improving dramatically, especially cleansers, masks and serum.”

The total UK market for prestige skincare was valued at £594 million in 2017 and prestige make-up at £835 million.

In other news, wet wipes could be banned in the UK as the Government cracks down on plastic waste and a new report finds that men are more likely to buy beauty products if they are genderless.