During the period of confinement, sales for skincare and haircare suffered less than makeup. The prolonged closure of big stores and malls impacted strongly on sales of luxury products. Stores that went out of business, such as Barneys New York and Lord & Taylor, didn’t help matters. However, the two market leaders, Sephora and Ulta, prospered during the downturn, and leaned more on skincare than on makeup.

As far as brands are concerned, historic leaders registered a definite decline in demand: M.A.C., Two-Faced, Lancôme, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Huda Beauty, NYX, Urban Decay... Only brands building on new artists or influencers who can speak to Generation Z and address their expectations in terms of sustainability, clean beauty, innovative packaging, and especially transparency regarding formula, managed to capture the attention of this group of demanding consumers.

New actors

Even since the launch of the Rare Beauty makeup line, Selena Gomez is leading sales at Sephora.com. It’s because of Selena’s personality, and her openness about her health issues. Selena Gomez was Good Will ambassador at UNICEF. She is very active on social media: the fourth most followed personality online, and she was, for a long while, the person the most followed on Instagram.

Her ambitious project is to collect 100 million dollars in ten years to enable young people to have access to mental health care. The fund will unite local and national organizations whose mission is to help the Rare Beauty community. Among her numerous very practical actions: putting in place a helpline for people in a crisis to get access to services and specialists. The Trevor project is a suicide hot line (in English and Spanish) dedicated to youths...

In this rapidly changing market, Madame Bobbi Brown, creator of the brand Bobbi Brown (Estée Lauder), decided to make her come-back after four years with a line of food supplements, Evolution_18, and has added to the Clean Beauty market a line dubbed Jones Road, which includes six products featuring clean beauty formulas with the “You - only Better” idea, destined to all women for a less makeup look. Jones Road is sold from Credo Beauty.

We are awaiting the launch of Jlo Beauty Sunset Glow, which is a little overdue… However, Jennifer Lopez is not wasting time and signed a deal with the Iconic London brand newly launched in the USA to create Jennifer’s mythic glow, presented in her new video for “Pa Ti”.

Much movement this fall and a certain optimism that reminds us that makeup can be fun. This is the result of a collaboration between Ciaté, Disney and the Muppet Studio. Miss Piggy has become the symbol of a new generation with her false eyelashes and pearls.

And let’s not forget the famous pepper sauce Tapatío, which has become a superstar with the creation of a limited-edition line that will spice up your look! Tapatio El Dorado Eyeshadow Palette, Tapatio La Diabla Eyeshadow Palette, Tapatio Pepper Infused Lip Gloss Set & Tapatio Drip Sponge. The collector item gift-pack was sold out on the first day. Ay! Caramba!