Oil and clay were recognized and used regularly by the Ancient Egyptians for their beauty benefits, but in today’s world these ingredients have only recently become beauty buzzwords. They are also the two skincare textures experiencing the greatest growth within the U.S. prestige beauty industry, according to global information company The NPD Group's research gathered from BeautyTrends, its POS tracking service, which measures the performance of fragrances, makeup and skincare products. Dollar sales of skincare oils have more than tripled over the past five years, while clay/mud has more than quadrupled.
Sales of prestige skincare oils reached $58.5 million and grew 22% in the 12 months ending April 2015, while clay/mud grew 53% to $27.9 million. Oil is most prominent as a facial skincare moisturizer, though recently it has experienced the greatest lift within facial cleansers. Clay/mud is most common among facial skincare masks and continues to see high double-digit growth. At the same time, some of the more traditional skincare forms have been experiencing declines; serum sales have been declining for the past two years, as have lotion/milk formats.
“The growth in oils and clay/mud comes on the heels of the shift to more primary facial-care products we first began watching about five years ago. While corrective antiaging treatments are still an important part of the facial skincare market, the consumer is increasingly recognizing that there are other vehicles that provide great looking skin,” said Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst for The NPD Group. “With innovative new applications of age-old beauty secrets, consumers are discovering the noteworthy benefits of products that soothe and nurture the skin as well as address environmental aggressors, a primary source of aging.”
While New York and Los Angeles, the largest prestige beauty markets based on dollar sales, are among the regional growth drivers for these formats, smaller markets from Florida to Texas are performing just as, if not more, strongly, as follows:
- NYC, +31%
- West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce, Florida, +29%
- San Antonio, Texas, +29%
- Los Angeles, +25%
- Washington, D.C., +25%
In Europe a similar trend is happening in France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, particularly when it comes to skincare oils. Revenue growth in Europe, as of April 2015, is as follows:
- Clay/Mud, France, 45%
- Clay/Mud, Italy, 3%
- Oil, Italy, 27%
- Oil, Spain, 68%
- Clay/Mud, United Kingdom, 28%
- Oil, United Kingdom, 24%
“The popularity across continents of mud and, particularly, oils demonstrates just how important this trend is for newer skincare formats. For more than a decade, all the news in skin care was about serums and the technology,” added Grant. “The success and increasingly global footprint of the brands offering oil and mud products is telling us to also look for solutions from less traditional sources.”
[Image courtesy of The NPD Group]