One of the hottest trends in makeup today used to be reserved for celebrities, but contouring and strobing have now taken off in the mainstream and are ramping up sales within the prestige beauty market, according to global information company The NPD Group.
Contouring, the technique of using shadow to give the face a slimmer and more carved look, was an $8.5 million industry in 2014, and has already more than tripled in size within the first eight months of 2015, exceeding $29 million, according to The NPD Group insights. Strobing is all about highlighting and using illuminators and luminizers to achieve a glowing, “lit from within” look.
“Thanks in large part to celebrity influences, endorsements and the Internet, contouring and strobing are redefining the makeup industry. One doesn’t need to be a professional makeup artist to use ‘high-definition’ or ‘camera-ready’ products, and after some searches on YouTube or social media anyone can potentially learn the techniques for themselves,” said Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst at The NPD Group.
“It is essential for beauty brands, retailers and manufacturers to further understand the impact of the societal evolutions happening today, because they are transforming not only consumers’ way of shopping and acquiring information, but also how they think, define beauty and perfection, and how they perceive themselves.”
Playing into these trends, face makeup products have become the fastest-growing area of prestige makeup, growing 15% in retail dollar sales from January through August, while total prestige makeup grew 13%. Other Face—a category that includes primers and contour, highlighting and sculpting kits—currently ranks as the second-largest face category, preceded only by foundation. Dollar sales grew 46%, versus being up 14% in the same time period last year. In addition, concealer now outranks blush as the third-largest face category, surpassing sales of blush products this year. Sales grew 19%, whereas blush sales declined 1% after 6% growth during this time in 2014. The concealers driving the current trend are “buildable” concealers, designed to be layered on as in contouring, without looking cakey.
“The immediate results of slimming, lifting and radiance achieved by makeup face products is not only affecting how consumers use and choose other makeup products; the growth of contouring and strobing has coincided with softer sales of facial skincare products as well,” added Grant. “While consumers understand the need for both skincare and makeup, the role of the two categories is becoming even more closely linked. The outstanding sales increase and shifts in the face makeup category indicate that many consumers are currently prioritizing makeup as the means to instant results.”
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