Amid the pandemic’s lockdowns, public mask mandates, and WFH lifestyles, many women changed their beauty routines over the last year.
For those who weren’t on Zoom all day, it was easy to switch to simpler routines with less makeup—nobody was seeing it anyway. Others started wearing more saturated colors to combat less-than-ideal lighting on video calls. Now that masks are coming off and we’re all reemerging from our COVID pods, women have another opportunity to rethink their skincare and makeup regimens—and beauty brands have new product development and marketing opportunities to tap into.
But how can brands see far enough into the future to act on beauty trends that will peak in one to three years?
With Skai, it’s easy to extract insights that drive innovation. The Skai platform provides a holistic ecosystem view of trends, category interactions, macro drivers, and brand positioning for key industry categories. Our advanced analytics reveal new opportunities for brands, offering inspiration from across the ecosystem and creating unique and disruptive innovations that are well-positioned for success.
Advanced analytics platforms like Skai are designed to reach deep, linking thousands of external data sources such as social media posts, product listings, product reviews, patent filings, key opinion leaders’ posts, research papers, business news, conference programs, clinical trial results, point-of-sale data, demographic data, blogs, forums, and other sources. Applying patented natural language processing (NLP) techniques and advanced taxonomies yields hidden consumer sentiments, pricing trends, hype cycles, advancements in research, and more.
Here are four interesting beauty trends that Skai predicts will emerge when we all start showing our faces again:
Post-COVID Beauty Trends #1 – Interest in appearance-improving products is on the rise
Now that we’re venturing out unmasked, we’re noticing skin imperfections and looking for ways to treat them. Online discussions around products that control dark spots and redness were up more than 70% in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020. Fine lines are also a growing concern, with 99% more conversations now compared to the end of last year.
Post-COVID Beauty Trends #2 – Lip products are back in demand
Market research firm IRI reports that lipstick sales were up 80% from mid-March to mid-April 2021 compared to the same time last year. Skai’s data shows that women are renewing their interest in more than just lipstick; lip balm, lip primer, and lip plumper are all being discussed online more often, and more positively, than they had been last year.
Post-COVID Beauty Trends #3 – The bronzed look is in
Summer has officially arrived, and a sun-kissed glow is now a must-have. But that doesn’t mean that we’re spending a lot of time tanning outside; positive sentiment around tinted moisturizers and self-tanning products is up significantly and discussions have increased more than 20% since last year.
Post-COVID Beauty Trends #4 – Brightly colored makeup is trending
Since last year, there’s been a 43% increase in consumer discussions mentioning “bright colors” and a 245% increase in reviews referring to high intensity color. Specific colors are driving more discussion than ever: pink shades have been mentioned in 2677% more reviews while gold shades have seen a 454% increase. Blue, yellow, and green are all on the rise too, with around 200% more review mentions for each. Shimmer, glitter, and neon makeup are all experiencing a big boost in consumer discussions, and makeup brands are ready to capitalize on the trend; there’s been a steady increase in patents filed for brightly colored makeup over the past year. Yet there are still four lipstick colors that are in high (and rising) demand with little inventory at the ready: orange, purple, blue, and gold.
Curious about other consumer trends that could impact your industry and business? Contact us to find out how Skai can deliver the deep consumer insights and market intelligence that can help you predict the future.
