For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!
Issue link: http://beautystorebusiness.epubxp.com/i/687990
92 July 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com Makeup Musings Though the economy is not the best at the current time, the small luxuries, such as a makeup, are still flying off the shelves. Latin America is majorly influenced by viral trends, and its people are early adopters when it comes to global-beauty trends. Though on-trend, the makeup look tends to be heavier than what is seen in the United States or Europe, and the focus on long-wearing, sweat-proof products is strong due to the humid climate. The lip category is the largest in Latin America and continues to grow with the launch of new, innovative lip products, such as liquid lipsticks and stains. In countries such as Australia, Europe and the United States, the makeup trends are fueled not only by social media, but by Hollywood and the fashion scene as well. Women are greatly influenced by looks seen on the runways and red carpets. The look is sophisticated and high fashion, while generally leaning toward a less-is-more attitude. Makeup is about enhancing, not hiding your features, and the focus on skin care is greater. This is not to say that Australian women are understated, because this faux tan-obsessed country is all about the glitz and glamour. With fabu- lous weather almost year-round, legs and arms are out to play a lot more than other "chillier" regions! Women seem to don a perfect golden glow year-round thanks to sunless spray tanning, bronzers and at-home tan systems. Unlike Australians, European women tend to take a more "effortless" approach to makeup: The "I woke up like this" approach, I like to call it. They are skin-obsessed and spend a large amount of money on skincare products and treatments to keep their skin looking young and healthy. With this amount of time and money spent on skin care, they are more careful as to what they apply onto their skin in terms of makeup. Foundation is a best-selling category in Europe as well as lips, focusing on luminous, antiaging com- plexion products and colored lip balms for a naturally enhanced makeup look. In the United States, we have a little bit of everything—lucky us. Women are exposed and open to beauty trends from all over the world, and are heavily influenced by Hollywood celebrities and social-media influencers. We follow our favorite celeb- rities and their makeup artists (who are celebrities in their own right) and screen- shot, pin, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., these looks for inspiration. Trends spread like wildfire—hello contouring! And because we are America and everything and any- thing is possible, celebrities and influencers are launching their own on-trend beauty lines to capitalize on their following of loyal consumers ready to purchase just about anything with their names on it. American women are the ultimate consumers, pur- chasing beauty products everywhere from online retailers to salons. When it comes to the purchasing trends of women, in the USA and everywhere else, especially pertaining to makeup, they want it NOW, NOW, NOW! Makeup trends come and go like the seasons. It is important to highlight the trending items or application technique while it's hot. When women walk into a beauty supply, drugstore or salon and can't find what they are looking for within a few minutes, they will walk out and look else- where. This is why I believe drugstores and pharmacies are so successful with makeup sales: They showcase new items every few weeks in the front of the makeup aisle, making it easy for women to find what they know they already want (or might not know they want). Of course, these large mass- market brands make it easy by providing "fast fashion" with beauty. But it is most likely that the brands you already carry have these same trending products already as a part of their core line—it may just need some smart merchandising! The one cat- egory that springs to mind is brows, by far one of the biggest-trending categories over the past few years, and growing. If you think back to where most brow products were merchandised in retail environments, it was normally on the bottom shelf, completely out of eyesight. Nowadays brows are front and center where they belong, until another products comes to steal the show—brow contouring, perhaps? That was a joke; but who knows! Trends play a massive role in how women purchase makeup. The power of the Internet is undeniable. Purchasing trends in beauty used to be fueled by glossy magazines. But we can confidently say it is the Internet, and influencers are the driv- ing force behind the purchasing trends of women these days. Whether makeup wants and needs are cultural, personal or trend-driven, it is safe to say women will not stop wearing makeup any time soon. In fact, the age of women who begin wearing makeup, if anything, is dropping; and many more men are looking for makeup brands that cater to them as well. Our powerful industry is growing. As makeup brands, we have to look outside of the box when it comes to developing products—satisfying the masses with the trends they want and being forward thinkers, creating what could be the next big thing in makeup. As salon, spa and beauty supply owners, we must cater to our customer base, making sure we have the products that fit the skin tones, lifestyles and desires of our customers and also offer problem-solving and trend-forward items that are easy to find and easy to purchase. It is this amazing salad bowl we call our globe that keeps ours and so many other industries alive, offering products on a global scale for people of all races, ages and cultures. I love finding beauty in everywhere I travel. It opens my eyes and mind to see how women all just want to have a personal connection to a product or a brand, and it fuels my hope to do just that! ■ Born into beauty, Lori Leib has been immersed in the cosmetic industry her entire life. Attending The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for Product Development, and her love for color and trend forecasting sparked her interest to join her family's beauty business. Her love for makeup artistry led Leib to attend All About Face Academy in Los Angeles, receiving a certification in Professional Makeup Artistry. Leib is currently the creative director for Bodyography Professional Cosmetics. The age women begin wearing makeup is dropping; and more men are looking for makeup brands that cater to them as well.