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The Latest Beauty Trends in Makeup, Skincare, and Fragrance
Some are already announcing the “return of makeup”, but our social data suggests otherwise. Out of all beauty trends categories, skincare has seen the most growth amongst influencers and their audiences over the past year. The category with the second highest rate of growth is fragrance, followed by makeup and hair care.
However, even though skincare has the most growth at the moment, beauty brands across all categories are performing well. To see which beauty brands are Top Performers, Trending, Most Mentioned, Most Efficient, and have the Most Loyalty amongst influencer content this month, check out the Traackr Leaderboard.
3 Rising Beauty Trends
Our analysis also revealed three key skincare trends that are not only surfacing in influencer audience data, but emerging in indie brand experimentation, and beauty reporter stories.
A-Beauty
Korean beauty (K-Beauty) is a global trend that saw yet another spike during the pandemic. But are consumers ready for something new? Our data suggests that A-Beauty (African Beauty) might be a possible successor.
A-Beauty ingredient terms across all platforms, comparing August 2019 – July 2020 vs August 2020 – July 2021:
- +15% in activated influencers
- +15% in posts
- +37% in engagements
A-Beauty is categorized as beauty products that contain ingredients from Africa like shea butter, mongongo oil, moringa oil, and more. According to BoF, African entrepreneurs are now redefining A-Beauty to be about more than ingredients, but cultural ties.
This brings up another possible parallel between K-Beauty and A-Beauty: the precarious line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.
Recently, folks from the asian community have voiced concern over the appropriation of asian techniques and trends, especially those with traditional roots. As A-Beauty and other minority-led trends continue to rise, it’s crucial to keep this in mind. Before you jump in, educate yourself on its origins and ask how (or if) you can respectfully and ethically incorporate it.
Skinalism
Now that things are recovering from the pandemic many publications, brands and experts are declaring the return of makeup. If this is true, will skincare change again? Data shows that influencer conversations are indicating a move back towards “skinalism”, or simpler skincare routines.
Skinalism Beauty Trend Content Across All Platforms, comparing August 2019 – July 2020 vs August 2020 – July 2021:
- +31% in activated influencers
- +121% in posts
However, it’s still a little too early to tell whether this skinalism trend will really solidify. While influencers are certainly talking about minimalist skincare routines more, consumer engagements have yet to keep pace.
Skincare products with a mental health twist
It’s perhaps unsurprising that we see skincare and mental health being mentioned alongside each other. Not only is this a trend that has continued to pick up over the past year, leading companies like Rare Beauty have shown how beauty brands can invest in and hold authentic and inclusive conversations surrounding mental health. However, now we’re even seeing new brands emerge that directly tie mental health to its products.
Content mentioning skincare products and mental health together across all platforms, comparing August 2019 – July 2020 vs August 2020 – July 2021:
- +13% activated influencers
- +17% posts
- +15% engagements
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