According to the NPD Group, sales of prestige make-up reached £390 million (€538m) in the period January to August 2015, an increase of 14.3% on the same period last year.
And it appears the latest beauty trends are playing their part, as before it was contouring and now NPD says there has been a rise in the ‘strobing’ trend, which it says has had a positive influence on sales.
Strobing is a new make-up technique used to layer highlights on the face to create an illuminated complexion and has emerged as a key make-up trend this year.
NPD figures show that face, eye and lip make-up have reported double digit growth whilst the sale of highlighters, which are key to the strobing trend, grew by 48.5% on the same period in 2014.
“Highlighters have witnessed an incredible amount of growth in the past year driven solely by the new trend for strobing,” says June Jensen, Director UK Beauty for The NPD Group.
“This has been a huge topic on social media, on beauty blogs and in the mainstream press. Brands have capitalised on this with new launches and focusing marketing on existing lines to drive sales in store and online.”
The selfie generation
Another key driver of growth can also be attributed directly to the continued popularity of the selfie, adds Jensen, again as social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook are awash with people posting selfies, inspired by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Cara Delevingne.
“Face, eye and lip make-up is vital to achieving a photo-ready finish and brands have responded with foundation and primers that reference the look people want to achieve using terms like photo-ready, camera-ready and HD. It’s spurned a new sub-sector and is driving sales,” says Jensen.
The total value of the prestige beauty market is £1.2 billion, which grew 6.4% on the previous year, according to NPD.
Make-up represents a substantial part of the sector accounting for 32.8% of the total prestige beauty market and has grown by 3.2% on the same period in 2014, which Jensen says is fuelled by the popularity of the selfie.
“It’s a trend we see across the board and make-up is essential to creating the perfect look. At the same time strobing, which emerged in early 2015, is the years’ hot new make-up trend which is driving consumers to spend more on highlighters so they can experiment with this new way of accentuating the face,” she adds.