Top 5 beauty trends for 2016
My round-up of the top five beauty trends for 2016. So, let's look at what does the rest of 2016 has in store for us beauty-wise?
Mystic beauty
Is it possible to choose your beauty products according to your star sign? Well, apparently 2016 is the year of mystic beauty, due to consumers' increasing interest into spirituality. “Magic, spiritualism and astrology are undergoing a renaissance as consumers shift away from mainstream religions,” says Lucie Greene, Worldwide Director of JWT's Innovation Group. “New brands are repackaging the cues of mysticism and gems, connecting them to wellbeing products for a hip millennial audience.” So, expect crystals, gemology and mainstream magic and the rise of brands like Prismologie and KITA that tap into the beauty and wellbeing benefit of gem stones.
Beauty foods
Beauty and food – this year, the boundaries blur with superfoods that you'd once only ingest being used as ingredients for beauty. So, get ready for beauty brands to receive beauty superfood treatments. And according to JWT, 82% of US/UK consumers believe that the best path to beauty is through a healthy diet, so it makes sense. Love chia seeds, check out Maya Chia, but if kale is more your thing then, Nip + Fab's Kale Fix or Nail Inc's NailKale ranges will be more up your street.
Single ingredients
This trend is all about purity, using just a single ingredient. This isn't something that can be done with all products, but be prepared for many beauty brands to keep it one hundred with 100% silica or hyaluronic acid serum. It's all about natural options over chemically enhanced products. Greene says: “The organic cosmetic market will be valued at $66.1 billion by 2020, according to a 2015 report from research company Future Market Insights. Consumers are choosing natural products over those that are chemically enhanced. Brands are going the extra step by stripping down to a single active and natural ingredient that will provide the same beauty benefits as a product containing multiple ingredients. ”
Inclusive beauty
This is something I touched on in my 2016 trend edit (check out, the Wonders of/for women section) earlier this month, and it is going to be big for beauty 2016. This inclusive beauty trend celebrating everything from freckles to halal and ethnically diverse beauty.
In the fashion world, Rag & Bone and Edun worked freckles for the spring/summer 2016 shows and make-up artists Gucci Westman and Charlotte Tilbury played with adorning models' faces with freckles (Free the Freckles, W Magazine).
In 2014, Muslim tourists spent $36 billion while shopping globally, according to the MasterCard-CrescentRating Muslim Shopping Index 2015. As a result, beauty brands and services, like Halal Beauty Box look to harness the buying of the Muslim community with halal beauty products (products that don't contain alcohol, pig-derived collagen, gelatin or fat). “In Indonesia, a halal label has been required for every product marketed to the Muslim community since 2009. Local brands clearly communicate the level of halal certification to reassure the 90% of the population who are Muslim,” says Lan Vu, founder of Paris-based beauty trends consultancy Beautystreams. This year, international beauty trade show Cosmoprof will introduce its first dedicated halal cosmetics platform at its Bologna, Italy show. “Halal cosmetics are mainly requested from South Asian and Middle Eastern consumers, but influence Italian and European companies also,” Dino Tavazzi, CEO of Cosmoprof, told WWD.
Research from Mintel shows that the black haircare market is expected to reach $876 million by 2019. So, it makes sense that beauty brands follow the dollar signs and are offering broader ranges for ethnically diverse hair types and skin tones. L'Oreal has set up a multicultural beauty division (including the haircare brands Carol’s Daughter and SoftSheen-Carson). While, Laura Mercier’s Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide can now be bought in 24 shades and Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Makeup To Go compact is now available in 18 shades.
Solid beauty
Solid beauty items and waterless products are appearing on the market. “From haircare products and make-up to clothing care, consumers are increasingly moving away from water-based products,” says Greene. “This is partly for convenience—but consumers are also mindful of the environmental impact of excessive use of water.” So think, solid fragrances, stick format makeup and blocks of shampoo – all of which would be highly practical to travel with. “Many of these products provide multiple functions in one streamlined product. They’re also quite playful—like crayons. There’s a kidult feeling to them," expands Anna-Marie Solowij from BeautyMART.
Small-batch beauty
Other industries, like fashion and food, low output and handmade qualities are highly favoured and now the beauty industry is catching up. “The beauty sector is echoing many consumers’ preference for food and drink that is fresh and natural, and produced on a small scale,” says Greene. This trend is all about batch-made beauty products, made in small runs and with limited shelf life – so, forget about mass production. Take note of brands, like Toronto-based Leaves of Trees creates small- batch products such as charcoal anise soap and British organic brand Skin & Tonic's products are crafted in East London in numbered batches of 50 to 100. "No two production batches are identical because each ingredient differs on a molecular level depending on that year’s harvest, the soil, the air quality and the weather. These all have an effect. Customers email us comparing the same product from different batches, but not to complain; they know that the differences are to be celebrated," says Skin & Tonic's founder Sarah Hancock.
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