Beauty trends and the lipstick effect
If you’ve been in the beauty industry for a while, you’ve probably heard of the lipstick effect. If you haven’t here’s a quick recap from Wikipedia:
“The lipstick effect is the theory that when facing an economic crisis consumers will be more willing to buy less costly luxury goods. Instead of buying expensive fur coats, for example, people will buy expensive lipstick.”
This phenomena has often been proven through both consumer and beauty influencer data. For example, when the pandemic first disrupted the economy small luxury items (like lipstick) showed the most resilience amongst beauty influencers and their audiences. Not only did sales remain steady, social content utilizing small luxury items continued to be made and consumed.
Now, we’re facing another worrisome economic environment. According to some publications there might be more beauty trends that are proving out the lipstick effect - let’s take a look at the data.
Tip: If you want to dive further, check out this article about recent beauty trends and the macro environment’s impact on the beauty industry.
Beauty influencer data shows increase in fragrance shopping hauls
WWD recently wrote an article that hailed fragrance as the newest product experiencing the lipstick effect. After analyzing content from over 53K influencers, we think that beauty influencers and their audiences are indeed experiencing the “Fragrance Effect” that WWD mentioned.
First point of evidence? Sales of luxury fragrance items are increasing. In fact, Coty’s CEO reported 20% growth in prestige fragrance brands year-over-year.
The trend is showing up in influencer data as well. Historically, fragrance was one of the beauty products not present in “haul” videos because one bottle of fragrance is the same price as 3-10 makeup or skincare products. However, we’re starting to see influencers from different backgrounds mentioning “shopping hauls alongside fragrance keywords.
Content Mentioning Fragrance Shopping Hauls, Across All Platforms (Jan-Sep 2022 vs Jan-Sep 2021):
- +5% active influencers
- +5% posts
- +59% engagements
- +67% video views
Content Mentioning Fragrance Shopping Hauls, On TikTok Only (Jan-Sep 2022 vs Jan-Sep 2021):
- +82% active influencers
- +51% posts
- +191% engagements
- +308% video views
Beauty influencer diversity is key for relatability
In some ways, this “Fragrance Effect” is an even more extreme example of the lipstick effect because fragrance tends to be more expensive than other beauty products.
For brands wanting to tap into this specific beauty trend, it’s probably best to partner with a diverse group of beauty influencers. Doing this will help not only keep the topic relatable, it will help you reach all the different kinds of consumers who are ready to hop on the bandwagon.
Some of the diverse beauty influencers who have produced top performing fragrance hauls content include:
- Monroe Steele (@FashionSteeleNYC)
- Nicole (@nicole_perfumes)
- Gabriella Demartino (@FancyVlogsByGabriellaDeMartino)
- Cindy Serra (@aheatedmess)
- Leah Van Wyk (@LeahJanae)
- Jeremy Williams (@jeremyfragrance)
- Michele Wang (@michelewang1)
- Rocio L Soria (@rocioroses)
Tip: Check out how hims & hers ensures that all of its customers can relate to its marketing campaigns by partnering with diverse groups of lifestyle and beauty influencers.
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