While makeup remains the largest category in the U.S. prestige beauty market, its sales grew 5% in the first half of 2024, slower than the other categories tracked by Circana. Mass color cosmetics, on the other hand, declined 4%. But, digging into the data, it becomes clear that there are a handful of key growth sectors, both in the prestige and mass spaces. All highlight a mix of key benefits, including multifunctional formulas, unique textures and/or convenient formats. And all offer brands opportunities to innovate toward consumer behaviors. Let’s dive in.
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While makeup remains the largest category in the U.S. prestige beauty market, its sales grew 5% in the first half of 2024, slower than the other categories tracked by Circana. Mass color cosmetics, on the other hand, declined 4%. But, digging into the data, it becomes clear that there are a handful of key growth sectors, both in the prestige and mass spaces. All highlight a mix of key benefits, including multifunctional formulas, unique textures and/or convenient formats. And all offer brands opportunities to innovate toward consumer behaviors. Let’s dive in.
Lip Makeup: a Prestige and Mass Opportunity
Prestige lip segment sales grew in the double digits in the first half of 2024, led by balms and oils. Furthermore, lip gloss and liner were top sales gainers in the mass sector. This lip makeup boom is not a new phenomenon, having carried over from 2023, pointing to resiliency in the category.
Lip Oils ‘Reign Supreme’
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga’s Mini PhD Hybrid Hydrating Tinted Lip Oil, featuring vegan collagen and prickly pear oil, has joined the lip oil craze.Haus Labs by Lady Gaga/Facebook
“For years, lip trends centered around balms or salves, but now lip oils reign supreme,” Spate noted. “Consumers not only want a wet and glossy look but also prefer something tinted, according to search results.”
Notable SKUs in the lip oil sector include:
- Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez’s Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil, featuring jojoba and sunflower seed oils;
- Merit’s Shade Slick Classics Tinted Lip Oil, featuring rosehip oil and essential fatty acids, shea butter and grapeseed oils, and jojoba oil;
- and Haus Labs by Lady Gaga’s Mini PhD Hybrid Hydrating Tinted Lip Oil, featuring vegan collagen and prickly pear oil.
Taking cues from the lip oil boom, contract manufacturer Lady Burd recently introduced its LadyLip Oil in new colors, including Rosewood, Upgrade and Pink Cloud.Lady Burd
The nourishing lip oil deeply hydrates the lips for a natural, glossy finish.
Bottom line: To succeed in the space, brands need to deliver skin-friendly ingredients and claims (see below), a wet/glossy finish, and a tint of color.
The Sunification of Lip Oils
While hydration and protection are common claims in the lip oil sector, Solesence recently developed an extended shade range for lip oils comprising SPF defense.Solesence
Taking cues from the broader sunification movement in beauty, Solesence’s 12 shades of lip oil offer SPF 40+ and blue light protection and feature the company's Keair technology, a technology featuring non-nano mineral sunscreen actives, bisabolol, squalane and Ecocert meadowfoam.
Per the company, the lip oils can reduce pollution-induced free radicals by more than 85%, while imparting a “smooth, lightweight oil texture that delivers moisture and protection to keep lips looking their best in both the short and the long term.”
SPF claims are already disseminated across the tinted lip space (balms, oils and more), but many are well below the SPF 40+ threshold displayed in the Solesence concepts.
These include Well People’s Lip Butter SPF 15 Tinted Balm, Sun Bum’s Tinted Lip Balm SPF 15, Coola’s Organic Liplux Classic and e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Sun Boss Gloss SPF 25.
Tinted Lip Balms Reflect Makeup’s Skinification
This makeup-meets-skin-care approach is exactly what consumers are seeking per Spate, which notes search growth for terms such as “hyaluronic lip balm.” It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that hyaluronic acid features prominently in e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Squeeze Me More Lip Balm.e.l.f. Cosmetics/Facebook
Kosas wasn’t alone in its category growth. Naturium, owned by e.l.f. Beauty since 2023, boasts average of 12.0K monthly searches, representing 72.5% year-over-year growth, per Spate. Balms are a key driver of the brand’s trajectory, driven by its Phyto-Glow Lip Balm range, which adds a “pop” of color to the lips and comprises phyto-derived esters, shea butter, cupuaçu butter and plant squalane. The SKU is widely viewed as a Summer Fridays dupe, per Spate, which has noted an uptick in queries for “summer fridays lip balm dupe.”
This makeup-meets-skin-care approach is exactly what consumers are seeking per Spate, which notes search growth for terms such as “hyaluronic lip balm.” It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that hyaluronic acid features prominently in e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Squeeze Me More Lip Balm.
Other notable SKUs in the tinted balm sector include Ilia’s Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm with sea succulent, rosehip oil and shea butter; Tower 28 Beauty’s LipSoftie Hydrating Tinted Lip Treatment, featuring shea butter, jojoba oil and lysine; Glossier’s recently un-veganized Balm Dotcom Lip Balm and Skin Salve, featuring castor seed oil, bees wax and lanolin
Unique Formats Win: Sticks, Balms and Liquids
Beyond lips, Circana recently noted that top performers include unique formats such as liquid blushes, sticks and balms.
Innovation for ‘Peak Blush’
Refinery 29 recently asked, “Have We Reached Peak Blush?” Indeed, the category has taken off, in part due to high-profile launches from Rhode and Rare Beauty.SANTANU PATRA at Adobe Stock (AI generated)
Notable SKUs in the space include Rhode’s stick format Pocket Blush range, featuring tamanu and peptides; Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, featuring lotus, gardenia and white water lily; Huda Beauty’s Blush Filter Liquid Blush, featuring "finely milled micro-pearls"; and Patrick Ta’s hybrid Major Headlines Double-Take Creme & Powder Blush Duo.
Recently, contract manufacturer Lady Burd added a Liquid Blush in a new color, Elation. The ultra-blendable blush has light reflecting pigments that give the wearer an all-day beautiful glow.
Notably, the liquid blush space is less prone to highlighting skin-friendly ingredients compared to other makeup categories, perhaps pointing to product innovation and marketing strategies for new launches.
Skin-forward Liquid Bronzers
This highlights that skin care ingredients are much more prominent among liquid bronzer launches. For instance, Caliray’s entrée into the space forefronts skin care, as evidenced by its name: Sundrip Luminous Liquid Bronzer with Hyaluronic Acid + Peptides.Caliray/Facebook
In fact, Spate reported that bronzing drops were averaging more than 370% year-over-year search growth online, dominated by Drunk Elephant, which has had immense success with its D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops ($38).
The drops include 5% niacinamide, antioxidants and omega fatty acids.
This highlights that skin care ingredients are much more prominent among liquid bronzer launches.
For instance, Caliray’s entrée into the space forefronts skin care, as evidenced by its name: Sundrip Luminous Liquid Bronzer with Hyaluronic Acid + Peptides.
Other notable SKUs in the category include Makeup by Mario’s Softsculpt Multi-Use Bronzing & Shaping Serum, featuring hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, and Milk Makeup’s Bionic Sunkissed Liquid Bronzer with Hyaluronic Acid.
The liquid bronzer growth inspired e.l.f. Skin to launch its Skin Bronzing Drops in June 2024. The moisturizing tinted serum imparts “a warm, back-from-vacay glow,” per the brand, and is available in three shades.e.l.f. Beauty
The moisturizing tinted serum imparts “a warm, back-from-vacay glow,” per the brand, and is available in three shades.
Key skin-friendly ingredients include vitamin E and sunflower seed oil. e.l.f. Skin's entry into the category represents an accessibly priced ( $12) alternative to prestige players.
“Bronzing Drops are the no. 1 product our community has requested from us with increasing intensity,” said Kory Marchisotto, CMO, e.l.f. Beauty, at the time of the launch. “In the spirit of surprising, delighting and entertaining our audiences–with that unexpected e.l.f. twist–we let our imaginations go wild. Our community is clever, hilarious and unabashedly expressive. They essentially write the script for us.”
Stick Eye Shadows Highlight Durability, Texture
Notable launches in the eyeshadow stick space include Rare Beauty’s All of the Above Weightless Eyeshadow, Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Eyeshadow (pictured) and Kiko Milano’s Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick.Laura Mercier/Facebook
Notable launches in the space include Rare Beauty’s All of the Above Weightless Eyeshadow, Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Eyeshadow and Kiko Milano’s Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick.
Like the blush sector, stick eye shadows tend to not forefront skin-friendly ingredients, instead focusing on color, payoff, texture and durability.
Putting Insights into Action
Based on the market data and launches detailed in this report, brands seeking growth in the mass and prestige makeup market will need to focus on:
• Unique formats
• Skin-friendly ingredients
• Novel claims
