1 – Blurred lines: Post-COVID consumer concerns shift spotlight onto make-up that works beyond the surface
Concerns for personal health and the health of the environment are blurring the lines between make-up and skin care as consumers seek out colour cosmetics that provide more than just superficial benefits.
Just recently, Japanese cosmetics manufacturer Premium Cosmetics launched UUUNI, a beauty brand that aims to provide beauty consumers with make-up that has skin care benefits.
The brand launched with UUUNI BrightUp Skin Foundation, a cushion foundation that draws on 37 skin care ingredients.
The wide list ranges from botanical favourites such as camellia seed oil, licorice root, angelica root and cica extracts. It also contains popular skin care ingredients such as alpha-arbutin, niacinamide, retinol as well as human stem cell extract.
2 – ‘Grossly neglected’: Underserved hair care market due for a tech upgrade – Verdure
Singapore-based brand Verdure believes there is a need for more tech innovation targeting hair care concerns, with the majority of developments focused on other categories in the beauty space.
Verdure offers homecare devices and complementary products to tackle hair loss.
Brand owner Karen Lam revealed that the brand experienced 400% growth in the past 18 months, fuelled by the e-commerce boom and the lack of options in the space.
“I think the hair care industry has been grossly neglected and under-served in terms of innovation, particularly with devices. Much of that owes to the fact that research into the science of hair loss, and consequently, hair growth is still very limited,” said Lam.
3 – Beauty on Bilibili: Why this untapped channel is becoming an important platform for brand marketing in China
Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili is steadily becoming a key marketing channel for beauty brands targeting Gen Z consumers as beauty-centric content grows on the platform.
Bilibili is a Chinese long-form video sharing platform that is quickly becoming an important channel for brands to reach the important Gen Z consumer base.
Launched in 2009, Bilibili initially gained popularity as a platform for animation, comics and games (AGC).
“The focus there was on producing something, as opposed to filming yourself in the very early days. Therefore, there was a lot of fanfiction online communities surrounding the platform,” explains Dr Crystal Abidin, associate professor and principal research fellow of Internet studies at Curtin University.
4 – WATCH – Beyond the soap bar: Forestwise, NueBar and Coconut Matter on what it will take for solid beauty to flourish
On this episode of the Beauty Broadcast, we explore the growing popularity of solid beauty products and discuss what it will take to solidify the mainstream adoption of this eco-friendly product format with experts from Forestwise, Nuebar and Coconut Matter.
Personal care has come a long way since the humble soap bar. Today, a number of solid products are emerging in categories from shampoos to serums as consumers rediscover the solid format in the name of minimalism and sustainability.
“The opportunities for growth are actually really huge. I think there's increasing awareness about the problem of plastic and the fact that recycling really isn't a solution. I think that as awareness builds and builds, I think people are looking for ways to do something about it, I'd really like to see this become like the new normal,” said Katie Hennah, the founder of Aussie solid beauty brand NueBar.
Solid beauty products are touted for their ability to reduce water consumption, transportation costs, and packaging altogether.
5 – Strengthening the core: Shiseido CEO on why skin care set to become ‘even bigger’ post-pandemic
Japanese beauty major Shiseido is throwing its full weight behind skin care with its CEO believing there are “emerging segments” that it can capitalise on in the next few years.
Facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company took steps to strengthen the foundation of its business – this meant going back to its roots as a skin care expert.
“Last year, as we faced [COVID-19] we came up with was an idea to build back better. In the next two, three years up to 2023, we want our core to be stronger, which is skin care where we have a long R&D expertise, marketing expertise… My scope in the next three years or so is really to get our business foundation stronger by making use of skin care,” said Uotani.
This August, Shiseido announced that it was selling off three of its make-up brands to focus on high-end skin care. This followed the decision to shed its entire personal care division, which consisted of brands like Senka.
