What do you think have been the biggest changes in the beauty industry in the past five years?
What do you think have been the biggest changes in the beauty industry in the past five years? Share!
Accessibility, availability, knowledge, expectations. I think more brands and more products are more available today than ever before–not all are easy to get, but even if a brand is hard to get, you know where to start (you just might pay more in shipping or exchange rates). With more of the beauty community coming online, whether following brands on social media, reading blogs, or just buying and reviewing makeup online themselves, there is so much more shared knowledge available. Bad products don’t fly under the radar any more! I think it means that people expect more and tolerate less poor performing products. There have been improvements in formulas and developments of new formulas as well, but given the space I’m in, those types of changes feel like the norm.
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Amen!
I think there’s more accessibility to and higher quality of non-traditional colors, the explosion of beauty bloggers and online reviews let people avoid buying sub-standard products, and also there’s been a boom in natural/organic/hypoallergenic products.
I’m not really sure because I’ve only been a makeup junkie for the last three or four, but I do know that “Naked” palettes are annoying the hell out of me! Enough already!
Not that I don’t love my Nakeds and Nudes and Buffs and what have you. I just want to see other palettes. Plenty of palettes in the sea.
I am glad to see your optimism but I have to take the flip side. I think the biggest change is consolidation. There are less companies that independent and more global companies that own the independent companies. Sadly, more companies that animal test and there seems to be more of a turning an eye to that practice by consumers. Also, companies seem to be going for new and improved on formulas that were great to begin with. I can’t tell you how much searching I have had to do for replacement products in skin and hair care in the listed time frame. There are less truly yellow based foundations available and more of a move to neutral tones in foundations even by companies like Bobbi brown and prescriptives (who both animal test for china sales by the way).
I find it interesting that you’ve noticed a shift from yellow- to neutral-based based foundations. As someone who is the epitome of “neutral”, I have the hardest time finding anything not yellow/pink! Maybe it’s because I’m paler-I admit I haven’t really looked at deeper shades…
As for animal testing, aside from the mandate for China sales, I feel there’s a big push to find alternatives. L’Oréal, for example, sets aside money for research of alternative testing that will ultimately be universally accepted. I believe they also have their own research lab, but I’m not 100% sure. While it’s only one company, considering they own a vast majority of commercial brands, it is a major effort.
I have the same issue. Pale, neutral; what isn’t too yellow is too pink. Although, I think there are more options now that there used to be. The usually cost more, but at least they exist.
I really hope that more companies will find and use alternatives for animal testing. I was really disappointed when I went online and found out how many of the makeup lines that I really loved are animal testing. I was really shocked when I saw that Mac tested on animals. Most of my makeup was Mac products and unfortunately once I use those products I will not repurchase them until they stop animal testing. Didn’t Mac at one time have a slogan that said tested on models not animals?
MAC is virtually the make up love of my life. I was heartbroken when I found out they werent cruelty free.
Another catch is the products that Loreal own – these companies dont test themselves, but profits are still going to the fat cat who owns them, so even Lancome etc arent safe.
I totally agree about products are now under a lot of scrutiny, therefore, brands have to create higher quality products. All the better for the consumers, I think. So much information to be had out there and people willing to share it. That’s why I love the beauty community. Not only is it great to find out if a product is worth putting on my face, but people genuinely want to get the information out there.
A big change to the beauty industry that I’ve seen in the past five years is primers. Before, people weren’t really too concerned about the benefits of primer or they just didn’t know about them. I sure as hell didn’t think of using any primers (eyes or face) while I was in high school, but now I can’t imagine putting makeup on without them. And because people have become more aware of the benefits of priming, companies have come out with great formulations. And since there is a wide variety to choose from now, it’s readily available across all budgets.
Definitely the rise of online influence, both in terms of websites/blogs/review forums, and in terms of what is available online/online exclusives.
Otherwise, I’d definitely agree that there has been a clear upsurge in the quality of particular products, notably lipsticks and eyeshadows (from my personal perspective). Here in Middle Earth, we’ve seen a gradual increase in the number of brands available here (still a marginal one, but any increase is good, I guess!), which has also been nice!
I think you’re right. We’ve all become so much more aware of what good skin care and good make-up is. We don’t just take a brand’s word for it anymore and we’re much more critical. So there’s less and less room for bad products, which is great.
Advertising through the power of social media! YouTubers like dulce candy, xsparkage, vintageortacky, Michelle Phan, BeautyBroadcast (Emily), and big names like that are sent products and there is there advertising. That’s how I first started getting into makeup is by watching makeup videos on YouTube as well as reading blogs and websites like yours! I think it’s great.
I think YouTube has dramatically changed the beauty scene. You can see what new products look like in the package, in swatches, on faces of all different shapes/sizes/colors. I think techniques like waterlining, winged liner, highlighting and contouring are all very popular now because people can learn how to do them on YouTube. Nail polish, which can look so different between bottle and nails and different on different people, is a booming thing now because of all the blogs and YouTubers who try different colors and techniques out. It’s all pretty amazing.
Better quality drugstore products with a high price, unfortunately. The explosion of indie brands, particularly in the nail polish world. Finally, the commercialization of beauty channels on YouTube. It’s hard to trust reviews anymore.
A lot of the brands are branching out and getting more competitive by moving away from traditional colors, but I also think beauty blogging is also building enough momentum that it may eventually start putting pressure on brands to avoid total duds. With internet reviews at your disposal, it makes the consumer a lot more informed.
Definitely knowledge! Five years ago you’d have to buy in the dark and if the product was a dud you’d either be stuck with it or you’d have to return it depending on where you bought it. Now with so many people swatching and reviewing products on blogs and social media, it makes it sooo much easier to know what might work for you. On the flip side, social media creates so much hype about certain products, increasing the consumism in the weakest of us lol
Competition and informed customers. The big players can no longer rest on their laurels and count on their name alone to sell products. With the emergence of beauty blogs and online reviews, consumers have unprecedented access to a wealth of knowledge. Heavy-handed sales tactics are much less likely to be effective when the client often has as much (or more) knowledge of the product as the beauty advisor. Being able to return beauty products has also changed the industry to some extent. Generally speaking, I feel the industry is becoming more consumer-driven, which is a good thing.
Less of a difference in quality between DS & HE products… Not only because DS brands have improved, but some of the higher-end brands are lacking due to formula changes in already amazing products. I haven’t bought Lancome or Estee Lauder in several years, but I can pull out a 20-year-old eyeshadow that would put one of the newer ones to shame…
Kinda relevant but I like that there’s more women working IN the beauty industry now!! Compared to five years ago it’s a nice welcome change!
I think for me it’s been an overall upgrade in quality of foundation products. Even full coverage products look more like real skin, using better ingredients. But then again, maybe I’ll have to switch my vote to the advancements in skin care. . . . 😀
YouTube – people reccommending and showing us how to do different looks…
More importantly, Hopefully a lot less animal testing.
Better foundations for sure as far as I’m concerned!
There are so many more choices, and options for those of us with needs such as acne, sensitive skin, pale skin, red hair, needing vegen products, etc. The rise of indie brands. It’s so much easier to get unusual colors, duochromes, super-brights, etc. With blogs, vlogs and YouTube, and the internet in general, it is so much easier to get information on cosmetics and techniques, and see how things actually look.
I think the internet and beauty bloggers have raised expectations for beauty products generally. The fact that products are reviewed and rated keeps the industry on its toes. Secondly I think the quality of various brands has risen as a result. I also believe that the use of primers, skincare and foundations has improved and filtered down to the drugstore level. A growing realisation of what ingredients go into these products has made us more savvy and aware of the need for no animal testing on products that we use.
HD cosmetics, argan oil and cosmetics that are also skin treatments.
I agree that nowadays consumers are much more informed – we can do a lot of research before buying and we also have many more options not only of brands, but of formulas. Years ago there were not many options for foundations, which were more based on whether skin was dry or oily. Today there are plenty of finishes to choose from and even products like BB creams, that are treatments at the same time. I do believe, though, that there is still a lot to do in the foundation shades area, as there are many of us who still struggle to find a proper match.
Definitely, accessibility has improved in Mexico, where I live. In the last five years, many brands have begun to be sold here and I really love that. With so much information available on line, makeup junkies have information on new collections or items weeks before their release and sometimes, salespersons here have no idea what we’re asking about – I guess we’ve become a nightmare for them!
For me, the tutorials and reviews in YouTube have totally charged my makeup loving batteries! If I had never had access to them, I would of course still love makeup, but I would probably have not felt encouraged to try MAC or UD products, because I felt these were made for professionals only. Seeing “regular” people use them, I realized I wanted to try them too.
Blogs have of course played a major role in the last five years to change the way we see makeup. I got totally addicted to Temptalia.com, which I found after watching Pursebuzz’s videos. This blog has become THE place where I feed my makeup addiction and keep updated with the latest makeup news. Christine and her team are the best!
Thank you <3
I think it’s the explosion of beauty bloggers/vloggers and the klout we give them. Not only do consumers rely on them for reviews and looks, major bloggers/vloggers have endorsement deals, major collaborations and even their own beauty lines.