Skincare and make-up brands are shifting their focus from “anti-aging” to “anti-pollution” to win over millennial and “Generation-Z” consumers. Sephora already offers dozens of anti-pollution products such as Ren’s Pollution-Proof Kit, Murad’s City Overnight Detox Moisturizer, and UltraBeauty. Within just a year, Kiehl’s, Dior, and Sunday Riley have also launched their anti-pollution product lines, often classifying them as scrubs or anti-oxidant creams. Since 2005, Elizabeth Arden’s Prevage line has offered several anti-pollution products, including its Detox Mask and Anti-aging Essence.
Will Betting on Anti-Pollution Pay Off?
Although the market is new, the anti-pollution theme has spread quickly from niche brands to the mass market. “Success is only relative,” commented Larissa Jensen, beauty industry analyst at the NPD Group, “consumers need more education about environmental damage and about how these products can protect them against such damage.”
Anti-pollution products have yet to make major inroads into the market share of established anti-aging products. According to a NPD study, American consumers spend a total of US$1.4 billion on high-end skincare products in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 6% over the prior year period. This suggests that many consumers are still buying anti-aging products.
But beauty brands are still drawn to opportunities in the anti-pollution category. Still, “Consumers must understand the pressures brought by different environmental factors,” said Jensen, “just like any new market segment, brands need to invest time and energy before a transformation occurs.”
Currently, several brands are headed in this direction. These include inexpensive and colorful make-up brand, E.l.f Cosmetics. In April, 2017, it launched its Beauty Shield skin care series, including Vitamin C Essence and Night Cream. “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware that harmful factors in the environment will cause damaging influence to our skin,” said Achelle Richards, Global Art Director for E.l.f, “so the gap in the market reminds us that people need skin care products provided in interesting and creative ways.”
Although anti-pollution products are frequently classified as skin care products, grouping them into the make-up category may create more opportunities. Make-up is the first layer of protection for skin.
Learn more about the latest anti-pollution make-up products and technologies at China Beauty Expo 2018.
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