“North America remains number one in the luxury business, and prestige beauty is also doing well with a +3% growth in 2014, according to NPD data,” declares Leïla Rochet-Podvin. The latest acquisitions by Estée Lauder in prestige brands and by L’Oréal, with Carol’s Daughter, can only confirm the fact that large groups share an interest in the premium market. “The luxury beauty world is evolving significantly”, she comments.

Makeup appears as the leading segment, with a +6% rise and dynamics that have shifted to the eye (+10%) and lip (+13%) segments, as the NPD Group confirms. Leïla Rochet-Podvin has noticed a change in the offer: “What we have seen with nails is now expressed in the eye segment, with more sophistication in the eye makeup, a multitude of products designed to prime the area, and plenty of bold colours, graphics, perfect lines… After Nail Art, here comes Eye Art!”

 

She also notes that the customization phenomenon, which has already reached the mass market and the fashion and cosmetics sectors, is inviting itself in the makeup world. As an example, the Bite Beauty Lip Lab now makes it possible for New Yorkers to create their own lipsticks by choosing the finish, colour, taste, and packaging.

 

Asian fusion

 

Products from Asia have a growing influence and presence on the American market. These brands mainly come from Japan and Korea, entered the market through Lifestyle stores such as Urban Outfitters and are getting settled with wholly-owned stores in the large cities of the East and West coasts. Just like in Seoul, Tony Moly, The Face Shop, Club Clio and Nature Republic stores are sprouting up from Manhattan to San Francisco. “Asia is a guarantee for American consumers: it is shown in the media as a centre of expertise, and rhymes with innovation and sophistication in beauty rituals. Given the substantial media coverage observed in 2014, some brands do not hesitate to focus their communication campaigns on Asian models,” Leïla Rochet-Podvin analyses.

 

Eclectic Beauty

 

Eclectic Beauty is the signature of this prospective vision divided into six universes and presented in the form of inspiration boards. “‘Eclectic’, because there is a true desire to live a life of changes and self-staging. We have witnessed the birth of a chameleon beauty which gets shared and staged,” explains Leïla Rochet-Podvin. The phenomenon is intensified by a younger generation fed on social networks, YouTube, and especially Instagram. “Brands do not represent the major part of expression on YouTube: it is mostly content creators who speak up. Instagram is now playing a significant role, and all this puts an emphasis on self-image,” she concludes.

 

The agency has drawn six inspirational universes from this Eclectic Beauty to reflect both various visions of femininity and emerging products, niche brands, harmonized with these new lifestyles and consumption patterns.

 

Kristel Milet