Shades of change

Karen Hsu

As fashion and beauty
become more close then before, both attitudes of consumer and
manufaturer are changing.

The evolution of the
backstage beauty product has let the way for a new generation of
colour cosmetics which aim to recreate the finishes for the consumer
skin care benefits as well as the professional finishes be seen on
the catwalk.

The colour cosmetics
sector saw growth in both energing and mature markets in 2006, with
particularly high gains in Spain, up to 7.5% to $796.9m, Asia
Pacific, up 5.6% to 9,221.0 and the UK, which reached $1,961.5m, an
increace of 5.8%. The only one decreasing country was Germany, which
was-1.3% and $1412.5m in 2006.

Diana Dodson, senior
C&T industry analyst says that they are seeing cosmetics
manufacturers discovering new ways to compete, applying trends for
other categories to colour cosmetics. “While the fast growing
emerging markets are the key source of dynamism within the global
category, this approach is helping to encourage growth, albeit at a
modest rate, in the more developed markets.”

One of the most
innovative ways manufacturers are finding differentiate their
products is through the use of skin care technology. But now the
sector has started to offer much more than just colour and coverage
in its products.

Dodson also mentioned
that “And with estimated buying power of the baby boomer
generation, US$2.1 trillion in the US alone is a particular draw for
these products with a range of added benefits.”

The make-up artist
Daniel Sandler said that the benefitof skin care ingredients is a
good growing trend in cosmetic market.

The manufacturers who
often trade on their skin care expertise to create those products put
the emphasis on the development of anti-ageing foundations.

The power of the big
sesigner beauty brands such as Space.NK and Sephora has faced stiff
competition from the swathe of niche make-up brands entering the
market, which have been favoured by retailers in recent years.

The colour cosmetics
collection is split into two sections – Artful Shadow and
Artful Light. Artful Shadow contain high technology pigments like
pure titanium mica and intense ultramarine, which give a blue tint to
products, helping to increace luminosity and skin uniformity.

It’s not
surprising that colour cosmetics has come under the eco spotlight as
consumer interest in organic and environmentally sustainable beauty
continues to grow.

Over the last year,
mineral make-up also took a much more prominent role in the colour
cosmetics sector.

During these days the
sophisticated formulas that sometimes blur the boundaries between
skin care and colour cosmetics, Manufacturers need to be pay much
more attentions to stay in the game.