Inclusive beauty to meet new needs
Inclusive beauty to meet new needs
The beauty industry has seen an incredible boom in the last 10 years, especially with the rise of influencers and our reliance on YouTube and Instagram, we have more beauty options than ever, right at our fingertips. Brands are finding new marketing techniques to cater to the crowd of beauty addicts. Do you know inclusive beauty?
A new trend
It represents a new demand from consumers from all over the world, and a new strategy for brands to offer more diversified and personalized ranges of products. Inclusivity is a buzzword creating many discussions about beauty companies. Inclusivity means that considering, respecting and addressing specific communities. Why does it happen ? Because, historically, we have been used to consider beauty products through brands that generally develop products for white skin women. With the emergence of minorities empowerment, the beauty sector has to adapt and meet the needs of these new customers.
50 shades of the skin
As an example, in 2017, Rihanna released Fenty Beauty, which became popular for its 50-shade foundation line. Although Fenty wasn’t the first to release an inclusive shade range, it certainly made global headlines which in turn shamed existing beauty companies for not having larger shade ranges. Today, many beauty companies have stepped up their game, expanded their shades and have held more inclusive campaigns than ever before. Fenty meets the beauty needs of millions of Afro-American, Asian women… or even men! Cover FX has been a leader in inclusive shades before it was the “cool thing” to do. The Power Play foundation comes in 40-shades and most recently, the brand added 30 concealer shades to the Power Play family.
From Indie brands to multinationals
Since the success story of Fenty, the beauty sector is proving the increasing interest of consumer for more inclusive brands. People talk about the ‘Fenty effect’, but the real debate is that it changed the vision of beauty actors develop their ranges of products. Estée Lauder expanded the range of its Double Wear Stay-In-Place foundation to a grand 56 shades. Too Faced has also joined the inclusivity party and launched 11 additional shades to its Born This Way foundation line. With the help of influencer Jackie Aina, the brand now offers 35 shades.
Even Maybelline is working to become a leader in affordable, inclusive beauty, with The Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Foundation comes in 40 shades.
Trans gender : a growing market
Illamasqua has been speaking out against the lack of diversity in the industry. It was also the first brand to take on transgender model Munroe Bergdorf. They have demonstrated exactly what brands should be aiming in gender diversity in the beauty industry.
Make-up brands are tackling diversity
Diversity with integrity, the two pillars of the rhetoric that beauty companies – from multinational conglomerates L’Oréal Paris and Estée Lauder to more niche brands such as Cover FX, Glossier and Huda Beauty - are working hard to convey. Revlon’s Live Boldly campaign included Aboah, Ashley Graham, Imaan Hammam and Achok Majak, demonstrating a more inclusive definition of what is beautiful. But beyond this visual representation, there’s a practical level to consider, too - and beauty brands are all working overtime to create and expand their foundation offering to ensure every woman is catered for.
The lastest trends will be featured on e-Cosmetic 360, stay tuned!
The e-Cosmetic 360 team.