The start of the year always sees a flood of beauty trend predictions. But the arrival of the warmer seasons in the world’s leading regional markets heralds another round of crystal ball gazing because there are more launches in spring and summer than in winter.
The at-home DIY beauty mega-trend of exfoliation and sheet masks may have had adverse effects, reveals Spate, the US beauty trend tracker. Searches for barrier repair have sky-rocketed in the US – up 67.9 per cent over the past year. Great news for brands such as Dermalogica, La Roche-Posay and Eau Thermale Avène.
There was also a jump in searches for acne, eczema, rosacea and dermatitis over the past six months, adds Spate. Little wonder that trending ingredients with soothing benefits such as aloe vera, probiotics, ceramides, vitamin E and jojoba oil have also been on the rise.
With Spring in the air in the Northern Hemisphere, nails have returned to the spotlight, says Spate. The classic French manicure enjoyed a major revival in the 1990s and has again returned to favour, albeit with modern twists. Monthly searches for French tip nails in the US have soared to 870,800. Searches for colour and glitter – up 346 per cent – have revealed that consumers are looking to swap the usual white tip for pastels, silver and chrome.
Maybe it’s because of the flame-coloured locks of Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington in the hit TV series Bridgerton. But searches for ginger hair have surged 30 per cent in the US to 132,400 a month, notes Spate. Related searches include paprika hair colour, strawberry blonde and red and copper highlights.
Whole Foods, the American multinational natural foods chain, turned over US$17 billion in 2021 and has been gunning for a major slice of multi-billion natural and organic cosmetics market for over a decade. The Amazon-owned company releases regular beauty trend reports and its latest backs Spate’s stats that ceramides are enjoying a huge rise in popularity.
Prickly pear oil has been a mini-trend for the past few years, used by brands such as Christophe Robin, the luxury French haircare brand, and Youth to the People, recently acquired by L’Oréal. Whole Foods is predicting that its soothing, hydrating and anti-ageing benefits will find a wider audience this year. Other top trends for 2022 include jelly-textured skincare – another revival – and overnight hairstyling. Basically, enjoying a beauty treatment as you sleep, courtesy of leave-in conditioners, hair masks and sleep caps.
Pinterest has also weighed in with the top nail trends for the second half of the year. The key words “spring nails” have soared 1900 per cent on the platform recently.
Top place goes to Yellow notes Pinterest with search volume soaring 227 per cent, followed by Flower, Green Swirl, Sage Green, Ombre (blending multiple shades), Rhinestones (inspired by the hit show Euphoria), Coconut Oil ( Hawaiian-themed), Kawaii, (the Japanese look favoured by Megan Thee Stallion), Colour Block and Pearl, which also owes a lot to the global popularity of Bridgerton.