UK lip gloss sales rise, shoppers embrace French brands - NPD

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 20, 2019

Make-up may not be recording the impressive sales rises we saw a few years ago but in the UK, sales of prestige-priced lip gloss are continuing to rise above the rate of inflation.

That's according to a new report from the NPD group, which said on Wednesday that the sale of prestige lip gloss products in the UK rose 3% in value from July to the end of September.

That gave the category a value of £4.5 million in this three-month period and “provided a welcome boost to the make-up market, where overall sales declined 5% from July to September compared to the same period in 2018”.

NPD said the popularity of lip gloss is part of a 1990s revival trend “as consumers experiment with iconic looks from the past”. But lip gloss formats have changed dramatically since their heyday and the new products consumers are buying are now formulated with skincare benefits “providing a more sleek and shiny effect, rather than leaving lips feeling sticky and gloopy”. 

And in tough economic times, NPD added that “lip gloss is also an affordable way to embrace a prestige designer brand. The average sale price of a prestige lip gloss is £19.06, giving consumers the chance to add a luxury item to their make-up bag”.  

Growth in the category has been driven by a narrow range of colours, with light pink, rose and dark pink proving to be the most popular overall. And the companies benefiting most from the trend are all French. The top five products for the July to September quarter (in alphabetical order) were Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss, Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, Dior Addict Lip Maximizer, Dior Addict Lip Tattoo Lip Tint and YSL Rouge Pur Couture Water Stain.

Emma Fishwick, account manager at NPD UK Beauty, said: “The growth of lip gloss sales this year demonstrates that today’s consumer is looking for products that enhance the lips with a glossy sheen while producing a natural look in wearable shades. This return to 90s nostalgia is interesting, and we believe that other popular make-up looks from the 90s could make a comeback soon too. Will the on-trend beauty consumer embrace super thin eyebrows and blue eyeshadow? Only time will tell.”