Beauty Influencers Lose Their Influence

Before you go signing that TikTok wunderkind to promote your new eyeshadow, be aware that influencers are losing their influence, according to a new report from Beautystack. Instead, indies and forward-thinking FMCG companies should consider more curated offerings for a select few. Those are just some of the findings from Beautystack. The report was compiled by the business-to-business and business-to-consumer platform and digital bookings site, Beautystack, and The Digital Fairy, an all-female creative agency and consultancy. The report draws on hundreds of surveys of industry players, chiefly in the UK.

Report findings were revealed to reporters by Sharmadean Reid, the entrepreneur behind Beautystack and Olivia Yallop of The Digital Fairy. The two pointed to a mega-shift in the industry due to the impact of lockdowns, with consumers’ and beauty professionals’ attitudes adapting and changing as the pandemic has raged for a year. As a result, consumers’ routines have veered dramatically, some binged on at-home or stealth treatments in car parking lots; others went makeup-free, and others still took an “anti-aesthetic” route by shaving their heads or embracing extreme looks or makeup.
In fact, “How do I shave my head at home?” was one of the most frequently asked questions online throughout the first lockdown in the spring, according to Beautystack.

Yallop and Reid noted while some “anti-aesthetics” advocates refused to shave their legs or groom their brows, others traded glam looks for Goth ones. According to Reid, subcultures always grow out of crisis and trauma, and said she’s curious to see what aesthetics emerge from the COVID-19 era.The report also talked about the rise in unconventional products, including Topicals, the skin care brand that specializes in conditions such as psoriasis. The brand encourages women to embrace their flaws, and openly acknowledges that no one can be happy with their skin all the time. Another report finding is that sustainabilty remains top-of-mind for consumers and brands, even during a pandemic. 

The report argues that the next decade will belong to “the rule breakers and rebels,” with more collaboration between beauty and gaming. At the same time, 
Yallop predicted more “brand-to-brand collaboration, or multibrand alliances — an untapped area in beauty. Brands could unite around a product or a cause.”