I thought it might be interesting to see just how beauty sales are panning out, stats wise. John Lewis kindly let me have the skinny about what’s on the rise. Like M&S, John Lewis is a good indicator on what is happening in the retail world in general.
Eyebrow Products – up 34%.
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Bronzers – up 22%
Tinted Moisturisers – up 15%
Premium Hair Care – up 30%
And.. no surprises, all things nails up ridiculously high! What might be more of a surprise is that niche, smaller fragrance brands are also on the rise, as are skin serums. I wonder if we’re falling out of love with mass fragrances?
However, and this is not sourced from JL who are shy about what’s going down, but from my own research, is that the premium body care sector is struggling to maintain its foothold. Mintel reports that between 2007-2012, sales fell by 10%, and when it’s a multi-million pound industry, that’s quite a fall in cash terms.
If there is a beauty cost-cutting exercise to be made, it stands to reason that you might opt for a cheaper body brand rather than stay with an expensive one and get a cheaper complexion care brand. I don’t think women are easily parted from their anti-ageing products. When I look at body care, with some premium body scrubs asking over £30 for what is basically a pot of salt in essential oils and carrier oils, you have to ask what value any beauty consumer is getting from that. Apart from the obvious pampering benefit, what else is there? Maybe you need to spend high to feel well-pampered? I do feel a little surprised at the luxury hair care market jumping up – it’s not so long ago that £30 for a shampoo and conditioner was considered outrageously expensive; not so now. Somewhere along the line, we have lost faith in cheaper shampoos. If I had the money and the time I’d love to get an expensive shampoo vs a cheap shampoo and conditioner properly tested to see exactly what is in there that we should pay that much for. I do buy expensive shampoos and conditioners; I still use Pantene Aqua Light sometimes which is cheap, but don’t feel I can skimp on conditioner, and I’m not quite sure why.
I’d love to know your views.
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13 comments
I always prioritise my facial products; I suppose that’s the bit of you that most people see! Also, I don’t always have time to moisturise my body, but I am stringent about my face. I suppose an expensive body moisturiser would feel decadent and wasteful.. particularly if it was languishing in a drawer! (Saying that, my skincare is not as expensive as other people’s, but I do try and buy the best I can afford!)
It’s unthinkable now but I remember my mum using Johnson’s baby oil for all her moisturising needs and even to remove stubborn mascara. We are all so desperate to stay young these days that we willingly pay very high prices for lotions and potions that don’t necessarily do the job that they promise to do. I’ve always been a fan of the ‘double cleanse’ but I’ve found that it is the technique that makes the real difference and not how much I’ve paid for the product.
My mum is 65, she still has lovely skin despite the ‘poison’ that she rubbed all over herself for 50 years.
Body products are interesting but they rarely contain anything special to justify the high pricetag. You cannot pump in the amount of actives like they sometimes do in a face product, just because it would cost too much. Like you said, those scrubs are just salt/sugar with some essential oils tossed in. Surely they try to package it nicely and give it a marketing twist, but in the end I can get the same thing done with a washcloth and nothing more.
I don’t quite get the whole haircare industry with the masks & conditioners. I use shampoo sure, but anything more and my hair gets greasy/disgusting/rebels. Did the whole no shampoo experiment too and my hair was at it’s best then. Really makes you think about how you’re falling into a routine created to make you buy more products. Don’t think we lost faith in cheap shampoo’s, but getting to a point where we realize they’re all the same thing. Packaging & scent/texture may differ but they’re all just cleansing agents and a quick lather. Somehow expecting the more expensive stuff to be better? The harsh stripping chemical free products I’m willing to pay for, but again it’s mostly brand names we’re shelling out for.
I’ve met people with a ‘bar of soap’ routine for their face and other with a 9 step system. I mean come on… someone has to educate these people not to fall prey to overdoing it. Moisturize, anti aging, wrinkles, sagging this & that.. many do more harm than good by going in with super expensive products and trying to fight it off. Surely they don’t expect to look like they’re 20 when they’re hitting 50?
A recession changes the spending habits. You want quality for your money, not willing to spend exuberant amounts of money on gimmicks and empty claims. I’ll be skipping the latest ‘astronaut’ technology skincare. If I wanted things to float about in all directions, I’ll stop going to the gym.
Until then I’m fine with my washcloth and 1 bottle of shampoo (not even a 2 in 1 for men, oh the shame).
I have to be honest, I do scrimp on hair products. My hairdresser used to be an Aveda representative and he runs an advisory service for women who are losing their hair (often through chemotherapy). When I went to see him with hairloss and asked which shampoo to buy he told me straight out – avoid salt. Apparently, a lot of cheaper ranges have high sodium/salt levels. He recommended the VO5 range, which is usually a quid a bottle, because it’s simple and effective. Seems to work and isn’t bankrupting me. 🙂
(He also recommended I see my doctor to establish the cause of my hairloss. It’s polycycstic ovaries and consequent high testosterone levels. But I had my iron and thyroxine levels checked.)
I’ve never been able to afford 30 pounds for shampoo, so I have no experience of that level of product.
Body products are absolutely where I save money, though in contradiction to the stats I am always very reluctant to try out premium hair care, though with the amount of new (more expensive) hair oils and treatments on the market I can see myself venturing out in the future. I’m perfectly happy with my standard shampoo and conditioner for now though! Facial skincare and niche fragrances are definitely the areas where my budget completely flies out the window. It’s worrying when £80 on perfume starts to seem reasonable…
Hmmm I can definitely see myself in those stats. 2 years ago I thought filling in your brows was ridiculous – now I wouldn’t leave the house without it. I barely even recognise my own face without eye brow products!
And as for premium hair care, again completely understandable. The few high end hair products I’ve used are just SO MUCH better than drugstore alternatives. Unfortunately they’re still just an occasional treat for me, rather than a regularity. I suppose a lot of that has to do with people trying to avoid silicones, parabens and SLS which are still prevalent on drugstore shelves.
And as for premium bodycare, why on earth would I want to spend £30 on a body lotion when I can get a brilliant one from Boots for under a tenner??
The skin on my face and scalp is more sensitive than on the rest of me, so I tend to get more expensive facial/hair products than, say, body lotion. The only exception is conditioner. My current favourite is the pink one from Superdrug (raspberry and something).
I had a nightmare with shampoos and conditioners. Then, I noticed when we went on holiday my hair was always in better condition. Finally put 2 and 2 together and realised that it was due to hard water. Now, we recently had a water softener fitted (much, much cheaper than I thought), and I can use almost any mid range shampoo/conditioner and I do not have the problems of greasy scalp and brittle ends anymore. It is a real money saver.
I’ve never had a generous beauty budget, so you learn to do some thorough research before you buy. I’m a product tart to some degree, but premium brands are only very occasional treats. I’m at the age now where there’s only so much topical products can do, regardless of the claims made, so I find myself myself reaching more often for the brands who’s products I know work for me. This applies to face, body and makeup. Fragrance is easy; I’m a Chanel devotee from way back. But I buy a bottle less often than I used to for the simple reason that the bills have to be paid first.
I think premium body care has lost sales because a) the products are not that good and b) the lower end of the market has products which out perform the premium products. So you can pay less and get equal or better performance.
I had a friend who used Fairy washing up liquid for shampoo and her long glossy mane was the envy of everyone.
I’ve been cutting down in both volume – because I don’t really need another lipstick or too try the latest new thing right now – and value – as some of the high street brands have research budgets that rival NASA’s and own the posh ones anyway. So far, I’ve not noticed a difference and am enjoying what I’ve got more and getting better use out of it. Things like perfume, I ask for as presents or save up for. Other stuff will only get replaced as it runs out.
I find that brands like Aussie for hair are just as good as more premium brands, I have invested the money in hair oil only because it worked for me (I did get a sample first). I find at the moment that high street does have some gems that can give the premiums a run for their money.