It’s been something of a fraught time for beauty brands, particularly make-up, as sales have been unpredictable to say the least. According to WWD though, the category that has risen is nails! I can’t say I saw that coming because industry analysts Mintel, nail sales were predicted to fall well into 2022. That analysis didn’t predict a pandemic, it must be said. Supermarket sales of make-up have dropped by a reported 22%, while fragrance and hair care are predicted to grow.

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Bioderma Nodé Shampoo

The race is well and truly on for beauty brands hoping to enter China without the mandatory animal testing as France has just been given the go-ahead to apply to enter the market under these no-test terms. There are some exemptions from the rules however, with sun protection and hair dyes excluded.

Pat McGrath Mothership At Selfridges

Wonderful news, if you are a fan of the honours system, that Pat McGrath has been given a damehood and in more good news the British Beauty Council has secured a specific sector status. This means that Personal Care, which covers most of the beauty industry, has its own representation rather than being seen as part of other sectors such as retail or hospitality. This is timely, given how hard the industry has been hit by government decisions – all made while PC lived in other sectors.

There’s been a great deal of anger over influencers not ‘reading the room’ during the course of the pandemic with holiday snaps uploaded to Instagram topping the list of things that everyone feels annoyed about. However, mega-influencer, Kylie Jenner, has come under fire for producing a for profit hand sanitizer. I can’t tell you, behind the scenes, how generous the beauty industry has been, in donating personal care items mostly without any need for recognition so I see why this billionaire is in hot water for another perceived dollar grab.

Dove (Unilever) is donating £170,000 to help end hair discrimination. It’s probably a discrimination that passed you by unless you’ve experienced it yourself but Black communities face it significantly. The aim is to create a respectful and open world for natural hair and there is nothing to argue with there. However, Dove has had some attention for misleading advertising on a baby product that claimed to nourish a baby’s microbiome. The ASA found that there wasn’t enough evidence to substantiate the claim so the ad (which was on FB) could no longer appear.

In celebrity launch news, Jennifer Lopez has launched a skin care line, JLo Beauty, with olive oil derived squalane at its heart. That JLo Glow Serum is $118. I’m sensing a class action at any moment from people who did not get that JLo Glow. Dolly Parton’s forthcoming fragrance is what I’m holding my breath for…

L’Oreal is hitting the headlines – first for its acquisition of Japanese brand, Takami. It’s a skin care brand with derm clinics in Tokyo and their No.1 selling product is the blue bottled Skin Peel Serum (it’s readily available but pricing is not regulated – I’ve seen it for as low as £35 and as high as £71). Next, in L’Oreal news, the brand has committed to ban badger hair (and any other animal hair) in the use of its brushes. Grooming range, Baxters of California, is named as one of the brands using animal hair. I’m just thinking of all the times L’Oreal said they didn’t test on animals and yet, the use of animal hair somehow didn’t come under that banner. Finally, the L’Oreal Elvive 8 Second Wonder Water that I tried from the US last year is just about to launch in the UK.  It’s amazing.

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