Will fast beauty be the new fast fashion?
Source: nyxcosmetics.com

Will fast beauty be the new fast fashion?

Since fast fashion swept the apparel landscape, it has fundamentally changed customer expectations about the clothing they wear and the amount they pay for it. Now experts are beginning to recognize the same phenomenon emerging in the world of beauty products.

In a video interview, Maureen Mullen, co-founder and head of research at L2, cited a couple of big factors that define the “fast beauty” trend. Newer brands like NYX and e.l.f. have a quicker speed-to-market and trend reactivity as compared to bigger, more established brands.

Ms. Mullen also noted those brands’ success at positioning themselves to compete with the big names in cosmetics, and suggested that the established leaders could learn something from how fast beauty brands market themselves.

The market appears to be growing for beauty products in general, and for affordable ones especially. A recent study from Fung Global Retail & Technology, reported by RetailWire, indicated that Generation Z tends to be more concerned with personal appearance than previous generations. The study attributes this to the prevalence of social media and selfies, and concluded that it has led to an increase in sales of cosmetics and other beauty supplies for Generation Zers.

And a focus on beauty products has, in some instances, stood out in otherwise struggling areas of retail like department stores. For instance, J.C. Penney’s relationship with Sephora has been one the most successful ongoing initiatives for the otherwise struggling mall mainstay.

But one wonders if fast beauty could have downsides similar to fast fashion. Fast fashion is sometimes derided for its environmental impact. The clothing is often made so cheaply that the materials are not usable for resale, leading to a huge excess of material to be thrown out.

Fast fashion’s production model has also come under fire, with the demands for quickly-produced clothing sometimes leading to inhumane working conditions for overseas labor. 

BrainTrust

"Clothes are one thing -- cosmetics are another."

Paula Rosenblum

Co-founder, RSR Research


"If fast color cosmetics offer four or more solid hours of wear I imagine they’ll have an eager customer base among Generation Z and young Millennials."

Jasmine Glasheen

Content Marketing Manager, Surefront


"Fast beauty has already arrived but, to paraphrase science fiction author William Gibson, it just hasn’t been distributed evenly."

Ryan Mathews

Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will consumers create a demand for fast beauty as they have with fast fashion? What will it take for companies to succeed in this space, and will the problems that plague fast fashion also affect fast beauty?

Poll

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Paula Rosenblum
Noble Member
7 years ago

Clothes are one thing — cosmetics are another. First of all, unless we completely deregulate everything, they require a certain level of testing — more rigorous than clothes. That is both slow and costly.

Second of all, they require that testing for a reason — people can be allergic to stuff that they put on their face and eyes. And it can vary from color to color.

I suppose there will be a market, but the risk of lawsuits from the parents of the teenagers wearing this stuff is enormous.

Dick Seesel
Trusted Member
7 years ago

Speed to market has helped fast fashion apparel retailers take market share away from their slower competitors, but “fast beauty” is a harder concept to define. Mainstream vendors have the challenge of speeding up their trend forecasting, product development and manufacturing if the goal is to get more fashion-forward color stories into retailers’ hands more quickly. But the “raw materials” issue is not the same as in apparel, since cosmetics (at least among department store vendors) tends to be rigorously tested, FDA-approved and so forth … no matter what color or fragrance it contains.

Jasmine Glasheen
Member
7 years ago

Fast beauty won’t be detrimental to the environment, as plastic cases can be recycled. This puts the onus on the companies to utilize reusable materials while still selling at a low price. Interestingly, the two fast beauty examples used in the article, e.l.f. and NYX, are both famously cruelty-free, while most department store beauty brands are still blinding bunnies.

Fast beauty will work with color cosmetics. Trends in lipstick, eyeliner, etc., turn over more quickly than foundation or skincare. But fast beauty brands beware: there’s no hiding poor quality makeup. Runny eyeliner is a lot harder to hide than a tear in a shirt. Still, if fast color cosmetics offer four or more solid hours of wear I imagine they’ll have an eager customer base among Generation Z and young Millennials.

Cathy Hotka
Trusted Member
7 years ago

I’m not at all sure about the concept of “fast beauty,” but cosmetics have exploded in popularity thanks in part to better formulations, beauty chains like Sephora and Ulta, and the trend has been egged on by YouTube videos that have shown even the most timid how to get the smudged eye look. This will be a growth sector for some time.

Camille P. Schuster, PhD.
Member
7 years ago

When consumers find beauty products that work for them, they are not always excited about changing. However, they are willing to experiment with some new products. Given the way products can be combined to create different looks, the need for new products can also be satisfied with using products in different ways.

As Paula said, testing will also slow down the process. The needs or preferences of Generation Z are also not the same as every other generation so meeting the needs of all generations and the variations within each generation will be a challenge.

Ryan Mathews
Trusted Member
7 years ago

The problem here is that the question assumes this hasn’t already happened. Fast beauty has arrived but, to paraphrase science fiction author William Gibson, it just hasn’t been distributed evenly. If you want to know where the American cosmetics will be in 2017 look at Asia — Korea in particular. That market is driven by day-part personal cosmetology with personal purse makeup kits carrying as many as 40 items a day. Also look at the impact celebrities have had on the cosmetics business, not to mention the rush to market by third parties who have stopped just making cosmetics for somebody else and have begun marketing beauty items under their own brands.

No, this question is several years too late. The cosmetics revolution began long ago and will only be spurred on by the notion of fast beauty.

Patricia Vekich Waldron
Active Member
7 years ago

Absolutely — we’re in a SnapChat world for cosmetics. It’s no longer seasonal, just like fashion!

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
Noble Member
7 years ago

Maybe my Y chromosome is holding me back, but I’m having trouble picturing what “fast beauty” even means. Sure hairstyles change, and fragrances, lipsticks and other cosmetics come and go with regard to specific scents and colors, but aren’t the tools still the same?

Or maybe the term just means cheap, gaudy and inexpensive … it seems like we have a LOT of those stores around already.