The UK’s beauty industry has experienced serious success in recent years, and in spite of growing economic turmoil over the last 12 months.
As a cost-of-living crisis continues to hamper household budgets, many are seeking to cut back on non-essential costs and even change their habits to suit a more austere spending approach.
But for many, beauty is bottom of the list, and business continues to boom for independent cosmetics brands. Style continues to exist, and so too does innovation in new products and procedures to match the next big thing. Still, there is something of a risk for beauty businesses as the festive period approaches, and purse-strings are set to tighten all the more.
The key to customer retention is getting in early, with the right products and treatments for the new year. Here are some of the trends expected to explode in 2023, so you can cater your beauty offerings accordingly and sweep the local market before the new year comes in.
New Natural
One of the beauty trends leading the charge for 2023 this the natural look – a look which has seen a lot of mileage already in 2021 and 2022, especially as starlets like Florence Pugh blaze a trail with nude make-up palettes and pixie-cut hairstyles.
But 2023 will see the breaking of new ground in natural looks, as nude illusion make-up is eschewed altogether for uncovered, glowing skin. The boost in popularity of skincare products was bound to see ‘wear it bare’ looks make the mainstream, most recently led by new ‘cryotherapy’ treatments which use dramatically cold temperatures to stimulate the production of collagen and tighten and invigorate skin.
Light tans will prove popular to give an overall impression of health and time spent outdoors, particularly during the dark winter months when sunlight is limited. Especially for those prone to dryness, tan accelerators should be used to hydrate skin before using sunbed treatments and spray tans. Hair, too, will get the all-natural treatment, with throwback 70s middle-partings taking centre stage as an unspoiled summer look.
All That Glitters
Nostalgia has always been a vital part of style and the movement of fashion, with throwback trends having raced through the 80s to the mid-90s in no time at all. Well, with a new year will come a new nostalgia focus on the looks of the millennium: expect all the glitter.
Glitter products and treatments alike will be all the rage for hair and skin, just as they will be for fashion – as glittered jelly sandals already make their own (perhaps unwelcome) comeback. Eye makeup will embrace bold sparkling shades more than ever in the form of vibrant chrome eyeshadows, while shiny jelly nail polishes are due to make a major return.
Emo Revolution
Lastly, the return of emo to our airwaves and Spotify playlists alike is a harbinger for a new throwback era in beauty. With Paramore making a huge comeback, the smudged eyeliners and red lipsticks of the noughties counterculture is ripe for renaissance. Think piercings, stark colour schemes and the sharpest of fringes, paired with moody face-covering hairstyles and blunt bobs.
