There is strong consensus across China that using make-up is a useful technique to boost confidence, and at the same time, show respect for others. It seems that this is particularly true of lip colour as new Mintel research reveals that the category has received increased attention in recent years claiming 22% of the total market value in 2016, compared to 15% in 2014.
Today, as lipstick usage is nearly universal in China, with 95% of urban Chinese female consumers having used lipstick/lip gloss in the past six months, it is also considered to be the most important colour cosmetic product among urban Chinese women (63%) (when limited to applying up to three types of make-up). Following lipstick/lip gloss, female consumers prioritise BB/CC cream (49%), foundation (41%) and eyebrow definer (39%).
Six in 10 (62%) urban Chinese women claim they wear make-up almost every day, up from 38% of surveyed women who said the same in 2016. Despite this increase in daily make-up usage, Mintel research reveals that minimising the number of steps in the make-up regime is the desire of 67% of respondents, compared to 30% who want one product for each step of their make-up routine. According to Mintel, only 4.3% of multi-use colour cosmetics launches took place in China in 2016, compared to 7.8% in South Korea, 8.7% in Japan, 10.5% in the UK and 11.2% in the US.
When it comes to influencing the purchase decision, on average, urban Chinese female consumers are impacted by 3.6 influencers when they are buying colour cosmetics, higher than the 3.1 for facial skin …
