Fashion-Forward Lipstick Hues Spark Sales, Energize Young Consumers

Runway trends and hip new shades have consumers excited about lipstick again, driving up sales of lip products in U.S. department stores 7% for the first four months of the year, according to the NPD Group.

Unit sales of prestige lip products rose 4% from January to April, compared with the same period last year, the market research firm says.

Lip color (lipstick), the segment’s star, increased 11% for the period. Sales of lip color in April alone were up double digits (30%) over last April due to launch activity, promotions and a late Easter, NPD says.

With lipstick, “we’ve called it a return to drama,” said Karen Grant, NPD senior global industry analyst. “The consumer wants a bit of escape and play, without all of the seriousness. Sometimes having a little fun is an important choice.”

“Lip color had reached a level where it was declining for several years, so it was almost cyclical that we would see a return,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst at NPD, in a June 8 interview. “At the same time, we saw a lot of the fashion brands invigorating the category. It was on the runways, it was everywhere!”

Lip color began to show new life last year, advancing 8% in units overall with 2010 being the first time in eight years that the segment saw a unit increase.

Pale pink shades, “almost retro pink” with a “creamy beige element,” smattered the runway, reviving consumer interest. “It was taking a new color and adding a twist to it,” Grant said.

The analyst likens the reinvigoration of lip color, due largely to fresh color twists, to trends in hosiery. “For a long time it was about lip gloss, lip gloss, lip gloss. Lip color was considered an older woman’s category,” she said. “But today it’s almost like hosiery, where you have textured hose which spans any age.”

“It becomes a new discovery to a younger consumer,” she suggested. MAC Cosmetics, a brand generally geared to a younger consumer, emerged as the best-selling lip-color brand for the first four months of 2011, according to NPD.

MAC’s Viva Glam collection launched its first Lady Gaga-inspired shade last year, a bright pink. The singer’s newest Viva Glam Gaga shade is “light warm beige with an amplified finish,” MAC says.

“It’s definitely the popularity [of Gaga]” that is helping to lead the charge, Grant noted. “I don’t think a lot of women across ethnic groups thought of wearing bright pink for example, but with Gaga and Nicki Minaj, they’re showing with these colors they can really break the ethnic barrier.”

Following MAC in sales are Lancome L’Absolu Rouge, a “moisture-boosting” formula with SPF 12, and Clinique Long Last Soft Shine, which combines “moist shine” and “all-day wear.” Long Last Soft Shine is a long-standing Clinique offering that debuted in 1996 (Also see "Marketing in Brief: Clinique" - HBW Insight, 1 Jul, 1996.).

Estee Lauder Pure Color, a “long-lasting lipstick” with shea butter and murumuru butter, and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine, which provides “continuous eight-hour-long hydration,” according to the brand’s site, round out the top five best-sellers in the prestige lip market.

Innovation, as seen in Clinique’s new Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm, along with the broadening array of players in the category, are helping drive sales, according to Grant.

The Chubby Stick is a pencil that goes on like a lipstick and is available in eight tints, “each with a subtle sheen,” the brand says.

Generally, consumers are looking for long wear and moisturizing benefits in lip color, along with rich, full hues, Grant said.

The Lipstick Economic Index

It has long been suggested that sales of lipstick indicate the health of the economy. If a correlation truly exists, then the U.S. has not quite climbed out of the recession.

The consumer is “still making some very careful choices,” said Grant. But “we do see the consumer is feeling a little more optimistic than she did in the height of the recession.”

With lipstick, “we’ve called it a return to drama,” Grant said. “The consumer wants a bit of escape and play, without all of the seriousness. Sometimes having a little fun is an important choice.”

Grant expects positive activity to continue behind makeup through the remainder of the year in both prestige and mass channels. “It does seem that makeup is having a strong year, especially in some key categories,” she said.

The overall prestige beauty industry began seeing gains last year, generating $8.4 billion in sales, a 4% increase from 2009 (Also see "In Brief" - HBW Insight, 7 Mar, 2011.).

By Suzanne Blecher