Courtesy of Byrdie.com
Makeup may have dominated beauty and social spaces for a while now, but skincare is fighting back this year. We all know that too much makeup can lead to blocked pores and blemishes. It's like your cosmetics had a party on your face and your skin is hungover, so you turn to skincare brands to soothe your tired skin.
But these days consumers are savvy—they know their hyaluronic acids from their peptides and they demand products and futuristic gadgets that genuinely make a difference. Smoke and mirrors will not do. Consumers as a whole have also become more demanding when it comes to environmental repercussions. When it comes to the beauty products they choose, they want more streamlined packaging and options that sit in line with their ethos, be that veganism or trying to use more locally sourced ingredients.
To bridge the gap, we called on the beauty experts and buyers at our favourite retailers to reveal the topics they see being big news this year, and this rundown of the seven hottest skincare trends doesn't disappoint.
CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
When it comes to shopping for skincare, our number one question should always be, does this work? But now consumers are asking is this eco-friendly? With the Evening Standard's The Last Straw campaign, calling for London bars and restaurants to ban plastic straws and more and more attention being put on Pacific Plastic Island, consumers are demanding that their beauty products toe the line and strip it back.
Alexia Inge, founder of Cult Beauty, believes we will see "brands of all sizes pledging to swap to 100% plant-based packaging in the next couple of years." She also predicts more and more consumers will look to brands using locally sourced ingredients such as Haeckels, which uses hand-harvested seaweed from Margate's 14-mile coast. "which not only brings employment to an area in need of regeneration but also helps to keep the beaches clear," says Inge.