Prachi Vyas
Ahmedabad: Now that India is slowly waking up from slumber due to an unprecedented, four-month-long lockdown, clothes tucked away in the wardrobes and unused makeup kits are being dusted for reuse as the situation limps back to normalcy and ‘adventurous’ people get back in their former colourful attire.
With the closure of premium beauty product outlets because of Covid-19, approximately 30 percent of the beauty industry market was shut down. Most people stayed indoors for weeks together. Women stayed away from make-up as beauty salons were shut. Photographs of celebrities-without-makeups went viral at regular intervals! Facial masks became mandatory, rendering facial makeups unnecessary—although designer masks have also emerged in the market. In fact, masks are now being talked about as part of wardrobe accessories!
Some of the closed cosmetic stores and beauty salons may never reopen. New openings would likely be delayed until next year.
The pandemic-triggered anxiety has completely changed the dynamics of the beauty industry, the skin and the hair-care services. With so much focus on the eyes, an expert says the possible trends that could emerge would be floating eyeliners, mono-tones, and neon eye-shadows.
According to a spokesperson of an online shopping portal Snapdeal, “sales of lipsticks have been lower than usual in the last two months”. Although most make-up manufacturers claim they do not have precise numbers, the trend is evident.
Stafford Braganza, makeup artist and trainer with L’Oreal Paris, India, said: “Clear or see-through masks will be the way to go. Until then, the eyes are going to do most of the talking!”
Since only the upper half of the face is visible while wearing a mask, “people will explore new trends in the eyes and brow category, where something bold and previously unexplored could shine through”, he said.
Nykaa, an Indian retailer of beauty, wellness and fashion products, had also noted that eye-shadow had moved from their ‘Top 5 to ‘Top 3’ category during the lockdown period.
Putting more into this frame, Umashan Naidoo, Head of Cosmetics at the Westside chain of stores said, “Eye make-up will definitely grow as a category. It will be essential for all beauty brands to concentrate their R&D more on eye make-up business”.
On the other hand, much of the makeup industry believes that a drastic fall in lipstick sales is a “temporary phase”, and that coloured lips will never go out of fashion.
“The desire for beauty is eternal. L’Oreal’s experience in other countries has shown that the current situation does not call into question the consumer’s strong appetite for beauty products, which remains intact. What we are seeing currently is more of a supply crisis than a demand crisis,” said Kavita Angre of L’Oreal India.
Many in the makeup fraternity believe that the face mask has not stolen the lipstick’s thunder. Instead, it has opened up new opportunities for the industry to be more creative.
Makeup is about how you use the products in creative ways and lipstick is one regular product in every women’s bag which can be used in multiple ways. And if nothing else, the ‘versatile’ lipstick can take the form of an eye-shadow, or a blush. So while some experiment with the lipstick, many would probably just wait for the mask period to get over. Given the uncertain days, lipstick might not tell any tales for some more time.
The beauty news and the official reports state that both beauty industry retailers and beauty service workers are facing unprecedented challenges to keep up their business. Some of the beauty brands stated that as many as 17,600 products could be affected by the spread of the virus.