Summer Sun Gives Opportunity for Brands to Introduce Consumer to New Products

According to a blog post by makeup industry analyst for The NPD Group Kissura Mondesir, summer can be a tricky time for wearing makeup and color cosmetics. According to the post titled "I’m Melting,” rising temperatures and increasing humidity has makeup wearers reaching for different products during warmer weather.

Mondesir writes, "The heat and humidity takes a toll on makeup and may have many women feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West after Dorothy threw water on her." She notes that, "Forty-eight percent of women age 18 and over are reaching for their setting powder, whether loose or pressed, to finish off their faces and help keep their makeup intact. Most days and occasions, a powder cover is all that is required, but for the dog days of summer something more powerful is necessary."

Delving into the need for a more powerful way to help makeup stay put through the day, Mondesir explains, "That’s where liquid setting sprays come in. They have been makeup artists’ long-held secret to making makeup last, especially under the hot lights of a studio photo shoot. Though long used and loved by makeup artists, they are still esoteric with the average woman, as evident in prestige department store sales, which are almost nonexistent when compared to total prestige makeup sales of $4.1 billion. However, while still quite small, dollar sales of liquid setting sprays have grown double digits compared to the prior year, while powder grew a modest 2%."

Of course, this can spell the chance for new consumer dollars for well-situated beauty brands. "This speaks to the huge opportunity that we as an industry have to grow the awareness of setting sprays, and ultimately sales as well," Mondesir notes. "In this case, some basic education on the power of setting sprays can go a long way. Once educated that two pumps in an ‘X’ formation allows them to set and forget about their makeup, consumers will be keeping their cool instead of fearing a makeup meltdown, even in the dog days of summer."