Focus on upgrading the staying power of base makeup products, expand the refined contouring category through a Chinese-style complexion aesthetic and let the 'lazy beauty' trend drive quick and light makeup innovations.
Lucy Yang, Senior Analyst, BPC Client Advisory, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report covers female face colour cosmetics products, including primer, cushion foundation, liquid/cream/stick foundation, makeup setting spray, solid/compact foundation, blusher, shading and contour, concealer cream/liquid/stick, face powder and highlighter.
Excluded:
- Market size and sales data of tone-up cream and colour cosmetics tools.
- The market size does not cover the consumer-to-consumer market (eg WeChat business or Taobao).
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Executive summary
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Key indicators of the face colour cosmetics market
- Market factors
- Face colour cosmetics now, and future opportunities
- Market opportunity one: improve the staying power of base makeup products
- Market opportunity two: leverage the complexion management trend and expand the refined contouring category using Chinese aesthetics
- Market opportunity three: use the ‘lazy beauty’ trend to drive innovations in quick and light makeup
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- The colour cosmetics market is expected to rebound in 2025
- Graph 1: total value sales of the colour cosmetics market, 2021-25 (est)
- Colour cosmetics segments maintain stable shares of the market, with the face colour cosmetics market set for slight growth
- Graph 2: annual growth in value sales of colour cosmetics, by category, 2021-25 (est)
- Graph 3: total value sales of the colour cosmetics market, by category, 2021-25 (est)
- The face colour cosmetics market will have a CAGR of 1.0% over the next five years
- Graph 4: forecast of retail sales in the face colour cosmetics market (best- and worst-case scenarios), 2025
- Market factors
- BPC market sees recent improvement, but growth is slowing
- Graph 5: year-on-year growth rate of total retail sales of cosmetics, 2023-25
- The usage rate of face colour cosmetics is significantly higher than the purchase rate, which might lead to uncleared inventories or delayed repurchases
- Unit prices on ecommerce platforms are falling, indicating that price sensitivity affects purchasing decisions
- Graph 6: distribution of volume sales of face colour cosmetics by price range on Tmall, 2023-25
- Graph 7: distribution of volume sales of face colour cosmetics by price range on Douyin, 2023-25
- Wellness trend prompts consumers to prioritise ‘complexion management’, colour cosmetics offer an immediate solution
- Graph 8: social media mentions around a ‘healthy complexion’ (健康气色), 2024-25
- Consumer demand for fast/easy makeup drives the emergence of launches with time/speed claims
- Graph 9: main claims of new colour cosmetics products, 2020-25
- Brands
- Tmall: Clé de Peau Beauté rises to the top, while Givenchy and Shu Uemura stake a place
- Douyin: rankings fluctuate, but Florasis and Pramy have remained at the top for two years
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The consumer
- Major consumer usage changes
- Applying base makeup is the most important step in face makeup
- Graph 10: important makeup steps, 2024
- The penetration rate of primer and foundation products is increasing year by year
- Graph 11: usage of facial colour cosmetic products, 2023-25
- Different styles of contour/blusher are key to occasion-specific makeup looks, while base makeup is a non-specific core category
- Graph 12: facial makeup steps, by occasion, 2025
- Breakthrough in lasting makeup technology: address consumers’ comprehensive and diverse needs for long-lasting makeup
- A lack of staying power is one of the main pain points in foundation products…
- Graph 13: usage pain points, 2024
- …keeping long-lasting performance in the crosshairs for innovation
- Graph 14: main claims of new foundations/fluid illuminators, 2020-25
- Cover 80% of demand with waterproof, sweat-resistant and antioxidant properties; liquid foundation seen as most long-lasting base makeup
- Graph 15: perceptions of different facial cosmetics as long lasting, 2025
- Consumers’ definitions of staying power are converging for all base makeup
- Graph 16: definitions of long-lasting for base face makeup, by users of different base makeup products, 2025
- Consumers with dry/oily skin focus on moisturising/oil control properties in base makeup products, demand for combination skin is the most diverse
- Graph 17: definitions of long-lasting for base face makeup, by skin type (TGI), 2025
- Oily/combination skin base makeup product innovation: powders become lighter and finer, colour-fixing ingredients improve results and water-oil balancing gets smart
- Dry skin/mixed dry skin base makeup innovation: besides more diverse film-forming technology, long-lasting moisturising ingredients are the core selling point
- Chinese-style complexion aesthetics: create a healthy and energetic TCM-inspired makeup look using sophisticated contour products
- The wellness trend is prompting consumers to prioritise ‘complexion management’, with colour cosmetics offering an immediate solution.
- Graph 18: social media mentions around a ‘healthy complexion’ (健康气色), 2024-25
- Use sophisticated contour products to create glowing skin with a healthy, vibrant complexion
- Qi and blood makeup: a Chinese aesthetic conveying internal health and vitality
- Sweep blush across the cheeks or dab on the tip of the nose and chin to create a ‘qi and blood’ look
- Set makeup with highlighters and pearlescent colours to create a transparent and glossy finish
- Ease in a fast-paced world: demand for light ‘lazy beauty’ makeup and quick makeup ticks up
- In the overall colour cosmetics market, time/speed and multi-use products have regularly emerged in recent years…
- Graph 19: main claims of new colour cosmetics products, 2020-25
- Graph 20: new launch distribution in colour cosmetics segments, 2020-2025
- …driven by the trend for light ‘lazy beauty’ and quick makeup
- Apply makeup quickly using designs that allow mix-and-match textures, using one colour for a full look and multi-purpose palettes
- Simple, quick makeup means using fewer products; blusher and highlighter can be easily streamlined
- Graph 21: usage of face colour cosmetics, by simple vs refined look, 2025
- Graph 22: number of face colour cosmetics products used, by simple vs refined look, 2025
- Skintone management using tinted primers gains attention for substitution and simplification
- Graph 23: use of primer, by type, 2025
- Graph 24: sales performance of registered functions for primer products on Tmall, 2025
- “The sloppier, the prettier”: ‘sloppy makeup’ popular on social media
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New product trends
- In the global face colour cosmetics market, blusher is rising, concealer is declining
- Graph 25: new launches in the face colour cosmetics market, by sub-category, 2020-25
- The Chinese market shows a similar trend
- Graph 26: new launches in the face colour cosmetics market, sub-category, 2020-25
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- Methodology: consumer survey
- TURF analysis methodology
- Abbreviations
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