What’s Going On with the World of Color Cosmetics?

Makeup will make a comeback, The Young Group's Karen Young reports, as she discusses life after masks and what it means for beauty retailing and market trends.

We are all busy trying to determine the future of Color Cosmetics: How long will we be wearing masks?  (a long time…)

Will there be an enormous pent-up demand for makeup, once the world returns to some kind of “normal”?  (yes….)

Have we become accustomed to less makeup and will not feel the need to return to a full face of color?  (yes….) 

All of the above!

Part of me is eager to get back to the complete presentation, with plenty of color and sparkle.

The other part has learned to love the ease of a bit of Zoom-ready eyeliner, a sweep of blush and my favorite red lipstick, hoping I’ll remember to remove it before donning my mask. (I usually don’t. Very messy.)

While I cannot say I am overwhelmed with innovation in packaging, dispensing or application of color in the past two years, makeup will come back.

We have seen the cycles, the ups and downs. The fact is, human beings love color. It is uplifting, playful, joyful and inspirational. Maybe all the pink, blue and green hair I have seen during our two years of Covid is a way of enjoying that color fix without dealing with makeup and masks.

From a pure left-brain point of view, when Color Cosmetics makes its comeback (and it will), the stakes will have changed. Dealing with sustainability, vegan formulas, biodegradable glitter and pearls, environmentally friendly packaging, skincare claims, full shade ranges and social selling are now the price of entry. Virtual Reality try-ons will never replace the in-person experience, so that must be addressed as well.

So, whether it is finding a makeup version of Pantone’s Color of the Year, Very Peri, or the endless search for the perfect red lipstick (Lancôme’s Emily in Paris is not bad), we will get back to the hunt. 

About the Author

Karen Young is CEO of The Young Group. Before opening The Young Group in 1999, Karen was VP of marketing, advertising, product development and sales promotion for Lancôme.

Prior to that, she spent 17 years at Estée Lauder, where she held a variety of executive positions, including executive director of Color Cosmetics. She is an adjunct professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology, teaching Product Development in the Master’s program in Cosmetic & Fragrance Marketing and Management.