Oh, when I was a kid the year 2010 was one in which I imagined I'd be residing happily in a dome on the moon, driving a bubble car, married to a Martian and eating a dinner composed entirely of pills every night (mmm, delicious), as I lounged about in Barbarella-style frocks and silver boots, pretending to be in an episode of the Jetsons. Every day.
In fact what's happened is that 2010 is, er, not so wildly different from my childhood but there's t'internet and a lot more gadgets now. Better clothes too. Oh and makeup. Yes, makeup, the subject of this post. I feel posthumously desperately sorry for war-time women: all they had was some Bisto to fake the appearance of tights, a scabby kohl pencil and one red lipstick that had to do them for the whole Blitz. Stop, I think I'm having a panic attack.
We, on the other hand, live in a time of Beauty Trends. Oh yes we do. And not just great big trends: seasonal and micro trends are a feature of our cosmetic-loving lives and some of them only live a week or two, while others rumble on for years. It's such big business that huge market research companies dig in to define them these days too, and yesterday we took a look at two of Mintel's 2010 beauty predictions, Nu Natural and Mood Beauty.
I've got the gen on two more trends that'll define what you can buy this year, and they're after the cut. What are you waiting for? Get clickin!
Advertised
Pro-Tech't
In truth you could hardly look crookedy in '09 without bumping into a beauty product that didn't have an SPF built in, and next year looks to be no different. But in 2010, things will be even more jargon-tastic, with words like 'firewall' used on packaging, which will begin to incorporate non-trad materials like neoprene and concrete.
It won't just be about SPFs though as we'll also see growth in products that will boast immune-boosting and skin-defending capabilities, as well as new products that contain ingredients from extreme hot and cold environments, like deserts and arctic tundras. Origins have harnessed these sort of ingredients already, for example in their Make a Difference cream, and Dr Howard Murad is at the forefront of ethnobotany too, routinely using plants and fruits from extreme environments to add super-charged powers to his products.
Turbo Beauty 4-G
Yes, I realise that this sounds just like the name of a new Mac computer, but Turbo Beauty 4-G is a high-tech new trend powering its way to a beauty counter near you. Utilising advances in biochemistry, the trend will usher in beauty products with stronger capabilities than ever before. “Expect more quasi-medical results and “mix-it-yourself” solutions—at-home kits and cures that offer alternatives to cosmetic surgery and non-invasive procedures,” predict Mintel. Oh looky, we've seen this already, courtesy of Vichy, who launched their Aqualia Anti-Ox Serum and Powder, €30, late last year.
Advertised
That's not all: the trend will also focus on how brands target us as consumers. If you're a user of social media sites like Facebook or Bebo, you can expect to be more aware of new launches than ever before, as the beauty industry seeks to influence and target so-called 'digital natives'.
Anything else? Yup: “in 2010,” say Mintel, “products will increasingly include medical- or pharmaceutical-grade actives and next-generation nanotechnology. In addition, clinical testing to substantiate claims and results will move from prestige into “masstige".
