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While beauty brands experienced considerable growth during the pandemic, economic pressures are slowing things down, especially makeup buying. The CivicScience Pulse of the U.S. Beauty Buyer report found that 79% of beauty buyers have altered their beauty buying habits due to economic pressures. One way in which consumers could be cutting back – which is also trending on social media – is by using a single makeup product in multiple ways, such as applying liquid blush as blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick.
CivicScience data reveal that this makeup trend is resonating strongly with consumers: 46% of U.S. adults who wear makeup have experimented with using a single product in more than one way, with 25% having done this ‘multiple times.’ An additional 11% haven’t tried this but are interested in trying it.
However, experience varies by brand. A close look at four of the numerous brands studied by CivicScience reveals that Milk Makeup and Tarte Cosmetics customers have the most experience with using a makeup product for more than one use. While e.l.f. Beauty and Rare Beauty customers are slightly less likely to have experience with this, a strong majority still do so.
Join the Conversation: Do you ever use makeup products for more than one purpose, such as using blush as eye shadow?
Why do Americans use makeup products in more than one way?
CivicScience data indicate the most common answer is to simplify makeup routines and use fewer products (40%). Fewer say they ‘like how the product works on other areas’ (34%) and ‘to save money’ (30%). Following social media trends is the least popular answer by a wide margin (8%).
However, cutting the data by age shows that Gen Z is much more likely to use products for multiple purposes to save money. Whereas, those 55+ skew more toward simplifying their routine compared to other reasons.
A desire for a simplified makeup routine also aligns with additional CivicScience data showing that most makeup wearers typically use under four products in their routines: 33% use 1-2 products, 41% use 3-4 products, 16% use 5-6, and 10% use 7+.1 Similarly, frequent makeup wearing is declining among women, so perhaps people have fewer products on hand.
Answer our Polls: How many beauty products do you use in an average day?
What This Could Mean for Brands
Why does this matter for brands? CivicScience data show that using makeup products for multiple purposes is strongly associated with reasons for purchasing makeup products. For instance, people who use makeup in this way are more likely to be consistent beauty buyers and make repeat purchases when they run out of a product (54%), and they are also more likely to experiment with new types of products (44%). Whereas, those less interested in using makeup for multiple purposes are the least likely to buy new products when they run out and to try new products.
Overall, there’s a considerable market for using makeup for more than one use. Driven by a desire to simplify routines, liking how the product works on other areas, and cost-saving benefits, this trend presents a unique opportunity for beauty brands to create versatile products that drive purchases and loyalty.
This is just a glimpse of CivicScience’s capabilities – we leverage insights like these to build highly-targeted ad campaigns, reach persuadable buyers, and drive better ad engagement. Want to learn how?
- 892 responses from 8/13/2024-8/19/2024; Among those who wear makeup ↩︎
