The beauty revolutions that changed our bathroom cabinets in 2017
As in all other areas of life, 2017 has been the year for shake-ups in the beauty world. From product innovations to government policies, to the rising power of social media, here, we track the biggest changes and how they’ve impacted our beauty routines and bathroom cabinets…
1. We chose new brands over beauty giants
Social media has helped several small brands to take off this year, with many using Instagram as a launchpad. One of the first beauty start-ups to utilise this new-found power was Glossier, and when the cult-US brand arrived on British soil in October, it proved that its success is transatlantic. The likes of Drunk Elephant, one of the bestselling brands in Sephora, Deceim and Saturday Skin are also using social media to push out their brand message and engage with their customers.
It’s no surprise that all of these brands started solely online. New kid on the block, Be for Beauty has been using social media has the main source of inspiration for all of its brands. The latest product line under the name of HAX, scours Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat for the latest trends and designs easy-to-use kits to recreate the looks at home. It’s stocked exclusively at ASOS and the brand is promoting it via social media.
While we all used to visit department store beauty halls to discover the latest brands, it seems the future of beauty shopping could be as easy as scrolling through your Instagram.
2. We saught sustainable solutions
We might be more used to checking whether the things that we put on our faces contain natural ingredients, but brands are now going one step further and making a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint with their packaging.
From Dior’s refillable pots to Soaper Dupers recycled tubes and SkinCeuticals removing any unnecessary cardboard or plastic from its packaging, brands are tackling the issue of sustainability in different ways. And, there’s no doubt that this will become the new norm in 2018.
3. We embraced skin-transforming gadgets
At-home beauty gadgets used to have a reputation for being expensive, and not necessarily for delivering on the results that they promised. This year, several new and innovative tools have revolutionised the industry - and they don't all cost a fortune.
First and foremost, Neutrogena came to the rescue of acne suffers with its game-changing Visibly Clear Light Therapy Acne Mask. Admittedly it does take longer to work than in-salon light therapy treatments, but it's￡39.99 and the results are proven.
GloPro Beauty’s clever Microstimulation Facial Tool, ￡199 is a slightly pricier investment, but is receiving equal amounts of praise from the industry experts. By creating small punctures in your skin (which send it into repair mode and turbocharges collagen products) this micro-needling gadget promises to firm and brighten your complexion. Use it at night and it will also make your usual skincare products work harder. Expect to hear more about the benefits of micro-needling in 2018.
The game-changing skin gadgets and tools that are worth the investment
4. We welcomed the return of celebrity beauty lines
If you thought that celebrity beauty lines were a thing of the past, then Kylie Jenner and Rihanna are out to prove you wrong. The former hit headlines over the summer when it was revealed that her brand of Kylie Cosmetics had made $420 million retail sales to date and was predicted to hit the billion dollar mark in just a few years. To put this into context, it took Lancome 80 years to reach that. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that Jenner’s older sister, Kim also debuted her make-up line this year too, KKW Beauty.
Rihanna also helped reignite our appreciation for A-list beauty with the launch of Fenty Beauty this autumn. The singer ramped up the suspense by drip feeding her fans teasers via social media, resulting in down-the-street queues at Harvey Nichols in London, with several of the products selling out instantly.
Rihanna's most stylish moments
5. We ditched the microbeads, for good
Earlier this year, Michael Gove finally promised that the little plastic beads found in scrubs, toothpaste and many of the products in our bathrooms will be banned. It’s been a long time coming considering that eight million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year and it was a decision welcomed by environmental activists, plus a new wave of eco-brands.
Big beauty corporations, including L’Oreal and Unilever have been working to remove microbeads from their products for the past few years, while Zelens, Tata Harper and Trilogy are among the early adopters who have always been plastic-free. With the ban coming into effect at the end of the year, all products will be microbead free next year, so you won’t even need to check the label.