In Review 2024: Top 10 beauty features of the year
This year saw TheIndustry.beauty's features continue to bring inspiring stories, retail insights and detailed analysis about the beauty industry. As 2025 approaches, we've curated a list of our top ten feature picks from 2024.
In Depth: The power of prestige beauty
From a global pandemic and cost-of-living crisis to various geopolitical conflicts, the beauty industry has experienced a plethora of challenges in recent years. Despite this, the prestige market remains buoyant, with many of the world's biggest beauty companies continuing to invest in the sector.
TheIndustry.beauty's News Editor & Senior Writer, Sophie Smith, explores how and why prestige beauty is providing an attractive opportunity for beauty groups, with commentary from retail trend analyst Wizz Selvey and Shiseido UK&I Managing Director Charles de Montalivet.
Stila has turned 30 and is refreshed, refocused and ready to shine again
Stila is back. Not that it ever went away. But in its 30th year, the US-based cosmetics brand is refreshed, refocused and ready to get back out into the market and reclaim its position as one of the best in multitasking makeup.
TheIndustry.beauty reflects on its journey since launching in 1994, speaking to current CEO Michelle Kluz and Tracy Moores, the founder of its UK distributor Glorious Brands, to find out what's next for the cosmetics brand.
In Depth: What to expect from Lookfantastic's first concept store and why it has selected Altrincham as the location
As Lookfantastic prepared to open its new store earlier this year, the beauty industry eagerly anticipated this exciting concept. The UK high street is known for its fierce competition in the beauty sector, so TheIndustry.beauty set out to discover what we could expect from this entry.
This feature boasts an in-depth look at Lookfantastic and the location of its first concept store, with exclusive commentary from the retailer, as well as industry experts and analysts to gauge their opinions on its brick-and-mortar debut and what it could mean for beauty in the UK.
The rise of inner beauty
The UK wellness industry is one of the biggest markets in Europe, with an estimated value of over $223 billion. So, in an economic climate where beauty brands are having to work that much harder to grow vertically, should they be looking at the ‘inner beauty’ category for lateral growth?
Health supplements once reserved for athletes and fitness junkies, such as electrolytes, protein shakes and probiotics, have now made their way from the treadmill to the bathroom cabinet. Consumers are being targeted and educated on the benefits to skincare and overall wellbeing, and it’s big business. TheIndustry.beauty's co-founder and Chief Partnerships Officer, Antony Hawman, looks at some of the products leading the way to drive beauty from within.
5 beauty trends from London Fashion Week SS25
From sixties-inspired hair and vibrant eye makeup to statement nails, bold lips, and more, London Fashion Week once again delivered an array of beauty looks across makeup, hair and nails for SS25 back in September.
TheIndustry.beauty reflected on some of the season's top beauty trends from the likes of Marques’Almeida, JW Anderson, Paul Costelloe, Roksanda, Harris Reed.
Rare Beauty's rapid rise to success
Selena Gomez reached billionaire status earlier this year thanks to her popular beauty brand Rare Beauty. The American actress amassed a fortune worth $1.3 billion, which added Gomez to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
The vast bulk of Gomez’s wealth is tied to Rare Beauty, which has become a hit with influencers and makeup-obsessed teens. In this feature, TheIndustry.beauty takes an in-depth look at the beauty brand's rapid journey to success.
How beauty brands can leverage TikTok to drive growth
Earlier this year, social media platform TikTok published a new handbook on how small to medium sized beauty businesses can better connect with consumers on the app.
It came as 52% of users have gone on to make a purchase after interacting with SMB content on TikTok, further highlighting the opportunity for beauty businesses on the app. Using the SMB Beauty Playbook, TheIndustry.beauty explores how businesses can achieve success on TikTok.
Comment: The Body Shop's woes hit just as it should be at its most relevant
Cruelty-free, vegan, refillable, quirky brand name... pretty much every new beauty brand aiming to break through into the increasingly crowded market today is built on these values. And yet, the OG brand that was decades ahead of its time – The Body Shop, founded in 1976 by entrepreneur and activist Anita Roddick – has been failing in a market in which it should be at its most relevant. It's a cruel irony.
The Body Shop's troubles are, however, not recent. It hasn't been in great shape for many years and now that the market has come round to its way of thinking, it is simply in no position to capitalise. TheIndustry.beauty's co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Lauretta Roberts, comments on her early memories of The Body Shop, its journey under L'Oréal and Natura & Co, and why it hasn't been thriving, following its fall into administration earlier this year.
In History: Space NK, a timeline of a beauty retail trailblazer
This year, Space NK experienced robust trading as it continued to strategically invest in its online and in-store experiences, positioning itself as a more premium retailer than the likes of Boots, Superdrug and Sephora in the UK.
In this feature, TheIndustry.beauty takes an in-depth look at Space NK's milestone moments over the years - from the retailer's launch and growth in the early days to its recent expansion, the sale of its US wholesale division, and more.
Why John Lewis is bringing back its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ pledge and how will it work?
In September, John Lewis brought back its 'Never Knowingly Undersold' price pledge "for the modern age", two years after abandoning the promise after it had become "not fit for purpose" in its original format.
Contributing Editor Tom Bottomley took an in-depth look at John Lewis and the return of its 'Never Knowingly Undersold' pledge, with commentary from Executive Director Peter Ruis on the retailer's new strategy.
