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With 500 million active users on Instagram as of June 2016, it’s safe to say the photo sharing platform is one of the most influential social media sites in the world. One of the most shared types of content on Instagram is images surrounding beauty, from product reviews, to new looks and elaborate art in the form of make-up and nail designs.
Instagram is hugely influential in when it comes to shaping beauty trends. Today trends are driven by social media, then reported on by blogs and print magazines, and finally emerging in mainstream beauty.
Instagram can help you stay ahead of the trends, and even become a leader in the industry, offering a hugely influential opportunity for your beauty business.
Beauty trends shaped by Instagram…
2016 has seen a wide variety of trends emerge from Instagram, some of which have become mainstream, influencing the industry as a whole, while others are mostly left to be admired, due to their extremity and difficulty to achieve.
Among the most talked about are: mermaid make-up, neck contouring, bubble eyeliner, ribbon eyeliner, rainbow eyebrows (which then sparked rainbow highlighter), intricate lip art and super-full lashes.
The latest to hit Instagram is the crystal lip. Make-up bloggers are creating dramatic and beautiful lip art, inspired by the stones. The images being shared on Instagram look like they belong in a high end fashion magazine shoot. The amazing look has triggered similar creations, that are inspired by gemstones and marble, and use lip paints, lipsticks and glosses to create the look. While this trend is in early development, and it’s unlikely that full crystal lips will become mainstream, but this could spark the development of various lip products to make creating a marble and multicolour look simple. Illamasqua have already picked up on this quickly growing trend, introducing a marble lipstick.
Checkout the accounts that started the crystal lip look at @beyou.byjoy and @genevievejauquet
One of the biggest movements in the beauty industry for 2016 is the Kylie Jenner lip, which was hugely influenced by Instagram. With 75 million followers, Kylie Jenner is one of the most followed accounts. This year Kylie has sparked a huge trend; pillow lips.
Pillow lips are all about having a full and plump lip, that looks almost puffed up like a pillow. Kylie is famous for her lip look, typically wearing a nude shade that makes her overly large lips look natural and soft. The development of the trend was dramatic, and lead to the launch of Kylie’s own lip kit, which promised to create similar results for women worldwide. The kit was a hit, selling out almost instantly when it first launched, followed by restocks also selling out dramatically quickly too.
The simple act of Kylie Jenners’ full lips becoming a beauty trend on Instagram, has then influenced other beauty brands, to develop similar products that create a full lip look. Further more, treatments and procedures to plump lips have seen a huge spike, and this trend is expected to continue well into 2017.
Follow Kylie Jenner on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kyliejenner/?hl=en
2016 has been all about contouring and full, yet natural looking lips, two trends which were both started on Instagram. Both are set to be big in 2017, but in the meantime more trends will develop, and shape what will be in demand in the future.
Stay ahead of the game…
When you are working in the industry, it’s important to stay one step ahead at all times. Just ten short years ago, the first you would hear of the beauty trends would be through consumer magazines, or through trade magazines which may be a little ahead of the game. Today you have the ability to stay on the ball and know about the latest beauty trends before they really take off, enabling you to meet demand before it hits.
Further more, being seen as an influencer in the industry, and a brand that’s always on top of the latest developments in beauty, will put you in a good position as a leading beauty brand. This ensures you appeal to those who are looking for the latest beauty treatments, using the best products and technology available on the market.
Stay on top of beauty trends by following the most influential accounts in the industry. Here are the top ten accounts that help to shape upcoming trends:
1. @hudabeauty
With arguably one of the biggest self-made beauty empires out there, Huda Kattan is one to watch for upcoming trends and developments.
For skincare trends, follow Caroline Hirons. The skin guru tests the cult skincare products on the market and predicts new trends, what will be a hit and what to miss.
French, high-end make-up artist Cedric Jolivet is one to watch when it comes to growing make-up trends. He’s recently worked with Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour.
The French blogger, model and make-up artist boasts 18.1k followers, many of which follow her for make-up and beauty inspiration.
Make-up artist to the Kardashians, Hrush is certainly one to watch for developments in 2017.
This beauty Youtuber is becoming increasingly influential in the beauty industry. Check out her account for every day beauty looks, and to see what the the younger generation are being influenced by.
Become a trend setter…
Along side following influential accounts, why not work to become an influencer in the industry yourself? Even if you do not work to spark new trends, setting up a successful Instagram account can be an extremely powerful tool for any beauty business.
Beauty is one of the most searched terms on Instagram, so there is a huge audience out there, just looking for inspiring accounts to follow, and leaders in the industry to be influenced by.
Nailing Instagram isn’t an easy job, but when you create an inspiring account the benefits can be huge. Work on staying one step ahead of the industry, creating content that people haven’t seen elsewhere. The main thing to remember when posting on Instagram is that every post should add value to your target market. Just created a new look on a client? Post a before and after picture with steps to follow to create the look at home? Used a new product that you know is yet to go mainstream? Post product shots and result images with your tips for using the product? Know of an up and coming trend? Create a look surrounding it, with ideas and advice before everyone else jumps on the band wagon.
Successful Instagram marketing is all about creating something new, exciting and valuable to your target audience. Do some research too, to better understand what it is that your target audience wants to see. Beauty on Instagram is all about hacks, tips and tricks to create the latest looks in the most simple way possible, as well as creativity and inspiration, but when you run a beauty business, it’s about striking the right balance, between giving a little bit away to generate excitement and interest, while still maintaining your insider secrets to keep clients returning.
Do you currently market your business on Instagram? Share your accounts in a comment and your tips.
At Diamond Designs we love the influence of social media on the beauty industry. The trends and advances also shape our beauty uniform designs, and help us better understand exactly what you are looking for as a beauty professional.
Browse our range of beauty tunics and salon wear uniforms. All of our beauty uniforms are stylish and designed to work perfectly for the beauty professional, whether you’re a salon owner or a beauty therapist. Choose from beauty tunics, dresses, spa wear, jumpsuits and trousers, our salon wear collections are really diverse but always stylish and on trend.