2024 Chinese beauty & skincare trends

There’s nothing quite like a bit of fierce competition to drive innovation. Few categories illustrate this better than China’s contested beauty industry, which has long seen innovation from brands and products incorporating the latest China trends. Applications of these trends were on display at the recent Beauty Expo in Shanghai. China Skinny scoured every corner of the exhibition halls to observe the latest and greatest offerings from beauty brands and identified the key trends from the category. 

Many of the innovations and trends that we observed are applicable to other consumer categories and are worth observing for non-beauty brands as well. Below is a roundup of some of the trends that were most relevant to the beauty and wider consumer categories in China, and by proxy, the world:

1. Simplifying lives:

Many Chinese consumers are overwhelmed by everyday life and the dizzying array of options available to them. Some of the most resonant brands at the expo focused on addressing this, by making beauty routines effortless and untangling the steps for everyday women. This simplification often expands beyond just using the products, to earlier in the customer journey. One example is from UNNY CLUB, which doubles down on the pre-sales process, with its ‘one-stop makeup’ beauty advice, simplifying the selection process and products themselves.

2. Crossover and category creep:

Part of simplifying life is by providing products that effortlessly cross over into categories beyond beauty. The obvious example of health, which brands and consumers closely associate with beauty, sees products marketed as delivering both in a simple format. This is common for beauty products that are consumed orally, which are now promoting low calorie, zero-fat and zero-sugar. In addition, successful brands often tap into the entrenched local beliefs that Chinese consumers have about certain ingredients, methods of consumption/use and their effects. Features which are typically associated with one subcategory are also creeping into other subcategories. An example of this comes from the scalp-cleaning brand Spes, which promotes premium ingredients typically found in facial products.

3. Laser-focused targeted products:

Rather than promoting products with generic appeal, brands are getting better at targeting their products to more specific audiences and needs. Examples include Ampais’ addressing cyclical skin issues of postpartum women, and brands targeting children and toddlers’ needs from soothing after-sun, to nighttime moisturizer.

4. Emotional and sensory experiences:

Brands are increasingly tapping into emotional benefits such as healing and wellbeing by enhancing inner-regulation. An example of how brands are doing this is from PORITZ, whose emotion-inducing “fruit jam” (for skin) incorporates fruit fragrances with ‘perfume-grade blending techniques’ which calm emotions, in addition to soothing and moisturizing skin.

5. Sustainability important, but often trumped by other consumer requirements:

Brands continue to promote their environmental credentials, but some of the most promoted features and benefits have the opposite effect. This includes packaging-heavy single-use products and balls which promise uncontaminated, fresh and convenient-to-use and carry products such as Cosballs.  

That’s a taste of some of the 9 trends we observed at the Expo. We’ve dived deeper illustrating these and other trends with examples in our 9 China Beauty Trends 2024 Whitepaper, incorporating findings and insights from the Expo. It’s free to download. You can download it here.