Looking ahead to the second half of 2018, the trends shaping beauty should be of no surprise to anyone in the industry. Themes we’ve heard about since the beginning of the year are only deepening, from the microbiome’s effect on the skin to men’s grooming to sustainable products and packaging. Here, WWD speaks to trend forecasting agency WGSN’s head of beauty, Jenni Middleton, on six key trends shaping the second half of the year.
Zero-waste packaging: Though for the now the consensus in the beauty industry seems to be that consumers remain generally ambivalent toward sustainable packaging, Middleton upholds that waste-free is the way to go in 2018. There are early signs of an uptick in consumer interest. On Instagram, a movement against plastic straws took hold, with influencers such as Eva Chen swearing them off, along with other plastic food containers. Celebrity hairstylist, Ouai Hair Care founder and influencer in her own right, Jen Atkin spoke out early this year against “wasteful packaging and mailers,” issuing a call on Instagram to brands to send gifted items with minimal wrapping and packaging. In early 2018, brands such as Unilever’s Love Beauty and Planet, L’Oréal’s Seed Beauty, Lubrizol-funded One Ocean Beauty and L’Oréal vet Nicolas Gerlier’s LVMH-backed La Bouche Rouge each launched products with sustainable packaging and formulations. “I’m convinced that my generation today cannot continue to think, produce and consume like the previous generation. I can’t just create a new luxury makeup brand a strong commitment to sustainability,” Gerlier told WWD in February.
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