They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and who are we to argue? What’s appealing to one person may be the opposite for another. This same principle also applies when it comes to our beauty bags. One person’s make up marvel may be another’s mishap.
From hair care heroes to skin care saviours, have you ever wondered how much you’re splurging on replenishing your hauls… better yet, how much we’re spending as a nation?
Well, here at Cult Beauty our curiosity took over, so we decided to take a deep dive into which countries spend the most on beauty products. Oh, but we didn’t stop there…read on to also discover the most popular product for each country. Not to mention, the best selling item in the world! Hint: it covers blemishes and creates an even canvas for the rest of your cosmetics… Yes, we’re talking about foundation, of course.
THE TOP 10 BEAUTY OBSESSED COUNTRIES
1. JAPAN
Coming in at first place…drum roll please…is Japan. Racing ahead with the average person spending £241.83 per year on beauty and personal care, it’s unsurprisingly become one of the fastest growing markets. Heavily influenced by the region’s rise of Gen-Zs (and their love for social media), research shows that younger generations spend up to 20 percent more on make up and skin care than the baby boomers. While this can include everything from cleansers to contouring kits, there’s one product that takes pride position in the country’s cosmetic cases – lip tints. Powerfully pigmented and available in a variety of colours, textures and finishes, the pout perfectors’ nation’s sales come in at an impressive £10.2 billion per year.
2. USA
With a current population of 336 million (and counting), the United States sits comfortably at second place. Research shows that on average Americans spend £194.17 per year when replenishing their beauty shelves. Home to some of the largest beauty stores and cosmetic brands in the world (Anastasia Beverly Hills and Milk Makeup we’re looking at you), many take their beauty pilgrimages overseas just to snatch up the latest must haves. As for the best selling product? It seems like the USA enjoy sheer, matte and full coverages with the sales of foundation averaging to £18 billion per year.
3. SOUTH KOREA
We can’t talk about South Korea’s beauty market without mentioning K-beauty. What K-pop is to the world of music, K-beauty is to the cosmetic circle: iconic. Projected to be worth £11.2 billion by 2027, it’s safe to say South Korea understands skin care, make up and hair care. With the average person spending £185.49 per year on products, and as one of the world’s leading exporters of beauty products, it’s not surprising that its population enjoys replenishing and discovering beauty heroes. Sticking to what they know best, South Korea’s biggest beauty buy is none other than BB Cream (totalling to £5.4 billion worth of sales per year).
4. UNITED KINGDOM
The UK – the place Cult Beauty calls home – falls pennies short of the top three with the average person spending £184.06 a year. While many enjoy breaking the bank on their face and body care routine, between England, North Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, it’s the at-home manis and pedis that reign supreme. From the never-ending TikTok trends to Pinterest boards, it seems that the UK has inspired to update their colour collection, spending on average £7 billion nail polishes.
5. AUSTRALIA
Heading to the other side of the world, Australia comes in at number five, paying the equivalent of £182.99 a year on beauty staples. With homegrown hair care heroes such as KEVIN.MURPHY, it seems that looking after your locks is a priority down under. How do we know? Research shows that the continent spends £964 million on shampoo.
6. FRANCE
The motherland to some of the most world-renowned skin care brands (La Roche-Posay, NUXE and Caudalie to name a few), France’s sells on average £803 million worth of facial moisturisers a year. Putting complexion first when it comes to their beauty regime, the French don’t compromise when it comes to looking and feeling good, with the average person putting £180.62 towards their beauty collection a year.
7. GERMANY
We’ve all heard of K-beauty, but how about G-beauty. Coming to life in 2018, the German beauty market is only getting stronger. Typically recognised for being efficient and backed by scientific evidence, the country’s beauty brands are problem solvers and fact finders. Studies show that people living in Germany spend around £173.15 on their hauls a year, with sales of shampoo coming out on top at £8.3 billion per year.
8. CANADA
Canada’s cosmetic sales soared in 2022, with the market growing by 25% compared to the previous year. Making the biggest come back? Make up – specifically lipsticks. While Canadians typically invest £159.05 into their beauty bags each year, lipsticks account for £723 million of the country’s expenditure. Oh, and if you didn’t already know, the nation is home to NudeStix and its collection of pout perfectors.
9. ITALY
Italy: renowned for its pizza, pasta…and now foundation sales. Coming in at £643 million a year, the complexion corrector has seen an increase in demand over the years (and it’s only going up). Among many make up marvels, the collection of foundations available in Italy has been receiving more and more recognition for its high-quality formulas and coverage. As for the other luxuries, Italians in general spend £148.45 a year on everything from fragrances to wellbeing products.
10. SPAIN
Last, but by no means least, Spain comes it at number ten spending £138.63 on their yearly beauty hauls. Bringing the spa home, it seems that the country’s residences enjoy some serious TLC, paying up to £562 million a year on facial masks. But who can blame them? There’s no better feeling then sitting down after a long day, putting a face mask on and relaxing, right?
*METHODOLOGY*
- The most beauty-obsessed countries were revealed by analysing the countries that spend the most money on beauty products through the Worldwide Consumer Market Insights, Statista.
- Then the data was then calculated on population per capita.
- Next, the currency data was converted to GDP using – https://www.google.com/finance/markets/currencies
For the rankings, data was collated from the two below sources:
- https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/beauty-personal-care/united-states#global-comparison
- https://www.statista.com/
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/home
