Market Defense finds top cosmetic products on Amazon driven by clean girl, Brat summer and K-beauty trends

26 Jul 2024 --- Beauty brand consultant Market Defense reveals the top-performing products on Amazon during the second quarter of the year and discusses how the popular items appear in tandem with the latest social media trends.

“Amazon’s top sellers continue to be closely aligned with emerging trends on TikTok,” Vanessa Kuykendall, chief engagement officer at Market Defense, tells Personal Care Insights.

The top five products were Hero Cosmetics’ pimple patches and its Clean Skin Club Clean Towels, Cosrx’s Snail Mucin, Mielle Organics’ Rosemary Mint hair oil and Neutrogena’s makeup-removing wipes.

Brands such as Mighty Patch, Cosrx, Eos, Neutrogena and CeraVe comprised most of the top sellers in the skin care category in Q2. Biodance also joined the top brands, taking sixth place.

Skin and makeup
Hero Cosmetics’ Mighty Patch pimple patches maintained their number one spot from the previous quarter of this year, and Clean Skin Club Clean Towels XL was the second highest-selling product. Cosrx Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence rose one spot compared to last quarter.

“Hero Pimple Patches has dominated Amazon’s Beauty & Personal Care category since 2021 when pandemic-related ‘mask-ne’ helped drive sales of acne solutions. Hero launched on Amazon in 2017 with this one SKU, and that product has now become the number one beauty product on Amazon,” explains Kuykendall.

Vanessa Kuykendall, chief engagement officer at Market Defense.The mean price of the skin care products was US$11.87, and the average was US$13.46.

Meanwhile, Maybelline, L’Oréal, Neutrogena, ELF and Essence were the top makeup brands of Q2.

Trends driving brands
Seven products debuted in the Top 25 list in Q2 with Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Anti-Frizz Spray taking the ninth spot and Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask in the tenth. Sacheu Stay-N-Peel-Off Lip Liner also entered the list and came in at twenty-second.

The top hair care products were Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil and Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray moved up the list to number two in the second quarter.

“The ‘clean girl’ aesthetic trend that included a slicked-back ponytail helped drive Samnyte Hair Wax Stick to be one of Amazon’s top-selling Beauty & Personal Care products of 2023. The new ‘Brat’ trend of summer 2024 also includes a slicked back ponytail, so ‘Hair Wax Stick’ is trending yet again at a pace of 29% year-over-year, helping boost Samnyte sales,” says Kuykendall.

The Brat summer trend, which US VP Kamala Harris is embracing in her presidential campaign, references singer Charli XCX’s newest album, inspiring beauty to shift toward messier aesthetics.

The most premium product on the list was Nutrafol’s Women’s Balance Hair Growth Supplements, priced at US$88.

K-beauty taking over social media
K-beauty on Amazon was also noted as a strong trend on the online platform. Searches for “Korean skin care” are up 180% year-over-year, and K-beauty brand Biodance joined the Top 25.Neutrogena was named one of the top makeup brands on Amazon in Q2 of 2024.

Korean brand Cosrx maintained its top position, and its sales have grown by over 1,000% yearly. The growth can be attributed to its Snail Mucin Power Essence, which ranks Amazon’s number-one-selling facial serum.

“Korean beauty products are known for their innovative formulas and unique ingredients, such as snail mucin, bee venom and various plant extracts. Consumers seeking advanced skin care solutions know to shop Amazon by ingredient. As long as these brands optimize their keyword strategy, K-beauty consumers will find them,” says Kuykendall.

Social media is the top driver of awareness and traffic for K-beauty brands on Amazon. Searches with the hashtag #kbeautymakeup were up 85% year-over-year on TikTok.

Major Korean beauty businesses are showing an increased interest in global markets to diversify beyond China, while international markets crave more cosmetics from South Korea. Kolmar Korea, for instance, recently partnered with Amazon to capitalize on the K-beauty demand.

By Sabine Waldeck

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