Ulta Beauty has released its first trend report. The research, titled “Uncover,” focuses on three broad categories of new and existing trends to look out for in 2022: natural beauty, beauty as self-expression, and the rising relevance of purpose for beauty companies.
The report is a compilation of many data pieces gathered and researched by the store. “Identifying trends to hunt for innovation and new brands is a big part of what we do.” “A lot of this is our own private research,” said Monica Arnaudo, Ulta Beauty chief merchandising officer. “We conduct a lot of research, and we have teams who perform social listening,” she added, referring to the retailer’s search data.
The trends, which vary from high-octane cosmetic looks to beauty and health as self-care, are the product of a customer base that is recovering from a global epidemic. “2020 was the beginning of everyone taking care of themselves, and 2021 has been a bit of a reemergence.” “What we see in 2022 is that anything goes, and there is no limit,” Arnaudo explained.
Acceptance of hair texture, freckles, wild-sourced goods, health and ingestibles products, as well as skin tints with lighter coverage, have all been termed “That New Natural” by Ulta.
“Self-care is very much at the heart of this whole notion of ‘natural,'” Arnaudo explained. “Because people are more cognizant of their mental health, it’s introducing new elements to this concept of natural.”
However, for more daring clients, the shop anticipates an increase in hair, brow, and eye cosmetics experimentation. “We’ll see a lot more bolder expression, whether via cosmetics or hair trends that we’ve discovered,” Arnaudo added.
Ulta Beauty last category, “Power to the People,” highlights products that are environmentally conscious, as well as those with a strong sense of community, compelling creator stories, and a focus on female wellbeing.
