France cancels the wearing of masks, and lipstick sales surge!

Starting in mid-to-late March , France lifted some restrictions for French people affected by the new coronavirus, such as the requirement to wear masks in most environments and allowing unvaccinated people to enter restaurants, stadiums and other places.

According to NPD Group, once the move was announced, sales of French premium lip glosses increased by 30% and premium lipstick sales increased by 35% compared to the previous 7 days.

Also in mid-March, overall sales of prestige cosmetics grew 8%, driven by lipstick sales, while total sales of different beauty products in various beauty channels grew 3%.

Previously, due to the policy of wearing facial coverings such as masks, lipstick sales in France plummeted. More popular cosmetics are skin care products such as moisturizing creams. 30% of consumers began to consume moisturizing creams and other skin care products more frequently.

“This dramatic increase compared to the previous week’s lipstick data demonstrates the impact the end of mask-wearing obligations is having on consumer purchasing habits,” the NPD market research group said in a statement.

During recessions, there is a phenomenon known as the "lipstick effect." It refers to people occasionally buying small things like lipstick instead of splurging on something bigger and more expensive. The theory is based on the idea that consumers will always find a way to buy luxury goods no matter what the economy is like.

But due to the wearing of masks, even lipstick sales have plummeted.

"Many consumers are celebrating the removal of masks by buying new lipsticks, which is good news for cosmetics brands that have been severely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, " said Mathilde Lion, NPD's European beauty industry expert.

In addition to the increase in sales of cosmetics such as lipstick, it is foreseeable that as epidemic policies are relaxed, people will consume more fashion items such as clothing and accessories .

When people no longer need to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and bars, cinemas, theaters, markets and other places, fashion items and cosmetics are bound to become new favorites among consumers as they need to travel.

As early as early April, Jordan Sweetnam, senior vice president and general manager of the Americas market at eBay, said that as epidemic policies were relaxed, eBay's fashion team saw a peak in purchases of a series of clothing and accessories, and the increase in sales of French lipsticks also confirmed this statement.

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