The Cosmetify Index 2020

(Q1 Report)

Last year we launched the first-ever ‘Cosmetify Index’, ranking and rating 200 of the hottest beauty brands on the planet based on factors such as social following, engagement, Google searches and more.

Last time out, Huda Kattan’s all-conquering Huda Beauty reigned supreme, but will she hold onto her crown in our first quarterly refresh of the Cosmetify Index?

Hottest Beauty

Brands Ranked

For the main ranking, we’ve once again taken five factors into account for each brand: number of Instagram followers, Instagram hashtags, Instagram engagement, global search volume and increase in searches compared to last quarter.

And once again, it was Huda Beauty which came out as the top beauty brand in the world, beating out competition from industry heavyweights such as Anastasia Beverly Hills and MAC Cosmetics.

1

HUDA BEAUTY

2

Anastasia Beverly Hills

3

M·A·C Cosmetics

4

Yves Rocher

5

Lush

6

Florence by Mills

7

NYX Professional Makeup

8

Merci Handy

9

ColourPop Cosmetics

10

Morphe

The Most Powerful Beauty Influencers

It’s not just the brands themselves that are making waves in the beauty world, with many influencers just as prominent as our favourite brands.

After all, our number one ranked brand started when Huda Kattan quit her job to follow her dream of becoming an influencer and look how that turned out!

Here, we’ve studied the social following of 50 of the world’s biggest beauty influencers on both Instagram and YouTube, as well as estimating just how much money those lucrative brand partnerships could be bringing in.

1

James Charles

At this point, it probably doesn’t surprise you to know that Huda Kattan was the most followed person in beauty, but when we estimated the earnings per post, it was actually James Charles who came out on top, with estimated earnings of £61,080 per YouTube video and £29,541 per Instagram post, for a combined total of £90,621. At just 21 years of age, Charles is one of the hottest names in beauty, with the world truly at his feet.

2

Bretman Rock

Interestingly, in such a female-dominated industry, both of the two top spots in our hottest influencers were both male, with another up and comer, Bretman Rock taking second spot, with estimated total earnings per post of £56,800 on YouTube and £25,500 on Instagram.

3

Huda Kattan

Finally, it wouldn’t be a list of the hottest names in beauty without Huda, who despite having the most followers, is slightly behind when it comes to estimated earnings (that’s because they’re calculated based on engagement and views, as well as total number of followers).

Rank

Name

YouTube
Subscribers

Estimated
YouTube
Earnings per
Video

Instagram
Followers

Estimated
Instagram
Earnings per
Post

Combined
Followers

Combined Earnings
per
Post

Rising Stars of
Beauty

Next up, we looked at how the searches for our 200 brands looked in the last three months when compared to the previous quarter.

The first thing to note here is that the majority of brands either saw a decrease in searches or largely stayed the same. Why? Well, we’re comparing them to the period between October and December, which is the busiest time of year for all brands, in the run-up to the holidays (including Black Friday, when searches reach their year-round peak). This means that for most brands, searches will always take a dip in the new year, something which, of course, has also been affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, which was just starting to take hold at the very end of the quarter. However, there were still a few brands which saw an increase in popularity over the last three months.

1

Merci Handy

86% Search increase

Up until March, searches for this everyday cosmetics brand were ticking along nicely, but the outbreak of coronavirus saw the world scrambling to get their hands on hand sanitizer. And for those who wanted to stay safe but didn’t really fancy smelling like a hospital, Merci Handy were the go-to guys. They saw searches increase by almost double in the last three months, as people turned to Google in search of ethically produced sanitizer that leaves your hands feeling nice and soft while stopping the spread of germs too.

2

Buxom

60% Search increase

BUXOM was one of the few brands to record an upswing in searches in the New Year, with an increase of 60% compared to last quarter. Looking into the data, the majority of those searches came following the Grammy awards, where singer Bebe Rexha was spotted wearing their Full-On Plumping Lip Polish, with thousands turning to Google the next day to find out just where they could get their hands on it.

3

Goop

29% Search increase

Often, when we see a sharp increase in searches for a brand, it’s not always for the right reasons and that seems to be the case with Goop. January saw the release of a Netflix docuseries about Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, but it also saw a wave of backlash from the scientific community, which is likely a large reason why searches jumped by 29%.

Biggest Social
Following

Social media is a big deal in the world of beauty, with beauty brands amongst some of the most followed in the world.

Not only is it perfect for sharing tips and tutorials with millions of people, but there’s also a huge network of influencers out there who can be a vital marketing tool for brands. So, which are the current beauty brands who are killing the social media game?

1

Huda Beauty

24,993,381
2

Anastasia Beverly Hills

23,344,089
3

M·A·C Cosmetics

18,327,777

For millions, Instagram is the place to share their latest beauty purchases and routines, tagging their favourite brands as they do so, making hashtags a great way for us to track a brand’s popularity. In fact, the top three most tagged brands lines up perfectly with our top three ranking brands overall, Huda Beauty, Anastasia Beverly Hills and M·A·C Cosmetics.

Some other brands which have proved popular on the Gram include Urban Decay, with over 10 million tags and Makeup For Ever and Olaplex, each with over 9 million.

1

huda Beauty

43,175,654
2

Kylie Cosmetics

24,012,086
3

M·A·C Cosmetics

23,664,223

She may have slipped to twelfth in our overall ranking, but Kylie Jenner’s huge social following has clearly followed to her cosmetics brand, with over 24 million followers, second only to Huda Beauty.

Kylie Cosmetics has turned the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan into the world’s youngest billionaire, with a huge army of loyal fans.

1

Florence By Mills

7.97%
`
2

Glow Recipe

2.25%
3

Glossier

1.98%

Social engagement shows how many likes and comments a brand gets for every post they make, and it’s an interesting metric, as it becomes tough to maintain a good level as you gain more followers.

As with last year, it’s incredible to see the level of engagement that Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills has with its fans, with 7.97% either liking or commenting on each post.

Another brand which stands out is Glossier, with an engagement of 1.98%. That’s obviously a lot less than Florence by Mills, but considering they have almost 3 million followers, that means that’s still over 55,000 people liking or commenting on every post.

Each Country’s
Favourite Beauty Brand

We also took another look at how our beauty preferences change around the world, measuring each country’s favourite brand based on search volume.

Looking at the map, you start to realise just why Yves Rocher placed so highly in our ranking, being the favoured brand in 37 countries around the world, particularly in mainland Europe.

Dove, ColourPop and Huda Beauty also proved popular, with many countries preferring a brand that hails from their own nation, including Rituals in Germany, Ole Henriksen in Denmark and Fenty Beauty in the Caribbean.

KEY
Yves Rocher Dove ColourPop Huda Beauty Beauty Bay Lush Estee Lauder Clinique Morphe Nivea Rituals Maybelline Foreo Fenty Beauty Benefit Bioderma NYX Professional Makeup L'Occitane L'Oreal Paris Urban Decay Ole Henriksen Holika Holika Kylie Cosmetics Shiseido Body Shop Kiehl's Jo Malone MAC Cosmetics No Data
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1

Yves Rocher

Favoured In

37

Countries

2

Dove

Favoured In

19

Countries

3

ColourPop

Favoured In

16

Countries

4

Huda Beauty

Favoured In

11

Countries

5

Beauty Bay

Favoured In

8

Countries

6

Lush

Favoured In

7

Countries

7

Estee Lauder

Favoured In

5

Countries

8

Clinique

Favoured In

5

Countries

9

Morphe

Favoured In

5

Countries

10

Nivea

Favoured In

4

Countries

11

Rituals

Favoured In

4

Countries

12

Maybelline

Favoured In

4

Countries

13

Foreo

Favoured In

3

Countries

14

Fenty Beauty

Favoured In

3

Countries

15

Benefit

Favoured In

3

Countries

16

Bioderma

Favoured In

2

Countries

17

NYX Professional Makeup

Favoured In

2

Countries

18

L'Occitane

Favoured In

2

Countries

19

L'Oreal Paris

Favoured In

2

Countries

20

Urban Decay

Favoured In

1

Countries

21

Ole Henriksen

Favoured In

1

Countries

22

Holika Holika

Favoured In

1

Countries

23

Kylie Cosmetics

Favoured In

1

Countries

24

Shiseido

Favoured In

1

Countries

25

Body Shop

Favoured In

1

Countries

26

Kiehl's

Favoured In

1

Countries

27

Jo Malone

Favoured In

1

Countries

28

MAC Cosmetics

Favoured In

1

Countries

France, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Mexico, Romania, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland, Austria, Morocco, Vietnam, Ukraine, Finland, Algeria, Tunisia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Luxembourg, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Moldova, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mongolia, Madagascar, Gabon, Angola, Andorra, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Republic of the Congo

India, Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Cambodia, Zambia, Libya, Ethiopia, Guyana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Afghanistan, Seychelles, Malawi

United States, Singapore, Israel, Puerto Rico, Trinidad And Tobago, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Panama, Brunei, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Maldives, Suriname, Belize

Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Albania, Palestinian territories, Fiji, Tajikistan

Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Malta, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Montenegro

United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Bhutan

Greece, Thailand, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Georgia

Armenia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo

Ecuador, Costa Rica, Jordan, Iceland, Honduras

Cameroon, Mozambique, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway

Argentina, Peru, Egypt, Venezuela

Brazil, Croatia, Colombia

Bahamas Antigua And Barbuda Saint Vincent And Grenadines

Bahrain, Nepal, Laos

Bulgaria, Latvia

Russia, Kyrgyzstan

Lithuania, Slovenia

Uruguay, Bolivia

Chile

Denmark

Estonia

Gibraltar

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Malaysia

Taiwan

United States Virgin Islands

More and more eco-friendly beauty brands are popping up each year, but here are the ones that Cosmetify users have been searching for more than any others.

1

The Ordinary

2

ELEMIS

3

Bleach London

4

Milk Makeup

5

Morphe

The ordinary

The Ordinary is one of the big success stories when it comes to vegan beauty brands, proving to be a huge hit with our users as one of the most affordable sustainable brands out there. Their products are designed to provide raw, concentrated versions of common ingredients, so that you’re not paying for ‘filler’ materials that are often used to bulk out cosmetics. (By the way, if you’re wondering where they are on our main index, they’re listed as part of their parent company DECIEM, also known as ‘The Abnormal Beauty Company’).

Elemis

ELEMIS is a British luxury skincare brand, which has always tried to innovate over the last 25 years. They were one of the first brands to remove parabens from their products and only use preservatives when absolutely necessary for the safety of the product. In addition, they actively seek out sustainable ingredients and always endeavour to support local growers and their communities.

Bleach London

Bleach London are one of our favourite sustainable beauty brands as they’re completely vegan, with 100% recycled packaging. They also offer ‘build your own’ palettes to ensure that you only buy the make-up shades that you need and help to keep waste down.

Milk Makeup

Milk Makeup are still a fairly new brand, launching just over a year ago, but they’ve already proved popular with Cosmetify users, with an emphasis on ‘clean’ beauty. They’ve cut out the likes of parabens, sulfates, SLS, SLES, formaldehyde, mineral oil and talc, replacing them with nourishing alternatives such as watermelon extract and mango butter.

Morphe

Morphe are one of the bigger makeup brands, but they’re also proud to be one of the leading cruelty-free names in the industry too, refusing to test any of their products or ingredients on animals.

Cosmetify’s Hottest Beauty
Products 2020

We also took a look at which were the most popular beauty products that Cosmetify users have been searching for in 2020.

The most searched product was L’Oreal Paris’s Magic Retouch Instant Root Concealer Spray, followed by Cuticura’s Antibacterial Hand Gel, which has obviously seen a huge increase in searches due to the current situation.