A glimpse into British Beauty Trends
This week was the famous Beauty Awards demonstration evening of the CEW UK. Probably the most sought-after B2B beauty event of the year in London (I might be biased!). “ The CEW Beauty Awards were launched in 2006 to recognise outstanding product innovation and creativity. Voted for by over 1,000 CEW members in the UK – industry professionals and experts in the field of beauty,” explains de CEW UK.
Our team went around the stands to discover the beauty products recently launched in the market. It was a time for many beauty professionals to gather and connect again in a well-organised event, with more than 400 entries from 220+ brands who were exhibiting their product innovations.
“For me, This year’s CEW was an absolute treasure trove of insights, inspirations, and innovations. It would be almost impossible to pick a favourite brand or product, but here are the top three ones that I was impressed by,” says Sara Vincini, Business Development Manager at re/sources.
NEOM’s Calming Pen. Hailed by fragrance expert Alice du Parcq as smelling “like a warm, reassuring hug – sweet and botanical”, this roll-on stick blends 100% natural essential oils such as lavender, Roman chamomile, and orange to deliver a soothing, calming, and relaxing feeling, in an instant. With its new Calming Pen, NEOM highlights its commitment to holistic wellness by turning a simple skincare and self-care ritual into a tangible tool to boost mental wellbeing.
AKT - Deodorant balm. Founded by West End performers Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, AKT encapsulates some of the core values that skincare brands should stand for today: genuine sustainability, high effectiveness, and gender neutrality. Available in a range of scents, including orange, mint, and vetiver (or even unscented, for the more sensitive types), this deodorant is not only incredibly simply to use – just open, rub a pea-sized amount into your armpits, and you’re good to go – but it works. The packaging is super eco-friendly: not only are the main tubes made with durable and infinitely recyclable aluminium, but the caps, too.
Straand - The Crown Fix Scalp Serum. Having embraced my natural curls in the past few years, haircare is now one of my biggest passions. And when haircare becomes more akin to skincare, I’m sold. This serum combines active ingredients that nourish and strengthen the microbiome of the scalp, leaving the roots healthier and more hydrated. Unlike most hair oils and serums I’ve tried that tend to leave both my hands and hair feeling greasy, heavy, and sticky, the texture of Straand’s serum is much more similar to a facial serum: light, gentle, and fast-drying, for an incredibly indulgent and soothing experience. Plus, the formula is vegan, cruelty-free, and free from common “nasties”, which is exactly what I want from a product that treats such a delicate area as my scalp.
Sara Vincini.
“CEW is the annual beauty event that we all look forward to attending. It’s the place to (re)connect with beauty professionals and friends while discovering a slew of beauty and wellness products. This year certainly didn't disappoint - we saw lots of exciting products and new innovations in beauty sustainability, “ explains Theresa Yee, content director at re/sources.
Design for disappear / Disappearing Act - we've seen dissolvable face sheet masks and body washes, but haircare is the next frontier of this trend. REHAB’s Shampoo Sheet is a single-use, zero-waste shampoo sheet that transforms into a foamy hair wash with water and comes in a dissolvable sachet that can be washed away easily down the drain. We love this bottle-free and plastic-free solution.
Upcycled Notes
UK brand UpCircle Beauty has already disrupted the market with its skin and haircare line that features upcycled ingredients like coffee, fruits and flowers. Now the brand is turning its attention to fragrances. We met with co-founder Anna Brightman at CEW. What's interesting about the two Eau De Parfums - Flaura and Santelle (which smell amazing!) - is that it contains 16 different upcycled ingredients from clove leaf to orange peel. So impressive!
Multi-generational beauty
Beauty is no longer defined by age anymore and we're seeing brands creating age-clusive products. One brand doing this is 19/99. At CEW, we met Stephanie Spence, founding partner who took us through the entire product line. As the name implies, the brand focuses on colour cosmetics that can be used by anyone from 19 to 99. The products are designed to be multi-use and easy to blend with fingers from precision colour pencils that can be used on the eyes, lips and cheeks to water colour tints that can be applied onto the lips and cheeks.
Theresa Yee
“I was amazed by the enthusiasm and excitement at the event. Meeting again and celebrating the quintessence of British Beauty. I was particularly struck by trends that we’ve talked about for a while seeing now actively entering the market”, Eva Lagarde, founder of re/sources.
Ayurvedic Beauty was strong with 3 brands that made an impression with their focus on overall wellbeing with ancient remedies while keeping a beauty routine simple, yet effective. Sachi for instance presents a multipurpose and hyper-efficient skincare, with only 6 SKU for a simplified skincare routine. Inde Wild is made in the US with Indian ingredients and formula and Almora Botanica claims to formulate with a maximum of 5 ingredients per product, and uses a proprietary cold-process to formulate their 13 products.
The rise of hormone or age-related beauty care, with Made of More aimed at midlife changes in a woman’s body. A brand on a mission “to make the ride smoother, including all stages of perimenopause, menopause and beyond.” with 7 beauty products including a night soufflé to revitalised the skin with line-fighting peptides, antioxidants and Lactic Acid to help boost cellular renewal overnight. And Begin offers a personalised skincare serum on prescription for hyper-efficient impact on your skin.
Biotech Beauty
The latest trends and the most fascinating to me, as I think this is the future of beauty, and every formula, if it does already, will claim some sort of biotech. Hope it will not become the new clean,
Scandinavian BioLabs is a Danish brand which first launched in Denmark, Germany, and the UK - which is their biggest market - with strong clinical results, that keep hair in the growth phase for receding hairline, thinning or sparse hair. The brand claims to be keeping the follicle alive in dormant hair.
SeaBody is an Irish who has developed a new clean extraction process for seaweed that uses 100% of the plant instead of only a small percentage of actives. After 3 years of R&D, the beauty brand has developed its own proprietary ingredients, for a holistic approach using the power of biotechnology.
Another growing segment was home care with many more contributors to the beauty sector, a focus on holistic well-being and a trend to the home spa which was revived in the 2020 health crisis, as well as the current trend towards self-care, well-being and overall health in and outside the home.
And in that sense, maybe I didn’t look closely enough, but I haven’t found any sexual wellness tools which are definitely entering the beauty space. Maybe I missed them, and maybe they will show up in future editions. They were present at the US Beauty Awards.
Eva Lagarde
