‘Definitely opportunities for skin care’: Spanish consumers seeking that ‘au naturale’ look

17-Dec-2019 - Last updated on 17-Dec-2019 at 12:25 GMT

Kantar Worldpanel findings show 72% of Spanish women claim to use little make-up and prefer a more natural look (Getty Images)

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Female beauty consumers across Spain are distinctly focused on achieving a natural look, presenting opportunities for skin care but also make-up among younger generations, finds Kantar Worldpanel.

Kantar Worldpanel’s Face of the Nation online study on beauty, hygiene and personal care habits across Europe compiled data from 5,500 panellists aged 11 to 74 in Spain.

Findings showed 72% of Spanish women claim to use little make-up and prefer a more natural look, as opposed to 62% of women worldwide.

Spain prefers the ‘natural look’ but interpretation varies with age

However, the results showed varied interpretations of naturalness depending on age. The youngest group of female consumers, aged 17 to 24 years, associated a natural look with “a well-groomed, yet studied, look”, Kantar said. This was achieved through make-up products including powders, concealers and foundation. Comparatively, older women preferred no make-up to achieve naturalness.

“According to our data, a natural look has a different interpretation depending on the age,” said Verónica Valencia, usage director at Kantar Worldpanel and expert in personal care habits.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Europe, Valencia said: “Indeed, it seems that mature women are searching for a better skin appearance based on a healthier skin, while younger women are searching for a carefully achieved natural look by using a broader set of make-up products that help them to reach their objective to look natural.”

Tapping into opportunities requires a ‘get there first’ approach

She said both consumer sets provided opportunity for beauty and personal care companies, particularly those that could “get there first and position themselves with the right offer” but approaches and category opportunity would differ depending on the target group.

Connecting with younger women through make-up that helped achieve a natural look, for example, versus connecting with mature women through skin care and moisturising products, she said.

“There are definitely opportunities for skin care. We are seeing products that improve the skin appearance are growing in their weekly use with women that state they prefer a more natural look,” Valencia said.

Spanish consumers had increased their weekly use of facial moisturisers by 5% year-over-year, for example, she said, while weekly make-up use had declined by 13%.

Based on the research findings, Spain presented a clear opportunity in the ‘natural look’ space compared to the UK and Germany showed a slightly higher interest, she said.

This is not about natural ingredients…

Importantly, Kantar said the quest for a natural look among Spanish consumers was nothing to do with natural ingredients.

“In Spain, this concept of ‘natural’ is associated more with image and less with products containing natural ingredients or their environmental impact. This trend has been able to coexist with other apparently opposing fashions, such as elaborate hairstyles and decorated nails,” it said.

The number of consumers in Spain using professional manicure services, for example, had grown in the last year.