Industry Watch
The business behaviour behind beauty — brands, retail, founders, discounting, influence and the signals worth noticing.
Industry Watch stories
13 stories
Hair / Under the LensKérastase’s £44 cream and the promise of “waterproof hair”The Beauty Question editorial desk · 3 min readFrizz-Glaze Cream makes a tempting proposition for damp-weather hair. The useful detail is which result belongs to the bottle, and which belongs to a routine.
Industry WatchThe free gift has a spending target. Do you?Rachel Bennett · 5 min readSpace NK’s £220 gift threshold prompts a more useful beauty calculation: not how much is in the bag, but what you would have spent without it.
Industry WatchInfluencer beauty is correctingRachel Bennett · 3 min readThe audience has not stopped listening. It has simply become harder to fool
Industry WatchBeauty is tired of looking cheap onlineRachel Bennett · 3 min readOver-designed feeds, shouty claims and copycat product drops are giving way to a sharper visual discipline
The EditBeauty doesn’t need more products — it needs better editingIsla Hart · 4 min readThe industry is not short of launches. It is short of discernment
Editor’s NoteWhy beauty needs taste againIsla Hart · 3 min readThe products are better than ever. The way they are sold often is not
Industry WatchFounder-brand fatigue is showingRachel Bennett · 3 min readA face can launch a product. It cannot always sustain a range
Retail WatchRetailers are editing harder nowRachel Bennett · 3 min readShelf space is becoming a point of view again
Editor’s NoteBeauty does not need more noiseIsla Hart · 3 min readThe brands worth watching are learning when to shut up
Industry WatchThe beauty apology format is exhaustedRachel Bennett · 3 min readCustomers can tell when contrition has been workshopped
Retail WatchThe luxury counter still mattersYasmin Al Noor · 3 min readOnline beauty is efficient. It is not always seductive
Business of BeautyDiscounting damages desire when it becomes the storyRachel Bennett · 3 min readA sale can move stock. It can also train customers to wait
Industry NoteWhy every beauty drop now needs an editorEmma Collins · 3 min readLaunch culture has become crowded enough to require taste