Data compiled by market research agency IRI suggest that the UK cosmetics market is close to crossing the £1 billion line, according to a report published by Retail Times.

Cosmetics is now the fastest growing category in the UK health and beauty market, says IRI, growing £55m over the last 12 months to reach a value of £893 million. The company points to contouring products as one of the stars of the show, with a sharp rise in both value and volume sales, which IRI says is driven by social media.

However, the popularity of contouring is likely to dwindle, to be replaced by dewy complexions – with more dramatic brow trends, such as glitter or bleaching, set to steal the social media crown.  

“Consumers are heavily influenced by social media and by their peers, and this has led them to be more experimental in their choices and prepared to try new things with cosmetics. The result is that there is a lot more product development among brands in this space, for both female and increasingly male cosmetics, leading to a wider and often more interesting choice of items within stores and online,” Chloe Humpherys-Page, IRI Retail Insight Director told Retail Week.