
Beauty brands have always been focused on trends. Whether dictating trends to consumers or swaying to the flow of consumer desire, mainstream trends — or for some brands, subversive trends — have played an important role in the success (or not) of any cosmetics launch.
But trends in 2022 aren’t the same as trends in 2012, and definitely not the same as trends in the 90s. Once, Christina Aguilera crimped her hair in 1999, and then everyone did. But life is different now. The way culture is disseminated has changed beyond recognition, so current beauty trends are far more fragmented, more niche, and less all-pervading than in the days when everyone knew and followed the same celebrities and media.
So What Happened?