“I’m sorry, but what is this?” – so goes the catchphrase of Mirta Miler, also known as Mimiermakeup, a top international beauty influencer who shares snappy one-minute videos showcasing various makeup trends to her 17.5 million TikTok followers. In this particular post, the 25-year-old Croatian content creator gestures in mock disbelief to a beautifully lit selfie of a young Chinese woman’s impeccably made-up face. “It’s a work of art!” she exclaims, with the overdramatic flair that has made her a celebrity of the global BeautyTok community, “I just need to try it on my face!” A series of subsequent quickly-cut clips depict the many products and steps being applied. “The Douyin makeup girlies’ skin is always super glowy,” she observes while patting her cheeks with a dewy moisturising primer from SheGlam – a cosmetics brand launched by globalised Chinese e-commerce giant Shein – to emulate the look.

This is the first C-Beauty trend to go viral overseas. C-Beauty stands for Chinese Beauty, and its growth follows a wave of interest in J-Beauty (Japanese) and K-Beauty (Korean) brands over the past 10 years or so. Sales of C-Beauty brands grew by 51% between 2017 and 2022 according to Euromonitor International, outperforming the 42% growth in the market overall. C-beauty brands accounted for 28% of retail sales among the top 20 brands sold in China last year, increasing from 14% in 2017. Popular C-Beauty brands include Florasis, Proya and Perfect Diary. 

The ‘Douyin Makeup’ trend offers the world a window into China’s evolving style culture and its realm of self-expression. Derived from styles popularised by live streamers on Douyin (the domestic Chinese version of TikTok, both owned by Bytedance), this distinctive makeup look is characterised by dramatic eye contouring techniques, glittery luminescent eye-shadow, softly blurred lip colour, generous cheekbone highlighter, and doll-like clusters of long individual false lashes.

The cultural export of ‘Douyin Makeup’ on social media comes at a time when domestic Chinese cosmetics trends and brands are experiencing a market renaissance as younger users increasingly find style inspiration in their own unique experiences, heritage, local culture and media. Many are turning away from the now-outdated notion that ‘foreign is better’, a consumer phenomenon often referred to as guochao.

In the beauty space, this delves further than just skin-deep. Cult Chinese brands and products tap into the need for makeup techniques that both complement Asian features and reflect East Asian beauty standards and aspirations, such as more rounded facial structures, glassy skin, unarched brows and bright accentuated eyes.

As consumer priorities and sentiments shift, the market evolves alongside it. The cosmetics and personal care sector, now valued at £35 billion in China, used to be aggressively saturated with Western and international brands, leaving less room for domestic players to grow into, particularly at the premium level. Now, however, domestic startups are flourishing like never before. Driven to innovate and differentiate by the long-established hyper-competition of the space, and riding the wave of a new cultural climate, brands like design-conscious Judy Doll and eco-friendly LAN Time are capturing the zeitgeist.

TikTok user @theoliviasaurusrex tries out a Douyin-inspired look

“[In the past], I had a preference for Korean and Japanese makeup, but now my favourite is Chinese makeup. Chinese brands are doing amazing things, and I want to try every single one,” says Laura, a beauty and lifestyle KOL. “They make cosmetics that are suitable for Chinese people.”

With its glamorous feminine aesthetic, the ‘Douyin Makeup’ look draws considerable inspiration from Chinese television and stage makeup. Stars of contemporary lifestyle TV shows, as well as traditional makeup inspired by dynastical historical dramas, have formed a source of inspiration for Laura and many other makeup fans: “I was first attracted to beauty and makeup from watching TV shows as a kid. I wanted to learn how to do makeup looks just like the characters,” she says.

The specific techniques used in the ‘Douyin Makeup’ trend also reflect a merging of cultural influences, combining Chinese elements like straight ‘skinny’ eyebrows and doll eyes with the gleaming highlighter of Western contouring styles, the exaggerated glitter of music festival looks, and K-Beauty inspired ‘gradient’ lips. This is a telling example of how the guochao craze is not as simply defined as a rejection of global influences in favour of newfound nationalistic fervour.

Rather, it’s an awakening to contemporary Chinese culture and experience taking their own place of prominence alongside globalised trends and influences, driven by the young Chinese who advocate an indigenous personal style that is all their own. “When I apply makeup, I can feel what power or value this style brings to me. Makeup is about empowering self-acceptance and self-recognition,” shares Quinn, a Gen Z content creator.

Connecting to this consumer mindset has been key for high-growth C-Beauty brands that have captured the market by tapping into cultural trends, an emphasis on creative self-expression, and demand for products which are both high-performing and accessible. Case studies abound, from Colorkey’s playful yet meticulously developed lipstick colours designed specifically to enhance East Asian skin tones, to Florasis’ (花西子) artfully intricate packaging and palettes inspired by imperial Chinese antiques.

Florasis has found success in China and abroad with its Chinese antique-inspired palettes and carved lipsticks (photo captured from Instagram @florasis.official_)

“IN2U, Cai Tang, Colorkey, Flower Knows, Judy Doll; these are all Chinese brands which I love right now. A few years ago, people paid a lot of money for big established brands, but their products aren’t expensive to produce, so you are just paying for the branding,” says Laura. “These new Chinese brands have a lower price, but are also leading the trend in terms of innovation, particularly in cosmetic ingredients and textures.”

There is also a growing wave of cult interest in affordable products that deliver results comparable to high-end skincare or beauty salons. For example, La Terapia (了于) offers haircare specifically for East Asian hair using ancient Chinese hair care practices and cutting-edge biopharma technology. Similarly, TCM-inspired Herborist’s (佰草集) viral-trending Tai Chi face masks contain more than 20 active ingredients from plants.

As ‘Douyin Makeup’ and other C-Beauty influences grow their cultural stature both at home and abroad, it presents an opportunity for Western beauty brands to engage with Chinese consumers in a new light. Authentic representation, cultural fluency, and meeting audiences where they are by embracing and empowering their own trends and tastes; these tenets play a new and defining role in brand acceptance. “I appreciate brands and trends that authentically combine Eastern and Western elements,” says Quinn.

If trending styles on social media are anything to go by, then it’s clear ‘Douyin Makeup’ is only the tip of the iceberg – a paradigm shift that isn’t fading away anytime soon. Laura shares her predictions for what could be the next big crossover beauty trends: “When I go out at the weekend, I search on Xiaohongshu for trends like tianku [甜酷 ‘sweet & cool’] or yujiefeng [御姐风 ‘queen diva style’] to get inspiration.” A quick Instagram search for ‘Xiaohongshu makeup’ on Instagram also turns up a clutch of Western creators sharing and emulating unique styles found on the Chinese platform.

‘Xiaohongshu Inspired Springtime Makeup’ is the title of a series of tutorial reels by African-American beauty influencer EssenceElizabeth. In the videos, she cites products from both Western and East Asian brands, tags the Chinese KOL Jellybean_xxdd (老甜 豆儿) whose photo she references, and calls the trend – which features round face contouring, extremely subtle eyebrows and rosy red cheeks – “the prettiest makeup I have ever seen in my life!”

This article was first published in Tong’s latest market analysis paper, STYLE 容. Download the full issue here.

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Despite a relatively late start, China’s perfume and fragrance market has been catching up with the global market at full speed in recent years.

In 2021, retail sales of high-end perfume products in China recorded the fastest growth in a decade, pulling off an increase of 33% year-on-year – and leading market research institute Euromonitor International to dub 2021 the beginning of China’s “smell economy”.

On one hand, the prolonged impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health have contributed to the growth of the perfume market, with more young Chinese consumers seeking scented-based remedies to reduce anxiety and lift their mood.

On the other hand, strict Zero Covid protocols such as wearing masks in public places and repeated lockdowns and stay-at-home orders have dampened the demand for make-up products like lipstick, and instead pushed consumption desire towards perfume and fragrance. Many young buyers feel that perfume not only satisfies their emotional needs but also expresses their individuality. As a result, cosmetics brands have been doing their best to readapt their offerings in response to the consumer shift.

Up until three years ago, international luxury brands dominated the Chinese perfume and fragrance landscape. But now the tables are turning, and the marketing is seeing the rise of homegrown perfume brands such as Documents, To Summer and Scent Library. These brands have been taking on traditional foreign perfume makers like Chanel and Jo Malone with unique Eastern scents. Unlike their Western counterparts, these Chinese brands are curating more subtle scents using oriental ingredients such as lotus, bamboo and mugwort. These scents cater to the olfactory preferences of China’s young consumers, while also tapping into the Guochao trend, since the locally-grown plants are synonymous with Chinese literature and cultures, benefitting both branding and storytelling.

Chinese perfume brand Documents has a signature ‘zen cool’ aesthetic (Source: @documentsperfume on Instagram)

According to a recent survey of 1,400 regular perfume buyers by Chinese market research group iiMedia, over 60% were in favour of these Eastern aromas, which have “diversified their choices”. The responses also reflected that floral and fruity fragrances were losing their appeal among savvy young Chinese consumers, who are constantly seeking “something different”. This has also created opportunities for local brands to capitalise on these so-called niche fragrances and resonate with their target audience.

In light of the market boom and the emergence of local market challengers, internationally renowned names have taken different steps to ensure that they don’t miss out on this market prospect. Earlier in September, global beauty giant L’Oréal saw the first venture of its China fund, Shanghai Meicifang Investment, go to Chinese luxury perfume house Documents, which is supported by L’Oréal’s corporate venture capital fund BOLD (Business Opportunities for L’Oréal’s Development).

Following this strategic move, L’Oréal also sought to grab a slice of the burgeoning market by bringing Prada’s first perfume store in China to Shanghai, opening a dedicated store in the upscale Réel Mall in Jing’an (L’Oréal Group is responsible for the creation, development and distribution of luxury beauty products for Prada). Also eyeing China’s perfume market potential is South Korean beauty brand Tamburins. Under the umbrella of luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster, Tamburins debuted its first multifunctional perfume line on the brand’s WeChat mini program and one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms Tmall, just a few weeks ahead of China’s largest annual online shopping extravaganza, Singles’ Day (aka Double 11 or 11.11).

These shrewd moves have the potential to bear fruit in the long run, considering perfume and fragrance application is fast becoming part of the lifestyle lived by China’s Gen Z and Millennials, with people living in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities unsurprisingly leading the consumption trend. This has produced an increasing number of regular perfume users, with over 60% aged between 24 and 40 years old reporting they use such products several times a week and 17.5% are wearing them on a daily basis, according to findings by iiMedia. In addition, restricted movement under China’s Zero Covid policy has broadened the range of potential consumer scenarios to include home fragrances, aromatherapy and body fragrances.

With applying perfume and fragrance becoming increasingly commonplace amongst China’s younger consumers, the market is projected to hit RMB 30 billion (£3.72 billion) by 2025. This demand has prompted both market-leading international brands and emerging local brands to constantly innovate their scent offerings. On top of this, it is crucial for market players to broaden their product ranges and double down on efforts to develop subcategories in order to cater to the varied needs of this lucrative demographic.

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC’s market research services can help you build knowledge and understanding of the Chinese market prior to investment.

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In the West, consumers often ask for samples prior to purchasing an item to try before they buy, whereas in China brands tend to give out samples only once a shopper has purchased a full-sized product. To Chinese consumers, samples or gifts are no longer a feel-good treat or an unexpected bonus, but instead have grown to become a key selling point driving consumer behaviour and spending.

Chinese consumers who regularly visit official branded stores on Tmall or JD will often expect samples to be full-sized, particularly during major retail events such as the annual Double 11 Shopping Festival (also known as Singles Day). High-end brands will often give away a selection of sample-sized products that add up to the volume of a full-sized product. Chinese shoppers may also rate their shopping experience based on the quality of the sample received. This is similar to the “blind box” phenomenon (where consumers purchase a package from a brand containing unknown contents), where the game-like element of opening the boxes stimulates buyer curiosity, and the unwrapping experience is tailor-made for sharing on social media.

The fact that samples are usually only received after the purchase of a full-sized product has created a thriving market of multi-brand sample stores, the most famous of which is Harmay. According to Jing Daily, Harmay was valued at RMB 500 million in early 2021 and has expanded rapidly in recent years, opening branches in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Shopping at Harmay is somewhat of a ‘blind box’ experience; the store doesn’t necessarily always stock the same products or brands, promoting revisits. This appeals to young consumers who are enthusiastic about discovering new products from international brands but may not have the cash to throw away on products they may not like.

Chinese consumers have literally hundreds of consumption channels at their fingertips, leaving them constantly on the lookout for added-value, experiential spending opportunities 

While beauty samples of all kinds are popular, brands should be careful not to underestimate the sample quantity and design detail demanded by Chinese shoppers, so as not to receive negative feedback and damage to brand reputation. Frequent changes to the type or quality of samples offered can also work against brands and reduce profit margins.

Skipping samples completely is a difficult move to make — even if you are not in the beauty sector — as gifting something extra has become a key marketing tool used to tempt new customers, as well as maintain current customers’ loyalty. So think twice when planning your budget for samples, and consider gifting in a sustainable and innovative way to best connect with your Chinese consumers whilst driving your success in-market.

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