Eye & Brow Makeup: Consumers Tell All
By Denise Herich, The Benchmarking Company
In the past 12 months, 73% of U.S. beauty-buying consumers surveyed say they’ve purchased both eyelash makeup products and tools as well as eyebrow products or tools—up from 66% just five years ago when The Benchmarking Company revealed results from its first nationwide consumer lash and brow makeup survey (2018).
Between then and now, the pandemic years meant the eyes were often the only form of cosmetic self-expression visible to others, making the windows to our souls an even more vital part of a woman’s daily regimen.
Eye makeup continues to dominate the market today, with 90% of women wearing eye makeup three or more times per week. To uncover the latest lash, lid and brow trends, the Benchmarking Company recently surveyed more than 2,600 U.S. female consumers to share their eye makeup usage and buying behaviors.
Mascara Tops the List
Mascara remains the top lash product purchased in the past 12 months by U.S. women of all age ranges, with 94% saying they’ve done so in the past year. This compares to 98% of all women saying they’d bought mascara in the past 12 months in the 2018 study.
The preferred types of mascara formulas among consumers are volumizing (81%), lengthening (81%), non-clumping (60%), thickening (59%), waterproof (56%), curling (49%) and lash-defining (48%). Mascara color preferences among all consumers are intense black (77%), soft black (49%), black-brown (34%), brown (17%) and vivid (purples, pinks, bright blues, greens, etc.; 16%), among others.
Shifting Lash Trends
False eyelash buying remains highest with Gen-Z-aged females, with 56% of these consumers saying they’ve bought false lashes in the last year compared to 41% of the general female population.
Lash serums and eyelash growth/conditioning products have made the highest gains in the past five years. In 2018, 26% of women surveyed said they bought a lash growth/conditioner product in the past year, compared to 30% of those surveyed in June 2023. Lash serums are on the rise as well, with 36% saying they’ve bought a lash serum in the past year compared to 30% five years ago.
Serums and conditioners are growing, especially among the Gen Z population. In 2018, 25% of Gen Z aged buyers said they’d purchased a lash serum, compared to 47% today. In 2018, 23% of Gen Z buyers said they’d bought a lash conditioner/growth product, compared to 36% of this population today.
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While gains in false eyelash wearing among Gen Z remains constant or slightly down compared to five years ago (66% of Gen Z in 2018 said they bought false eyelashes compared to 58% now), those buyers may have discovered a more natural means to a fuller, thicker looking lash with serums and growth products.
What’s Important in Lashes
When consumers consider the purchase of an eyelash product or service, ease of use and a beautiful end-result top her list. The fact that a lash product is considered "clean," eco-friendly or is natural/organic does not factor highly in her buying decision.
Lash Extensions: Self and Pro Application
Thirty-six percent of consumers say they’ve applied false eyelashes or lash extensions themselves during the past 12 months, with 13% saying they’ve had lash extension services professionally applied. These percentages mirror closely with 2018 responses for self-application and professional application.
The top challenges when selfapplying lash extensions or false eyelashes include the difficulty in applying them (57%), that they don’t stay on long enough (40%), they are expensive (28%), there is confusion with selecting the lash look consumers want (28%), and—like flying business class—it is difficult to go without them after having them (22%). Additionally, 18% of those who self-apply lash extension or false lashes find their real lashes are brittle when removing the false ones.
When consumers do apply false lashes, the preferred format is brush on glue/strip lash (62%), magnetic (48%), self-adhesive (40%), eyeliner glue (39%), and brush on glue/individual lash (30%).
Despite a self-application learning curve, consumers appreciate the beauty of lash extensions and false lashes. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not at all and 10 being very much, consumers were asked if wearing lash extensions or false lashes increases their selfesteem and made them feel more beautiful. The mean score of more than 1,000 consumers to this question was 8.6 out of 10—meaning lash extension products are certainly appreciated.
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