The Rise of Makeup Sticks: Blush, Bronzer & Highlighter

In today’s fast-paced beauty market, consumers demand more than just makeup that looks good—they want products that fit seamlessly into their busy lives.?

Enter the makeup stick: A category once limited to concealers and foundations that has evolved into a comprehensive beauty solution. From blushes and highlighters to contour sticks and bronzers, these portable additions to one’s glam arsenal are redefining beauty routines worldwide.

***DISCLAIMER: For this newsletter, we are focusing mainly on blush, bronzer, contouring, and highlighter sticks.***?

How Did Makeup Sticks Become Popular?

Makeup sticks began its rise to popularity in the mid-2010s, driven by shifting consumer demands for convenience, portability, and multitasking beauty products.?

Product launches from celebrities like Kim Kardashian (KKW Beauty’s contour sticks) and Rihanna (Fenty Beauty’s multi-use makeup line) ignited the trend, taking advantage of social media influence to create instant must-haves.?

Meanwhile, brands like Milk Makeup redefined makeup sticks with clean, multi-functional products that resonated with eco-conscious consumers. These releases showcased stick makeup’s potential beyond foundation, extending into blush, highlighter, bronzer and even skincare-infused formulas.

What The Numbers Say

Germany shows moderate monthly search volume for stick makeup with a strong 8% YoY growth, indicating a rising interest in this market. This growth suggests increasing consumer curiosity or demand, presenting an opportunity for brands to further capitalize on the trend.

Makeup Sticks In The German Market

Currently, there are 175 unique makeup stick products for complexion found across etailers, such as Notino, Douglas, Dm, Rossmann, and Flaconi, seeing an 11% increase in the number of makeup stick products available over the past 3 months. There are also 86 unique brands detected on the platforms.??

The growth of makeup sticks in the German market fares better against cream products +8% and powder makeup’s +6% growth in product availability over the same period, proving a shift in interest among consumers.?

However, it must be noted that versus the 175 makeup stick products in the market, cream products have even less products and powder makeup products still have the majority of unique products detected on etailers, with 54 and 215 products available, respectively. This simply suggests that brands and manufacturers are still leaning towards producing more “traditional” formats of makeup, particularly powder makeup.?

Key Players

The German market’s key players in the makeup stick department are essence and Catrice (both 5.14% in shares with 9 products each), MILK (4.57% in shares with 8 products), NYX Professional Makeup (4% in shares with 7 products).?

Meanwhile, the trending makeup stick products are from Catrice, essence, and Douglas Collection. Baby Got Blush by essence amassed the most reviews among all currently trending products, earning 4.4 stars based on 424 reviews.

Opportunities for Product Developers

For product developers, this shift of interest from cream and powder makeup to makeup sticks is more than a trend—it’s a call to innovate.

• Formulation Innovation: Develop long-lasting, transfer-proof sticks with skincare benefits like hydration, or anti-aging properties.
• Sustainable Packaging: Use eco-friendly, refillable packaging to appeal to sustainability-conscious consumers.
• Hybrid Textures: Create sticks that combine cream-like blendability with powder-like longevity.
• Customization: Explore customizable stick makeup kits where consumers can build their own color palettes.

Takeaway

For product developers, the surge of interest in makeup sticks presents an exciting opportunity.?

Makeup stick products not only answer consumer needs for convenience and versatility but also push the boundaries of formulation technology.?

The challenge lies in balancing creamy textures with long-lasting performance, ensuring precise application while maintaining blendability, and delivering skin-loving ingredients without compromising on aesthetics.?

As the market continues to expand, innovative formats, sustainable packaging, and multifunctional formulas are setting the stage for the next generation of makeup sticks.