Foundations that do much more than just cover up skin
Foundations that cross over into skincare territory and promise to provide hydration and youthful skin are nothing new but according to Dr Shobhan Manoharan, one of Australia’s leading dermatologists and director of Brisbane Skin, the future of beauty will deliver true hybrid products. “In the past they’ve all been a little bit cumbersome,” he says. “The make-up side wasn’t very good but the actives were, they were perhaps a bit clunky and not aesthetically pleasing and vice versa – the make-up side was good but the actives not effective.” But over the next year or so we’ll see hybrid products that deliver on their products. “We’ll see more make-up with active ingredients,” Manoharan says explaining that foundations with low concentration salicylic acid for acne prone skin and make-up with alpha hydroxy acids the rejuvenate and assist with collagen remodelling are just a few innovations that aren’t far off. “People are busy and some people like an intensive routine, but some people find that if they can get one product that has sunscreen, moisturiser and an active ingredient as well, then they’d prefer that. These hybrid products are the way of the future.”
More radiance, less contouring
Those faddish contouring kits of 2016 are about to become redundant as radiant skin returns to the forefront of the beauty world. “The drive has been from the ‘anti-contour’ movement,” says Felix Nguyen, manager of education and artistry for Asia Pacific for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. “I’m sure women are realising that it’s much easier to create a beautiful natural looking glow than to create and blend the perfect contour, as it can easily look a little dirty when not well executed,” he says. “We’re not going to see that flawless face being one colour all over, we’ll see more colour and textures that will create shape,” says Will Malherbe, Smashbox’s director of international education, artistry and communication. “Sheer layers and textures will give more flawless coverage, but those days of looking like foundation are really over. We don’t have reasons to still look like we are wearing foundation,” Malherbe explains.
Matte lip colour moves out the way for gloss
Move over matte lipstick; glossy, high-shine lip colours and formulations are going to make a dramatic comeback. “There’s going to be a change in the lip focus. Lips are going to go back to gloss and liquid lips are going to flood the market more than ever before,” says Smashbox’s Malherbe. “Lipstick has been growing over the years; we started with a very glossy look in the early 2000s and we’ve moved to a lot of colour on the lip – fuchsia, purple, orange,” he explains. A return to gloss is going to have its moment, and we’ll still see a lot of the high-impact colour we’ve seen in previous years but we’ll see polished metallics and formulations that offer skincare benefits.
Colour that’s customised for you
The future will see us continue to move away from the one-colour-fits-all-skin-types approach to makeup. Brands will extend foundation shade ranges to appeal to a more diverse audience, and creating custom-made, colour-matched foundation will become more commonplace. Colour-wise, Malherbe says palettes will become smaller – so consumers use all of the colours – and customisable. Various online retailers already offer customised lipstick creation and brick-and-mortar The Lip Lab in Australia offers a consultation-based personalised lipstick creation service: once you’ve created your unique colour you can add anything from SPF to lip plumpers.
