Glitter season is in full swing with sales of glitter cosmetics worth more than £300,000 to retailers according IRI Retail Advantage, and up an impressive 321% compared to the same period last year. 

Festival goers, party lovers and fans of the ITV2 series Love Island have been boosting sales with more than 60,000 more glitter products sold this year.

Top sellers include face glitter, which has contributed 51% to the growth of glitter in 2018 and worth £126k in value sales, and eye glitter, worth £138k in sales, contributing 50% to the growth in overall glitter in cosmetics sales. However, nail products, the mainstay of glittery cosmetics over recent years, have fallen, down 5% since last year.

“We are seeing something of a revival in glitter from the glam rock days and discos of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a new twist,” comments Kaajal Bhatti, Senior Insights Manager, IRI.

“The glitter craze we are seeing this season really kicked off last year when the Love Island contestants had a glitter party. Last year’s glitter cleavage trend has turned into this year’s glitter craze with no body part untouched, including glitter lips, eyes, brows and even tongues! It seems that viewers are rushing out to copy the sparkly antics of Georgia, Megan and Samira.”

While Love Island is now finished, the summer festival season is still going strong with top temperatures set to boost crowds at major music festivals, including Reading and Leeds, RiZE, Bestival and Creamfields during August.

IRI predicts further spending and growth in cosmetics with the sparkle factor.

IRI’s Kaajal Bhatti adds: “It may seem like glitter is everywhere right now, but I suspect there is more to come during the summer. It’s a perfect storm of school holidays, hot sunny weather and lots of outdoor events – whether that’s a big festival or a party in your back garden – and glitter will add that extra sparkle. Retailers and manufacturers are recognising the opportunities, with both brands and private label capitalising on the trend and developing interesting new products like glitter glue and even glitter body gels.”

She does add a note of caution, however: “Although glitter is a bit of fun, we have to consider that it is a micro-plastic and similar to plastic microbeads having a detrimental impact on our environment. Manufacturers are beginning to respond and there is already a cosmetics brand that has launched a biodegradable glitter. We expect more to follow suit with other environmentally-friendly products trending across retailers in the future.”

 

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