For those who like lists and rankings, I have a little treat today courtesy of the Cosmetify Index, a service that ranks the most searched for and followed beauty brands around the world. The Cosmetify Index was created in 2019 to see how brands engage with social media and also how consumers respond to new launches. The newest index tracked searches and engagement in 2020, assessing the impact of the pandemic on beauty and fragrance sales.
The Cosmetify Index also tracks which brands are popular in which country, so you can glean fascinating information like Russia being a Jo Malone country, while China favors Estée Lauder. Yves Rocher rules in France, Italy, and Spain, while Rituals holds court in Germany, Scandinavian countries, and unexpectedly, Angola and Bhutan. The Indian subcontinent is united in its love for The Body Shop, although Nepal prefers Dove. And so on. Of course, these are the macrotrends and generalizations, but all trend reports are bird’s-eye-view snapshots.
The most interesting part for me was the list of most searched-for perfumes in 2020. The list is not necessarily a compilation of best-sellers, but you can infer the popularity of brands from it. Despite the common belief that consumers go after newness, this list shows that people are drawn to fragrances that have lasted on the market. Paco Rabanne 1 Million dates to 2008, and Gucci Bloom, the newest launch on that list, to 2017.
- Dior Sauvage EDT
- Paco Rabanne 1 Million EDT
- Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium
- Dior Sauvage EDP
- Marc Jacobs Decadence EDP
- Gucci Bloom
- Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh
- Versace Eros EDT
- Paco Rabanne Lady Million EDP
- Gucci Bloom EDP
As for the popular brands of 2020, they included a mix of affordable lines like Yves Rocher, perennial favorites like Lush and The Body Shop, and department store standards like Clinique and Estée Lauder.
Most Searched Brands of Q3 2020
- The Body Shop
- Yves Rocher
- Lush
- Rituals
- ColourPop Cosmetics
- Morphe
- Olaplex
- Clinique
- Kiehl’s
- Estée Lauder
Please take a look at this digest of the other rankings for fragrance and beauty brands. I was curious to see Anastasia Beverly Hills among the trendiest brands of 2020 and not at all surprised by Huda Beauty’s success.
Source: Cosmetify, photography by Bois de Jasmin
15 Comments
KarenA: Why are these lists so fun! While I’m not familiar with some brands or people, it is interesting to read, thank you for posting! August 20, 2021 at 7:43am
Victoria: They’re ridiculously addictive. I just spent an hour reading an industry report on the best-selling cleaning products (none of the brands I use), and it was fascinating. August 20, 2021 at 9:04am
Nina: This is so fascinating…love reading what people around the world prefer for their beauty regimen. Of course now I want to investigate all the brands mentioned! Thank you Victoria for continuing to share your knowledge with us. Love all of your writings on fragrance, food and our shared heritage from Ukraine. August 20, 2021 at 9:22am
Victoria: Thank you very much for your kind words, Nina! 🙂 August 20, 2021 at 2:34pm
Filomena: What a fun post! Despite all the hundreds of bottles of perfumes I own (old and new) and have collected over the years, I do not own even one of the perfumes listed. I do own Kiehl’s products and a few Estee Lauder’s. August 20, 2021 at 10:24am
Victoria: Some of those were new to me too. August 20, 2021 at 2:34pm
Wild Gardener: I’m not surprised these perfumes are the most searched for, they are the ones the most heavily marketed.
They may be the most popular but it doesn’t mean they are the best. August 20, 2021 at 11:34am
Victoria: Not all of the perfumes on this list are the most marketed ones, though. August 20, 2021 at 2:39pm
rickyrebarco: Very interesting list. I was not familiar with the Morphe brand, so I searched and found it on Ulta Beauty’s site. It looks like it competes in the Colourpop price range. Very affordable like most of the other most popular brands. August 20, 2021 at 11:41am
Victoria: I wasn’t familiar with it, but I also found out that it was affordable, of decent quality, and easy to find. August 20, 2021 at 2:40pm
Aurora: Very informative, thank you Victoria. I was pleased to see Liz Earle ranked number two of the sustainable brands. August 20, 2021 at 12:31pm
Victoria: I was too! August 20, 2021 at 2:40pm
Nina Z: I’ve been very curious about Yves Rocher perfumes since your post on noble materials. Victoria, I wondered if you had some favorites from that line.
Of course this line is not as easy to find in the US as it is in Europe, but I’d be very interested to try to track down any that you think are particularly worthwhile. August 20, 2021 at 3:03pm
Victoria: I use some of their body products, and they’re affordable and nicely scented, but I don’t know if I would go out of my way to look for them. Their Rose Absolu perfume used to be spectacular, and its creator Christine Nagel now works for Hermes. She told me that the formula for that perfume was more expensive than that of an average “luxury brand” and that she used natural rose absolute in it. I don’t know if Rose Absolu is still around or whether it’s still the same. August 21, 2021 at 3:08am
Nina Z: Thank you, Victoria. I won’t need to search these down now. If I ever get to go to Europe again and see the body products, I may try one. August 23, 2021 at 1:58pm