What beauty will look like in 2022

It’s been quite a year for beauty and we’re pleased to report it has nothing to do with using an almond as an eyeliner or lipstick to contour á la TikTok. We’ve added 13 new brands to the John Lewis fold including Augustinus Bader (the skin-transforming brainchild of stem cell and biomedical scientist Professor Augustinus Bader), as well as menopause supplement MPowder and cult makeup brand IT Cosmetics.

So what does the year ahead hold for us in terms of skincare, makeup, haircare and wellness? Using the data from the John Lewis Annual Report into how we shopped over the past 12 months, we’ve compiled the top 10 ‘Beauty Bets’ for 2022 as predicted by our team of expert buyers. Get ready to go back to the future for some makeup nostalgia and prepare to get zen with a targeted aromatherapy arsenal, and all while we make ever bigger strides towards sustainability. Strap yourselves in, 2022 is set to be quite a ride. 

Sales of perfume rose by 24% last year so prepare to leave a trail of bergamot in your wake. While candles and diffusers were our lockdown go-tos helping to elevate our moods and differentiate our spaces between work and leisure, personal scent is now back with a bang. Tapping into the mood for Roaring Twenties glamour, we predict a resurgence of strong, intense fragrances with power perfumes such as Maison Francis Kurkdijan’s heady Baccarat Rouge 540 EDP experiencing triple digit growth.

As our fashion wardrobes evolved from sweat pants and slippers to structured waistbands and heels, so too did our fragrance wardrobes. With our love of perfume reignited, we’re curating our collection of scents to match our moods while indulging in sophisticated scent layering thanks to products such as Diptyque’s Do Son Hair Mist and Chanel’s covetable ovoid hand-care products (enough of which were sold this year to fill 274 egg boxes).

Lockdown wasn’t just about knocking out banana bread. It seems many of us used the extra time at home to swot up on our skincare with sales of facial cleansers, moisturisers and exfoliators all increasing by around 80% in the three weeks following stores reopening. Actives such as retinol, hyaluronic acid, AHAs and BHAs were top of the skincare hit list as we sought to target specific concerns (especially beauty bugbears peculiar to the pandemic such as maskne) while trying to illicit salon-worthy results. Brands such as Kate Somerville – beloved by beauty pros and skincare aficionados alike – saw a 200% uptick since joining the John Lewis rosta.

Actives have also found their way into our makeup bags as we become more discerning about what we put on our faces, opting for innovative products designed to improve skin over time.

Sustainability is now mandatory, and conscious brands like Evolve have seen sales rocket by 115% since 2019. Spearheading the refillable revolution are brands such as Ouai and Rituals,  with Molton Brown and Charlotte Tilbury hot on their tail for 2022.

Proving that eco-conscious can still be covetable, Hourglass’ Curator Eyeshadow Pan Palette uses five plastic bottles’ worth of recycled materials and can be refilled with individual vegan pigments. 

It’s also not just niche brands like Votary and Floral Street who are inhabiting the sustainable space – beauty big guns such as Chloé are getting in on the act too with new launches such as its Eau de Parfum Naturelle, which utilises ethically-sourced, vegan ingredients and recycled packaging. 

The pandemic simply confirmed what we already knew to be true – beauty is so much more than skin deep. From mindful makeup routines to self-care bathing rituals, beauty gave us the mental boost we all needed. Skin health in particular took centre stage with sales of ingestible complexion boosters such as The Beauty Chef’s Collagen Inner Boost increasing by 230% as customers looked to support their skin from within. LED light therapy is tipped to become increasingly popular based on sales of The Light Salon’s skin (and mood) boosting LED Face Mask.

Meanwhile, terms such as ‘microbiome’ continue to get plenty of airtime with probiotic, probiotic and post-biotic ingredients vying for space in our beauty cabinets. Even fragrance has been treated to a wellness makeover as customers look to scents that uplift and energise with zesty citrus and piquant spicy notes such as those found in our best-selling Aesop Resurrection Aromatique hand wash coming to the fragrance fore.

Get ready to resurrect your ‘spice’ lipliner and ‘heather shimmer’ lipstick –the 90s are officially trending and lips are the favoured focal point. Appealing to our post-pandemic need for nostalgia, power nudes will reign supreme with Charlotte Tilbury’s The Super Nudes collection leading the way (we predict best-selling Pillow Talk will be usurped by peach-toned Catwalking).

Wallflowers need not apply – bold, highly pigmented matte textures such as MACs’ Powder Kiss are the order of the day, and have the added benefit of superior staying power under a mask.

Anyone worth their techno mix tape will know that lipstick is not the only way to dress your lips and the massive 386% hike in lipliner sales seen in the weeks following stores reopening is also set to continue. We are however, pleased to report that skinny brows will be left firmly in the past.  

Now that we’re finally on the move again, our appetite for bite-sized beauty is set to continue with pocket-sized products and travel-friendly iterations of cult favourites resulting in a 35% increase year on year.

Commitment phobes can rejoice as sales of gift boxes and discovery sets are also on the increase allowing customers a try-before-you-buy (full size) experience. Think pint-sized perfumes, scaled-down skincare and diminutive hairdressing essentials.

Wellness continues to infiltrate every aspect of our lives including our sleep and we predict that customers will continue to try and eek out those precious Zzzs by implementing some sleep hygiene basics. Sleep sprays which were up by 140%, while silk pillowcases increased by an unbelievable 533%.

Essential oils will play a starring role in this 24-hour wellness kit having firmly shaken off any mung bean-worshipping connotations with products such as Aveda’s Chakra 4 Balancing Mist seeing a 350% year-on-year increase.

Once the preserve of the anti-establishment and west-coast hippies, CBD has also had a thoroughly modern makeover and continues to get the beauty industry buzzing thanks to its incredible calming properties. This has filtered down to consumers who have registered a huge amount of interest and confidence in the new does-it-all ingredient. Meanwhile, massage tools and sustainably sourced body tappers provide the perfect antidote to the pandemic-induced ‘touch famine.’

Makeup is very much back on the beauty agenda. We’re bracing ourselves for a boom as customers rediscover the joy of experimenting with colour, texture and techniques.

Since the end of the third lockdown, sales of blusher and lipstick increased by more than 170% and mascara sales rocketed by 113% (Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillowtalk Push Up Lashes was the best-selling product across every sector including fashion, beauty and home). Meanwhile blue – we repeat, blue – eyeshadow sales went through the roof.

In short, we’re stepping out of our makeup comfort zones, a trajectory set to continue as we revel in rejoining the world outside of our living rooms. Go bold or go home.

Beauty is not a one-size-fits-all affair. With shifts towards championing inclusivity and celebrating diversity consumers we’re backing brands who cater to every skin tone and hair type, such as Gucci Beauty, who embody the joy of self-expression and individuality.

For hair, products that enhance natural textures will dominate such as Living Proof’s curl range. Meanwhile, fragrance houses will continue to eschew gender stereotypes, with ‘for him’ and ‘for her’ becoming less relevant as we develop a nose for scents that don’t adhere to traditional notions of masculine and feminine. Niche fragrance houses such as Le Labo have helped in de-genderising this category and we are tipping Diptyque and Maison Margiela to be the next big hitters as consumers continue to vote with their noses.

We may be feeling more in need of treating ourselves after so much time behind masks and in lockdown, spending on average 6% more per makeup and fragrance item, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve become more frivolous. Quality over quantity is the name of the game with hardworking products that perform multiple functions gaining prominence. Many of us are also adopting a stripped back approach to our regimes (aka ‘skinimalism’) in favour of concentrated products that address numerous concerns.

Forget 2-in-1 shampoos, hair products have evolved into multi-tasking marvels, a trend set to continue into 2022 and beyond thanks to innovative products such as Olaplex’s No.3 Hair Perfector treatment, which is currently the number one product in our entire hair care category. Not only does it repair damaged hair and reduce breakages, it strengthens, protects and boosts shine too.