Why Secondhand Beauty Products Could Leave You Feeling Used
Many of us buy clothes secondhand; we scour charity shops or welcome hand-me-downs from friends. We buy vintage, attend swap parties, and hunt online for bargains. But would you be as keen on pre-loved beauty products?
Secondhand beauty is set to boom in 2020, Jenni Middleton, beauty director at trend forecaster WGSN tells HuffPost UK. Platforms such as Mercari, Poshmark and Glambot are among the most popular, she says. They take advantage of the beauty consumers’ interest in being “connected” as a community, “sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm about their favourite beauty products”. People can bag a bargain with premium products online, or get their hands on sold out, limited edition lipsticks and eyeshadow palettes.
The makeup industry is big business, after all. In 2018 alone, the sale of beauty products and services reached £27.2bn, according to the British Beauty Council. Beauty trends often align with fashion; how models are made up for the catwalks translates into what we’ll be wearing on our lids and lashes – and people are finding new avenues to get these looks.
Secondhand beauty doesn’t always mean ‘used’ products. Some items may be bought, never opened, and sold on. So is it a trend that’s likely to catch on?
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The US and Japan are taking the lead in the secondhand beauty movement, says Middleton. Mecari, for example, is a peer-to-peer marketplace started in Japan in 2013 – a quick search brings up hundreds of pre-owned Chanel blushes, NARS lipsticks, and Estee Lauder skincare items, some with discounts of up to 50%. The platform was valued at $1.2bn when it went public in 2018, according to Vogue Business.
Others include Poshmark and Glambot. The former ha a similar selling format to Mecari, except it’s California based. It started...
