DiCecca, who serves as the Global Makeup Artist for Artistry, an esteemed Amway beauty brand, presented his insider observations during a makeup demonstration at the annual meeting of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists.
Pro tips
The demonstration threw the rituals of applying skincare and color cosmetics into sharp relief for the audience of chemists who work to create, formulate, develop and test these very products in the lab. Being reminded of how consumers use them in daily practice was a good contextualizing exercise.
Between describing his choices of products, applicators and contouring methods, DiCecca chatted with attendees about the trends he sees in his work with clients from super models and actresses, to women in more conventional walks of life.
For spring 2015 he announced that trend colors will be shades of blue, particularly in eye shadows and eyeliners.
Men’s makeup
And speaking of demonstrations, DiCecca, who calls himself “a big advocate of makeup for men,” was doing his part to advance the trend for men’s cosmetic skin care products. To be camera ready for the day, he wore concealer, bronzer and eyeliner.
“It's okay to cover up a mark from shaving and to protect your skin. Men should always use moisturizer,” DiCecca said during his presentation.
Recent data on consumer behavior from Mintel bodes well for the men’s makeup segment. How brands approach gender will be increasingly important in 2015, reported Cosmetics Design when that company’s market research findings on consumer trends for the coming year were released. “Marketers need to show that they understand consumers’ modern perceptions of gender, namely that consumers are much more complex than the social constraints built around them,” explains the Mintel report.
Runway ready
Color cosmetics have seasonal trends in addition to the mainstay products that consumers reach for year after year. While it’s common for media and consumers to fixate on seasonal fashion trends. Makeup sets the pace: "The trend colors in wardrobe reflect the trend colors in makeup," asserted DiCecca.
The dialog between cosmetics and fashion is dynamic and ongoing. Dow Corning will showcase the third edition of its trend lab at the April 2015 in-cosmetics event in Barcelona. There, the company will detail how elements of color, Asian-inspired texture, geometry and nature will move beyond fashion to influence trends in beauty product formulation and finished goods.
For instance, eye products that create a 3D or geometric impression will be right on trend in the year ahead, according to Stewart Long, the regional skin care market leader for Dow Corning Beauty Care, who spoke with Cosmetics Design in advance of the Barcelona event: this trend “puts huge pressure on formulators to be able to load high pigment levels and still make comfortable, long-lasting products and to create counter-intuitive matte lipsticks, for example.”