Below is the April 2023 edition of our Beauty Leaderboard Newsletter where we provide monthly data-backed insights on rising beauty trends, in-depth analyses of successful brand/influencer collaborations, and benchmarked rankings of global beauty brands.
Traackr Beauty Brand Leaderboard Ranking Insights
US Brand Spotlight 1: Bondi Sands + Technocolor Launch
In mid April, Bondi Sands celebrated the launch of their new Technocolor product line by hosting 3 VIP parties spanning the US, UK, and Australia. At the US party, which took place in Los Angeles, the brand was joined by Alix Earle (@alixearle) along with Aussie beauty influencer Chloe Morello (@chloemorello) to promote the launch. About 2 weeks prior to the event, each of the aforementioned influencers made sponsored posts for Bondi. Interestingly, neither of the posts mentioned the Technocolor launch but instead were promoting other Bondi Sands products. Perhaps the brand wanted to see how well the content performed before making a bigger investment with the creators for the Technocolor event? Or maybe they wanted to familiarize the creators’ audience with their brand before the launch?
Regardless of the rationale behind the decision, these initial posts generated a lot of engagement for the brand and were largely responsible for the huge 1,401% MoM increase in VIT that Bondi Sands saw in March. It’s also worth noting that Bondi Sands’ competitor, St. Tropez also saw a big VIT increase in March. This might be an indicator that brands are quickly ramping up their influencer spend for the promotion of seasonal summer products like tanning products and sunscreen!
US Brand Spotlight 2: Amika + #keepupwithperkup
March was a big month for Amika, with the haircare brand jumping 62 spots from 95th in Feb to 33rd in March on the beauty leaderboard. Amika’s number of influencers and mentions in March were actually similar to the prior month, so what was the key driver to the brand’s success?
A huge 213% increase in video views! Mid, macro, and mega tier influencers posted about the brand on TikTok and their content appears to have been boosted.
TikTok views mentioning the brand totaled 61M, up 280% MoM. Most of the top posts were part of a campaign for Amika’s Perk Up Plus Dry Shampoo. The 30 - 60 second videos featured the influencer trying out the dry shampoo while talking about how the product helps keep hair looking freshly-washed while restoring volume and absorbing oil.
The top creators from the campaign were Indy Belle Mitchell (@indybelle_), Shay Sullivan (@shaysullivann), Montana Coles (@montana.coles), Made & Taylored (@madeandtaylored), and Gabriella Cuesta (@gkccouture).
Other Top Performing US Brands in March
- Morphe (29.6k VIT Score, +29 spots)
- Skinceuticals (14.1k VIT Score, +179 spots)
- Haus Labs (13.6k VIT Score, +59 spots)
- Love Beauty and Planet (948 VIT Score, +444 spots)
Tip: Did you know that low creator retention could be damaging your influencer program's ROI? Learn how to improve your creator retention here.
UK Brand Spotlight 1: Function of Beauty + #FunctionxBoots
In March, Function of Beauty launched in the United Kingdom at more than 380 Boots stores and online at Boots.com. To bring awareness to the brand’s UK launch and partnership with Boots, Function of Beauty tapped a handful of rising beauty influencers for sponsored posts across TikTok and Instagram. The macro tier of influencers (250k - 1M followers) generated 78% of VIT for the brand with the top posts coming from Millie McCarthy (@milliemacmakeup), Elle Mcnamara (@bambidoesbeauty), and Rebekah Campbell (@bexcxmpbell).
Function of Beauty had the influencers post short videos on both Instagram and TikTok that show the influencers talking about Function of Beauty’s custom shampoo and conditioners and then using the products during their shower routine. The post captions highlighted that the lineup will be at Boots, while also tagging Boots social handle and the #FunctionxBoots hashtag.
The campaign was successful in generating a lot of attention for the UK launch, with Function of Beauty jumping from #719 in February to #28 in March in the UK beauty rankings (and #3 in haircare)!
UK Brand Spotlight 2: Dove + #TurnYourBack
TikTok’s new Bold Glamour filter is designed to present an “ideal” of beauty for the user. Dove has, for many years, made fighting against damaging and unrealistic expectations of beauty a key tenet of its brand identity. Thus, the brand is encouraging people to #TurnYourBack on the Bold Glamour filter as part of its #NoDigitalDistortion mission.
The influencer-led campaign kicked off with creators sharing their feelings on the filter and the damage it can do to people and their perception of what constitutes beauty. Within the UK, the top performing posts came from mega influencers (1M - 5M followers) Louise May (@loumayyy) and Rikki Sandhu (@rikkisandhuu), macro influencer Brooke Paintain (@brookepaintain), and mid tier influencer Saam Gatsheni (@issathicknation).
So far the campaign seems to be resonating with social media users, with Dove seeing a massive 4,994% MoM increase in VIT. And the success of the campaign hasn’t been limited to the UK, with Dove also seeing a 5,889% MoM increase of VIT in France.
Other Top Performing UK Brands in March
- Victoria Beckham Beauty (11.8k VIT Score, +97 spots)
- CeraVe (8.8k VIT Score, +49 spots)
- Estee Lauder (6.1k VIT Score, +37 spots)
- Sol De Janeiro (5.3k VIT Score, +251 spots)
FR Brand Spotlight 1: La Roche-Posay + Macro-Tier TikTok Influencers
La Roche-Posay had an impressive March, jumping 41 spots to land at #4 on the FR Leaderboard and increasing VIT by 549%, engagements by 89%, and video views by 679% MoM.
Macro-tier influencers (250K+ audience) generated over half of the brand’s VIT in March (56%), with Sarah Laugier Bertola (@sarahbertolax), Charlotte Vidal (@charlotte.vidl), and Sabrina Cesari (@sabrinacsari) all posting high performing content during the month. All 3 of the creators posted sponsored content on TikTok.
Both Sarah and Charlotte were selected by La Roche-Posay to promote the brand’s Lipikar lineup of skincare products designed for extra dry skin. The brand did an excellent job of personalizing the messaging to authentically align with each influencer. Sarah, who often posts content about her life as a mom, talked about how the Lipikar lineup was a great skincare choice that the entire family can safely use. On the other hand, Charlotte — who has a lot of tattoos — talks about how using skincare products like La Roche-Posay’s Lipikar can help increase the tattoos longevity and prevent them from fading.
Sabrina, along with mega influencer Shana Hagege Orts (@maybeshanaa), made TikTok videos promoting the brand’s Sérum Hyalu B5. In the short 10 - 20 second videos the influencers applied the serum as a step in their evening skincare routine.
FR Brand Spotlight 2: René Furterer + Efficienct Influencer Selection
A favorite brand amongst many celebrity stylists, René Furterer has been gaining traction across social media for quite some time (as we highlighted in our most recent Beauty State of Influence). And early in 2023, the brand is showing it has no plans of slowing down. March was a big month for the brand with René Furterer jumping 157 spots on the Leaderboard and seeing MoM increases of 3,119% in video views, 224% in engagements, and 2,031% in VIT.
2 of the 3 highest performing posts for the brand were TikTok videos from lifestyle influencer (and new mother) Yeuxvertflo (@yeuxvert). Interestingly, both posts were promoting the brand’s Triphasic Reactional lineup and were spaced only about a week apart. Perhaps René Furterer saw such strong results on the first post that they decided to double down and sponsor a second post rather than go looking for another influencer?
Since the Triphasic Reactional lineup is designed for suddenly thinning hair which can occur in women post-pregnancy, the brand did an excellent job in discovering and partnering with Yeuxvertflo at the right time. As a new mother, the products proved to be actually helpful to her which in turn made the sponsored posts come across as authentic.
Other Top Performing FR Brands in March
- Lancome (7.8k VIT Score, +22 spots)
- Kerastase (4.1k VIT Score, +55 spots)
- Kiehl’s (3.1k VIT Score, +103 spots)
- Essence Cosmetics (971 VIT Score, +154 spots)
Tip: Planning an upcoming product awareness campaign and considering activating influencers primarily on TikTok like in the examples highlighted above? Check out a few tips that we have taken from real-world success stories to help you get the most out of your TikTok campaigns.
If you want to see how your beauty brand ranks, check out our monthly leaderboard here.
Coachella 2023
The second and final weekend of Coachella 2023 just wrapped up yesterday. Overall, activity on social revolving around the event saw slight increases from last year across activated influencers, mentions, engagements, and video views
Content mentioning Coachella, comparing April 11, 2022 - Apr 24, 2022 vs April 10, 2023 - Apr 23, 2023:
- 13% increase in active influencers
- 10% increase in mentions
- 6% increase in engagements
- 7% increase in video views
Most mentions of Coachella came on Instagram (54%) followed by TikTok (27%). Engagements were closely split across Instagram (52%) and TikTok (44%) while for video content TikTok was where most views occurred (70%).
As one of the biggest live events of the year, many beauty brands took the opportunity to make a trip out into the desert and (hopefully) increase their brand awareness and reputation amongst festival goers by participating in the event. Neutrogena made its debut as the official skin and suncare sponsor at Coachella this year and installed sunscreen dispensers throughout the festival grounds. They also invited a handful of beauty influencers including Rachel Finley, Rudi Berry, and Meimei Monstaa to travel with them to the festival with the group sharing content along the way, using the hashtag #desertvitals.
Then, of course, there was Revolve Festival.
Last year, Revolve promised Revolve Festival would be a blow-out event even bigger than the years prior. And while they certainly succeeded in making a lot of noise, much of the talk wasn’t what the brand was aiming for with many influencers posting about the negative experience they had at the party.
This year, the highly anticipated event caused far less commotion across social media with influencers, posts, engagements, and video views all seeing significant decreases.
Content mentioning Revolve Festival, comparing April 11, 2022 - Apr 24, 2022 vs April 10, 2023 - Apr 23, 2023:
- 31% decrease in active influencers
- 65% decrease in posts
- 66% decrease in engagements
- 76% decrease in video views
However, even though Revolve Festival made much less noise this year, Revolve still received the most mentions and engagements (by a large margin) amongst all beauty & fashion brands and retailers who were at Coachella this past weekend. The most engaging posts mentioning Revolve Festival occurred primarily on Instagram and TikTok with the top posts coming from the following influencers:
- Maddie Bailey: 772k likes, 3.79M video views (IG video)
- Noah Beck: 373k likes (IG image carousel)
- Brigette Pheloung: 347k likes, 2.1M video views (TikTok)
Other beauty brands at Coachella that received a lot of mentions on social media included Clinique, Sephora, Shark Beauty, Mugler, and Love Beauty and Planet.
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