Skin care benefits help to color makeup

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. —Makeup products with a skin care benefit, such as SPF protection, continue to be of great interest among women, despite the fact that overall makeup usage appears to be down, according to market research company the NPD Group.

Overall usage of makeup products among 18- to 64-year-old women is down five percentage points in 2010, relative to 2008. Among women who do wear makeup, a growing number (up 1%, equivalent to about an estimated additional 1 million women, based on projected population taken from the U.S. Census) are wearing only one makeup product per given day, according to NPD.

But while overall makeup usage is down, an area of growing interest is makeup products with skin care benefits. According to NPD, nearly 9-out-of-10 (86%) makeup users have used in the past year a makeup product that contains a skin care benefit.

Moisturizing (54%) and SPF protection (51%) are the most cited skin care benefits contained in the makeup products women used. These were followed by oil-free/won’t clog the pores (32%), reduces wrinkles/ fine lines (30%) and natural/mineral-based (27%).

About 6-out-of-10 women who used makeup with skin care benefits are using these types of makeup products in addition to using skin care products with the same benefits. Nearly 2-out-of-5 women are using makeup products with skin care benefits instead of skin care products with the same benefits. The study was fielded March 10 to 31.