TOP 2023 KOLS IN SKINCARE AND BEAUTY –
REVEAL THE LATEST BEAUTY TREND AFTER THE MASK INVASION IN COVID PANDEMIC
After two years of living with face masks, the first half of 2023 finally ushered in the unblocking, and the public got a chance to show their true colors. This results in a recovery in demand for beauty products and a rise in the volume of topics. It’s time for brands to seek the right KOLs and share cakes from the trend. Through the AIE database by AsiaKOL, we will reveal the top 2023 KOLs in the skincare and beauty industry, the latest beauty trend, and how the KOLs create the topics on social media. Our mission is to help brands find the correct KOL and marketing strategies!
1. Top 20 KOLs in skincare and beauty: most of their followers exceed a million, proving skincare and beauty are a big playground
With the AIE database, AsiaKOL ranks the “Top 20 skincare and beauty KOLs of 2023 in Taiwan” based on three major impact indicators, interactive participation, and content association. Looking at the ranking, it’s worth your attention to the several insights below:
(1) There are 4 out of 5 in the Top 5 skincare and beauty KOLs whose followers are over a million. Most of the KOLs in the Top 20 list are mega-KOLs (whose followers exceed a million), proving that skincare and beauty are a big playground.
(2) 85% of the KOLs in the list are active on both 3 social media platforms. It means that audiences of the beauty community prefer various forms of explanations and real visuals.
(3) The overlap between skincare and beauty with fashion and trends is quite noticeable among the shared content of the KOLs. This is because the content and viewership needs of these fields often go hand in hand.
2. Saying Goodbye To The Masks And The Rise In Need For Cosmetics: Kols Start To Create Topics Relating To Skincare And Makeup
In the past three months, skincare and beauty KOLs have started to post content about the unblocking of wearing-mask in public policy. This has created a large number of discussions among followers, inspiring them to think about buying products in preparation for showing their faces. For example, KOL What's the Pinklio (alice_ko_depp) posted on the day of policy unblocking: “I can finally show off my lips makeup. It’s time to try on my favorite lipstick now.” KOL PURPLE (mc_._) also posted that: “Cannot be lazy anymore. It’s time to take care of the skin behind the masks!”, then shared skincare products with followers.
3. Three Top Topic Trends In Beauty KOL’s Community: Base Makeup, Lipstick, And Medical Beauty
The revival of the beauty industry is driven by the mask policy unblocking and the influence of skincare and beauty KOLs in the social media community. In this part, AsiaKOL is going to analyze the changes in topic trends among skincare and beauty KOLs before and after the mask policy unblocking in 2023, as well as how the KOLs shared and promoted products in the social media community to create high engagement.
(1) Base makeup: showing off your face with“long-lasting foundation”
The topic of base makeup had an obvious upward trend in three months after the mask policy unblocking, with the number of topics exceeding 350 in a single month. The skin foundation was highly focused after getting rid of the face mask. Among the topics, the long-lasting challenge and the difference between trial use of drugstores and high-end products attracted the most views. This had proved that consumers are paying more attention to skin foundation after the Covid-19 pandemic.
◼︎ Danny Beeech | A day of assistance – The long-lasting challenge of foundation
When it comes to base makeup products, what everyone cares most about is definitely the "longevity of base makeup”. KOL Danny Beeech recorded a video with “A day of assistance – The long-lasting challenge of foundation” as the theme, promoting foundation products through the perspective of her using them while at work. She shared honest opinions on foundation products without it feeling like a sales pitch and provided detailed information, but at the same time kept the content entertainingly.
◼︎ Mii (lovemiihuang) | Drugstore Vs High-End Makeup – The Ultimate Drugstore Dupes
In addition to the effectiveness of a product, customers also consider the prices of the foundation. KOL Mii (lovemiihuang) is popular for her video about suggesting drugstore dupes for foundation of several high-end brands and providing actual swatch comparisons between drugstore and high-end products. This has attracted high views by helping audiences find their suitable and affordable foundation.
◼︎ Yoyo (snoop123v) | The “Ready Go” Campaign – Long-lasting Foundation Challenge
If Danny Beeech is popular for testing the longevity of foundation at work, Yoyo attracts followers with her interesting “Ready Go” campaign. In the campaign, she applied foundation and ran to 5 milk tea stores under the hot weather to test its longevity.
She shared the campaign in a short entertaining and energetic video, taking audiences into the situation and raising their curiosity towards the challenge result. The event of the sample package was attached under the post, successfully creating high engagement and boosting followers’ buying decisions.
(2) Lipstick: The Rise Of Lipstick Swatch Topics
In the skincare and beauty KOL community, topics related to lipstick have gradually increased since January, and the number of discussions continues to increase every month. After the mask policy was unblocked, KOLs focused more on posting content about lipstick recommendations. Among them, the most popular topic has still been lipstick shade swatches. Whether the swatches are through photo and text posts or live streams, they have achieved high engagement from followers.
◼︎ What's The Pinklio (Alice_Ko_Depp) | Lipstick Swatches Vs Group-Buying Discounts
Shades are the most concern when it comes to lipsticks! KOL What's The Pinklio (Alice_Ko_Depp) has been highly appreciated for providing swatches of 16 lipstick shades, each matched with different makeup looks. From her swatches, followers can choose their favorite shade at first glance. Moreover, she offered various group-buying discounts for different products, along with purchasing gifts and her most recommended colors, making followers rave about the promoted products!
◼︎ Hello Catie | Mask Unblocking – The Trend Of Moisturizing Glossy Lipstick
Hello Catie – one of the first beauty KOL in Taiwan – also shouted out to followers after the unblocking of mask policy: “Mask policy unblocking means that it’s time to go crazy on lipstick!” With the rise of Instagram Reels, Catie joined the runway by uploading a short video of moisturizing glossy lipstick swatches. Subtitles were carefully added, and the lipstick swatches were also presented on two sides, with the upper side being the actual swatch on the lips, and the lower side being the color swatch on hand. Lots of comments were left under the reels from followers, expressing their love for the products and asking about which colors are most recommended. With the impressive content, her video has attracted high engagement, which dramatically increases followers’ buying desire
◼︎ Grace (yungingrace) | Promote New Spring Lipstick Colors On Livestream
Besides photo and text posts, and short videos, Grace also shared swatches of new spring lipstick colors through live streaming on Facebook. Livestreams can show the actual color of lipsticks, allowing KOLs to respond to the audience's questions in real-time, combined with limited discounts only launched on livestreams. This is a useful way to push audiences to place orders immediately. Grace’s one hour of livestreaming could attract up to 35k views. What a massive power!
(3) Medical Beauty: Beauty Business Drive The Upsurge Of Medical Beauty; KOLs’ Experiences And Reviews Are The Center Of Attention
The topic trend of medical beauty (also known as Medical cosmetology) has witnessed a significant increase since the beginning of 2023, which was quite similar to the topic trend of foundation. After the mask policy was lifted, citizens finally got a chance to show their real faces. As a result, the beauty industry experienced a surge in opportunities. The beauty KOL community also had more discussions on various micro-plastic surgery, medical skincare and beauty, and other topics. Contents such as the introduction of the medical beauty process, postoperative care, experience sharing, etc., received high engagement from audiences.
◼︎ Mindy (heyitsmindy) | Video Of Medical Beauty Process – The Comparison Before And After Surgery
Medical beauty is highly involved services and products. What consumers consider most is the complete information such as "process", "cost", and "before and after treatment". Mindy not only presented her actual process and experience of Ultraformer III in her Youtube video, but also revealed the cost, clinic environment, and the comparison picture of the effects before and after treatment. Followers who are interested in medical beauty can fully understand the process and detailed information about the treatment after watching her video. Up to now, her video has gathered a large number of views.
◼︎ Kelly (thekellyyang) | Clinic Environment And Real Experience Sharing
Besides videos, KOL Kelly posted photos and text content sharing her real-time feeling when doing the Thermage FLX treatment and reviewed about the clinic environment. She also shared that it will need two to three months to see the effect of the treatment, promising future updates on her skin condition. Kelly's positive and friendly image with truthful sharing attracted followers to leave comments below her post, expressing their interest in the treatment and its price. The number of interactions on her single post has exceeded 50,000.
◼︎ Sammie | Speak with photos – Medical beauty after mask policy is lifted
Sammie took the unblocking of mask policy as the topic, calling on followers to take good care of their skin in the summer. She shared her skin condition photos after doing medical treatment, gaining positive appraises from followers. With simple photos and concise content, her post achieved thousands of likes and interactions.
Under the fiercely competitive environment of skincare and beauty KOLs, having a good planning topic, providing audiences with detailed content, and the influence efficacy of KOLs are the key factors for high attention and engagement. KOLs, such as Grace with her makeup swatch livestream or Kelly with her medical beauty experience sharing, successfully approached the audiences and pushed their buying desire through various perspectives.
Brands can first determine the goal: whether it is product exposure to raise the brand’s reputation, interactions, or order conversions, then set up a marketing strategy for the correct KOL. Let’s enhance your beauty business opportunities under the trend of mask policy unblocking!
AIE - KOL Evaluation Database
The AIE – Asian KOL Evaluation Database can search for KOLs in specific fields with various categories, and analyze the important reference scores of KOLs such as interactions and breadth of influences, helping brands locate the “dream type” of KOLs, enhancing the accuracy of marketing campaign. If you want to know about community performance of Taiwan or international influencers, contact us for more details!
Contact us: http://[email protected]
