Who Is Winning the Online Beauty Battle?
Beauty

Who Is Winning the Online Beauty Battle?

It's no secret we've seen an upswing in celebrity-driven beauty lines. Before Kylie Cosmetics by Kylie Jenner and Rihanna's Fenty, there was tattoo artist and entrepreneur extraordinaire's Kat Von D's company and fashion's favorite makeup artists Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury's eponymous lines. So where does that leave more established brands?

Related | Here's How Much Kylie Jenner Gets Paid Per Instagram Post

When it comes to a social media presence, not in great shape, says a new study. Analyzing the data of 12 of the consistently most newsworthy cosmetics companies, a company has discovered what really pops online. While 34-year-old cosmetics brand MAC may have an enormous Instagram following, their engagement falls short in comparison to that of Jenner's beauty range by a significant margin. To be specific, even though Kylie Cosmetics has two million less followers than MAC, each image posted to the account receives five times the likes.

Nonetheless, the younger the brand, or more famous the celebrity, doesn't always equal the highest audience engagement. Kat Von D's decade-old Kat Von D Beauty averages more comments per post than Kylie Cosmetics, despite having over 10 million less followers. Generally, though, celebrity endorsement equals higher engagement, with even millennial favorites such as Glossier and NYX professional makeup and luxury houses unable to match the buzz around the likes of one-year-old brand Fenty.

The study concludes that Kat Von D Beauty puts forth the most engaging Instagram content when it comes to celebrity-endorsed makeup, followed closely by Kylie Cosmetics (while Glossier takes out the skincare category). Established brands, despite their many locations and general prevalence in everyone's makeup bags, just can't keep up.

For the record, if you're looking to launch a beauty brand of your own, the color black is what audiences double tap the most. We're all goths at heart.

Photo via Instagram

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Story by Mickey Boardman / Photography by 91 Rules / Creative direction by Paul Bui / Styling by Gabriel Held / Makeup by Kento Utsubo / Hair by Ryuta Sayama