Well hello there! In this post, I'll be sharing some tips and tricks that I've picked up over my years of obsession with the beauty industry, specifically how to stay updated on things, both as a consumer and as a business professional. If you have any other tips, please share!

AS A CONSUMER

Because social media is huge in beauty, I've split up the consumer portion into social media vs. non-social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Instagram: I would argue that Instagram is the easiest way to stay up-to-date with beauty news. There are three types of instagram beauty accounts: companies, influencers, beauty news (they don't have to all be MECE). Because beauty is all about visuals (for obvious reasons), Instagram makes it easy for companies to share product launches, tutorials and engage consumers in giveaways and comments. Beauty influencers are equally important however. Not only do they act as a trusted advisor role (I'm discussing some of the benefits of influencers in this post), they are also usually one of the first ones to share news about new brands. One of my favorite beauty news account is @trendmood1 and @trendmooddeals. She regularly posts updates on new product launches and deals — check her out!
  • Blogs: Blogs are a great way to get more in-depth knowledge about a product, ingredients etc.. One of my favorite ones is Temptalia — it's a great website when you want extremely detailed reviews on specific products. The great thing is that you're also able to compare different products side-by-side, so for all of you dupe queens out there, this is going to be your heaven. Another blog I frequent is TheKlog for Korean skin care (it's actually run by Sokoglam, a famous Korean skin care retailer that popularized the 10-Step Korean skin care routine).
  • YouTube: Ahh, good old YouTube. This is where it all started. For all you Michelle Phan fans out there, this is to you! YouTube is the prime location for tutorials. I often see YouTube as an extension of Instagram now — oftentimes I'll find myself browsing through Instagram, seeing an interesting post and then clicking to the accompanying YouTube tutorial / video. Similar to blogs, these videos provide more in-depth content on a sneak peek provided on Instagram. One of my favorite YouTubers / Instagram influencers is Stephanie Nicole — she provides very informative and detailed reviews on products. She's also worked in the industry for a while so has a lot of knowledge that other influencers can't provide.
  • Other: The social media landscape is endless — other channels include platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. Instagram, YouTube and Blogs however are my favorite way to keep up on social media. What are yours?

NON-SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Retailers: In the US, Sephora and Ulta are your best bet at keeping up with the latest American trends. Other smaller ones like Blue Mercury or specialty skin care retailers like The Face Shop are also your obvious destinations for new releases.
  • And plenty more (think beauty and fashion magazines, podcasts)! Given the current beauty landscape I would recommend social media as it is the most straight forward and quickest way to get information.

AS A BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL

  • Email subscriptions: I personally like NRF Smart Brief a lot — while they're retail focused and not beauty-specific, they provide some great news on recent mergers, investments, innovations in the retail space. Glossy is a great beauty- and fashion-specific source that provides updates via email.
  • Research portals: The downside of these is that you typically have to pay an exuberant amount to have access to them. Since I'm a student, I luckily have access to many of them. Mintel is one of my favorite websites for trend forecasts and general industry research — they do a great job of distilling information into infographics. IbisWorld has great detailed reports on industries, defining the key players and providing a comprehensive overview on factors affecting the industry.
  • Podcasts: The Glossy Beauty Podcast is a great podcast that interviews CEOs and founders of beauty companies. Breaking Beauty Podcast similarly provides interviews and discusses trends in the industry.
  • General websites: The following websites also provide great business beauty news (some for free, some may require a subscription for more detailed articles — for many of them you can also sign up to receive emails): Premium Beauty News, Global Cosmetics, Cosmetics Business, Allied Market Research.