Zara lipstick launched – but online only

Zara has launched its first lipstick collection, called Zara Ultimatte, marking the continued expansion of parent company Inditex’s push into beauty and cosmetics. Zara’s sister brands Bershka and Pull&Bear already have makeup lines, targeting younger consumers.

Inditex said the collection was “inspired by the kind of makeup needed to create ad campaigns”. It is based on a colour palette created by British make-up artist Pat McGrath, famous for working with Christian Dior and Armani Beauty, among others.

The French-made Zara lipstick collection was designed in Los Angeles and features 12 high-pigment lipsticks, eight liquid-matte lipsticks, a box kit with three red colours and a limited-edition, behind-the-scenes kit. Prices range from €7.95 to €19.95 ($12.43 to $31.19). The products are only on the Zara website, but ship worldwide.

Zara is the latest in a string of fashion retailers entering the beauty market, with retailers such as Sportsgirl, Supre, H&M and Boohoo having launched make-up lines.

The beauty industry has seen growing consumer demand over the last few years, driven by social media and selfie culture, with IBISWorld tipping it to reach $4.2 billion in revenue in Australia by 2019.

“Benefiting from further social media appeal, desire for self expression and technologically-enabled makeover experiences, colour cosmetics outperformed all other categories (up by 7 per cent, the highest on record over the past decade),” wrote Euromoitor global beauty lead Irina Barbalova.

Supre general manager Jodie Bongetti recently told IR the brand decided to enter the beauty market based on consumer demand after seeing its products regularly paired with beauty, accessories and swimwear in orders made on parent-company Cotton On’s ‘mega-site’.

This is an edited version of a story that originally appeared on sister-site Inside Retail Asia.

Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.