Q1 2024 Whitepaper: China's Beauty & Skincare Market Analysis

Key Finding 1

China's online beauty & skincare market reached CN¥ 98.33 billion in Q1 2024, up +1.3% YoY — a modest recovery driven by mid-to-low-price products as the market digests a structural shift toward value.

The market's volume growth far outpaced revenue — units sold rose +16.2% YoY to 990 million, confirming that average selling prices declined as consumers increasingly favored sub-CN¥ 100 products. In the beauty segment, the under-CN¥ 100 price tier led with +25.3% revenue growth. In skincare, the CN¥ 300–500 range was the standout, growing +10.6%, while the CN¥ 500+ tier broadly contracted. Channel dynamics reinforced the Douyin (抖音) dominance story: platform revenue grew +42.9% YoY, expanding Douyin's market share by 13.8 percentage points. This signals a decisive shift in where beauty consumers discover and purchase products, with implications for brand investment strategies.

Key Finding 2

TOP10 brands grew +23.6% YoY — 18x the overall market growth rate — confirming that the beauty & skincare market is polarizing between leaders and the long tail.

Domestic brands are the primary beneficiaries of this concentration. Kans (韩束) delivered the most dramatic result, with brand revenue growing +499.6% YoY to CN¥ 2.33 billion, driven by a purpose-built Douyin custom drama strategy co-produced with influencer Jiang Shiqi. Proya (珀莱雅) grew +71.3% to CN¥ 2.27 billion. Among international brands, La Mer and Whoo (后) showed strong growth (+18.0% and +50.0% respectively), while SK-II declined -26.8% and Lancôme (兰蔻) slipped -5.1%. The CR10 expanded by 3.0 percentage points, while the tail — brands ranked outside the top groups — lost -8.7% and shed 5.6 pct of market share, despite registered brand counts growing +11.7%.

Key Finding 3

Two parallel consumer themes defined Q1 2024: "precision skincare" as a functional framework, and beauty-as-emotional-outlet as a behavioral driver — together reshaping product demand and social media content.

On the functional side, "barrier repair" social media discussion grew +657.9% YoY, and "precision skincare" topics grew +686.4% — both well above the market's +96.2% overall voice share growth. On the sales side, collagen supplementation products grew +58.4% to CN¥ 5.29 billion GMV, and single-use essence ampoules grew +56.7% to CN¥ 1.83 billion. On the emotional side, "dark/gothic makeup" products grew +45.0% in revenue and +217.4% in voice share, as young female consumers embraced expressive, non-conformist aesthetics. "Emotional skincare" as a concept saw +40.3% sales growth.

Key Finding 4

Makeup remover and blush — both historically small categories — are on divergent upgrade trajectories that signal deeper structural shifts in how Chinese consumers approach beauty routines.

Makeup removers grew +9.7% YoY to CN¥ 1.64 billion, but the category composition is shifting dramatically: cleansing oils (+24.1%) and cleansing balms (+23.0%) gained share while cleansing water fell -14.7%, as consumers moved away from cotton-pad-based routines toward more thorough, skin-friendly formats. Social media discussion of makeup removal grew +131.7% YoY. Blush grew +43.3%, with cream blush now accounting for 46.3% of the sub-category — up 15.3 pct in one year. Notably, male consumers accounted for 29.1% of makeup remover discussion and 32.0% of blush discussion, signaling sustained male grooming market expansion.