Goodbye 2012

2012 was an eventful year in Britain, with the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics generating a lot of excitement.  But quite a lot has happened here at mist-wrapped Castle Beauty Pages.  I gave a talk on social media at the Society of Cosmetics Formulate event in November.  Looking back I probably should have literally given it on social media, since I can’t have made a worse job of it if I had simply tweeted it in from my bedroom. But everyone was kind enough not to complain about it.   

My most visited post this year was one I actually did back in 2011. It was my review of Nanoblur.  This product seems to continue to interest people. My second most popular one was even older, one I did back in 2008 on what makes a handsome face.   Stuff I wrote this year only starts at number 3 on the list.   My post on products free of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone  has attracted and continues to attract thousands of visits, and so far about 40 comments.

I think the thing that has been most interesting in 2012 is that the tide seems to have finally turned on the natural and organic sector.  This has never been a huge section of the market, but it has  been consistently the fastest growing one for so long that it is hard to remember the time when it wasn’t.  I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that it has been on the rise since the seventies.

What has caused this is hard to say.  The fact that natural claims are now so common that people no longer take any notice of them would be my guess.  It isn’t that people have gone off natural so much as it has become commonplace.

Lead in lipstick was puffed up in the media as a big story, but somehow failed to catch on with the public early on in the year.  I think social media played a big part in this.  Anyone who was bothered by it could simply do a bit of googling to find out what the story was.  Most of the bloggers who write on the subject did exactly this and consequently either ignored it or gave it short shrift.  I think we now live in a world where when it comes to information about products people turn to bloggers and YouTube videos first.  I also think they are wise to do so.  Social media are a better source of information than mainstream media.

The biggest tragedy this year was the complete shutting down of the centuries old soap producing industry in Allepo when fighting broke out there.  I hope they can get it back to normal soon.

So what does the new year bring?

I think we’ll see more headlines about animal testing.  This really ought to have been history by now.  The date to watch out for is the 13th of March, when according to the primary legislation all testing for cosmetic purposes is banned under any circumstances.  I hope nobody in the industry tries to get this altered.  The other big issue with regard to animal testing is China, which currently requires all products not manufactured in China to be tested before being placed on the Chinese market.  I think we will see more companies having to think hard about what they want to do about this.

I am hoping that we’ll see more products that are genuinely innovative, and fewer that rely on fancy marketing or being natural. I always hope that, but I am more optimistic than usual as it seems to me that consumers are looking for real benefits and are increasingly impermeable to advertising.

I am hoping to spend some time making Colin’s Beauty Pages a bit easier to navigate.  After 5 years there is lots of stuff on here but it isn’t always easy to find.  But for now, Happy New Year.

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