Huda Beauty Tops the 10 Most Popular Beauty Brands This Year

The Cosmetify Index reveals the cosmetics companies that are generating the most buzz online – and Dubai-based Huda Kattan has the top spot

Posted on

24 November 2019

As we inch towards the end of 2019, it’s fascinating to look back and see how the beauty industry’s biggest names have fared this year.

Who has maintained their market share? Who has fallen out of favour? Who has come in and shaken up the scene?

To that end, the Cosmetify Index reveals the 10 brands of the year, and you may be surprised by some of the results.

To determine the ranking, five factors were taken into account: the increase in consumer interest as shown on Google Trends, the number of brand searches per month, the number of Instagram hashtags and followers, and the brand’s ‘engagement rate’ on the social platform.

While some cult companies continue to dominate, there are also some newbies seeing rapid success.

Here are the 10 most popular beauty brands of 2019…

#1 Huda Beauty

Reigning supreme in 2019, Dubai-based Huda Beauty takes the top spot as the most talked about brand of the year.

From her humble beginnings as a trained make-up artist and blogger to her current position as CEO of a £935 million business, Huda Kattan is a true make-up mogul with an army of nearly 40 million adoring Instagram followers.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Kattan looks set to continue her beauty world domination with the first ever Huda Beauty pop-up shop just announced to open in London at the end of this month, and revealing last year that a skincare line is in the works.

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A post shared by HUDA KATTAN (@hudabeauty) on Oct 14, 2019 at 5:24am PDT

#2 Anastasia Beverly Hills

It’s hard to imagine that a few years ago eyebrow products didn’t feature in the average person’s daily make-up routine, but now they’re are a multi-billion dollar industry.

Anastasia Soare built her make-up empire on the bold brow trend, using her expertise and a variety of celebrity collaborations to become a global beauty player with 20 million Instagram followers.

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A post shared by Anastasia Beverly Hills (@anastasiabeverlyhills) on Sep 25, 2019 at 6:27pm PDT

#3 MAC

Despite facing stiff competition from celebrities and start-ups, MAC has maintained its position as one of the most highly-regarded make-up brands since it was founded in Canada in 1984.

The company has transitioned into the digital age with ease, having been embraced by YouTubers and make-up artist alike, and racking up more than 23 million Instagram followers to date.

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A post shared by M·A·C Cosmetics (@maccosmetics) on Nov 2, 2019 at 1:00pm PDT

#4 Yves Rocher

A heritage brand that has stood the test of time, Yves Rocher began in France 1959 and now has a huge global footprint, present in 88 countries and employing more than 200,000 people.

Specialising in botanical beauty products, its skincare and make-up is loved by a legion of very loyal fans. It was the most searched brand in more than 20 European countries this year.

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A post shared by Yves Rocher USA (@yvesrocherusa) on Nov 8, 2019 at 1:51pm PST

#5 Florence by Mills

It’s astonishing that a beauty company which launched less than three months ago could make it into the top ten of 2019, but having a phenomenally popular teenage founder goes some way to explaining the sudden burst of hype.

Millie Bobbie Brown, 15-year-old star of Netflix series Stranger Things, has created a skincare and make-up range targeted at a young audience and her 30 million Instagram followers have lapped it up.

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A post shared by florence by mills (@florencebymills) on Oct 26, 2019 at 10:59am PDT

#6 Kylie Cosmetics

While many a celebrity has put their name on a beauty collection, Kylie Jenner founded her on own brand and became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in the process.

Inspired by her own famous features, the reality TV star – who is still only 22 years old – began with lip kits in 2014 and is now at the helm of one of the fastest-growing brands in the world.

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A post shared by Kylie Cosmetics (@kyliecosmetics) on Oct 22, 2019 at 9:57pm PDT

#7 Jeffree Star Cosmetics

By far the most successful of the YouTuber-turned-brand founder crowd, one man make-up powerhouse Jeffree Star founded his eponymous brand in 2014, going from bankruptcy to a multi-million dollar business.

Dominating the social media space, it certainly helps that while the brand Instagram account has 6.9 million followers, Star himself has over 15 million.

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A post shared by Jeffree Star (@jeffreestar) on Nov 9, 2019 at 4:16pm PST

#8 Rude Cosmetics

Founded just three years ago, LA make-up specialists Rude Cosmetics has enjoyed rapid global growth thanks to its affordable price points and cruelty free stance.

Popular with vloggers and Instagram stars, the brand has tapped into the trend for make-up as self-expression.

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A post shared by Rude® Cosmetics (@rudecosmetics) on Oct 30, 2019 at 11:50am PDT

#9 Maybelline

Well established on the global beauty scene, New York-based Maybelline was founded in 1915 and has maintained its prominence for over a century, continuing to grow and evolve.

With a roster of high profile models onboard, the firm is adept at quickly responding to make-up trends and has a social media following of nearly 10 million.

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A post shared by Maybelline New York (@maybelline) on Oct 21, 2019 at 9:15am PDT

#10 Foreo

Famous for its facial cleansing tools, Foreo has had a very good year, generating a lot of buzz around its high tech Luna 3 device, which connects to a mobile app.

The Swedish company, which also makes eye massagers and electric toothbrushes, likely made it into that top 10 thanks to a 118% spike in Google searches.