Women are increasingly ditching beauty products after repeated shutdowns hastened the shift to makeup-free.

New data has revealed that makeup purchases have fallen sharply over the past two years, with women also wearing products less frequently.

Makeup sales have fallen 19% since 2019, according to data from consumer research firm Kantar. It also found that product wearing frequency dropped by a third.

The data also shows that the sale of red lip products fell by 40%, the BBC reported. Kantar interviewed 300,000 women worldwide for the study and found that habits in Britain had changed more dramatically than elsewhere.

Kantar analyst Maya Zawislak said: “Manufacturers are going to have a hard time and they’re really going to have to work harder to get our money from us.”

Many celebrities have joined the new trend of posting makeup-free selfies on social media in recent weeks. Michelle Pfeiffer, Tyra Banks and Jennifer Anniston have all posted pictures of themselves without makeup online.

But the pandemic has dramatically changed the way women spend their money.

Sebastian James, managing director of Boots, told the BBC: “During the pandemic we have seen a lot less colored cosmetics in our business, lipsticks etc, and a lot more spending on personal care. , so skin care, hair care, and especially what we call expert skin care.

“Certainly, from year to year, we are well established in [our beauty sales] but people definitely buy different things.”

The pandemic shift to working from home has dealt a heavy blow to the high-end and low-end cosmetics industry. In-store sales were particularly hard hit.

Designer makeup sales at department store counters fell 40%, according to NPD data. The drop was worth nearly £500million. Meanwhile, supermarkets selling cheaper make-up products suffered a £180million drop in revenue from their cosmetics departments.

A report from McKinsey found around 30% of the beauty industry had been shut down during the pandemic and the prolonged wearing of masks in many countries would continue to impact sales as stores reopen .

He said: “Given the realities of working from home, physical distancing and mask-wearing, it has become much less important to wear makeup and perfume.

“When consumers return to work, many will continue to wear masks, further slowing makeup recovery.”

“In contrast, skincare, haircare, and bath & body products seem to benefit from personal care and grooming trends.”