According to the government, the UK beauty industry is worth £17 billion and is forecast to grow 16 per cent by 2016. In a nutshell - that’s a whole lot of money, and despite a 2008 recession, the industry grew from £6.1 billion in 2008 to an estimated £7.1 billion in 2013.
What the subtext of statistics like that means, is that we’re also constantly inventing new ways in which to tweak our appearance. To wax or not to wax? To thread or to pluck? To extend or trim? To tan or to keep covered? It’s a battle out there.
So, to help you traverse the boggy landscape that is modern beauty, we're taking a moment to trace all the best regional beauty trends that happened in 2015; where they came from, who wore them and where they're headed next. Groom Britannia!
Botox: London
In the 1980s, the drug was found to be an effective muscle relaxant and it was used to combat unsightly health problems like excessive sweating. Come the 1990s, and everyone was smelling what the Rock was cookin'.
The early days of botox saw lots of squeaky foreheads and just-stepped-on-an-upturned-plug expressions, but it's come on quite a bit, and is the most popular non-surgical treatment in the UK with London's Harley Street performing the most treatments including hand botox. Renee Zellweger's obvious botox over-indulgence at the beginning of the year made everyone raise their eyebrows, even if she couldn't.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Clowning: Glasgow
The birth of clowning (a more intricate form of contouring), or should we say, Klowning is easily traceable by the crumb-trail of Kabuki brushes leading up the Kardashian’s Malibu driveway. Like all good modern beauty trends it was birthed on Instagram, spread via social-media selfies and Youtube tutorials and led to a resulting spike in "contouring" products from brands determined to capitalise on one of the most Googled beauty trends in recent years.
A selfie posted by Kim in March of her half made-up face to demonstrate her contouring make-up hacks received just short of 700,000 likes. It's a trend that's been embraced by our over-the-border friends such as Scottish vlogger Louise Ballantine whose regular contour how-to's rack up thousands and thousands of views.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Dip Dye: London
Aaliyah's dark to light blonde tipped Ombré in 2001 is often credited as the first celebrity dip-dye look that kick-started a generation of copycats. The look was discarded sometime in 2007 when Mischa Barton's OC beach-highlights tresses took centre-stage in our adolescence.
Then London's Bleach salon was opened in 2010 by best mates Alex Brownsell and Sam Teasdale and hair colour in London changed overnight; the dip-dye was back and everyone was sporting it – from Alexa Chung to Rachel Bilson via Jared Leto. The grown-out bleach look still frames the faces of East London's finest.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Scousebrow: Liverpool
The dark, angular, pencilled brow that was pioneered by original Scouse WAG Colleen Rooney has become inseparable from the Merseyside postcode. The phrase was coined after Desperate Scousewives 'star' Jodie Lundstram introduced the concept to the masses in 2011 when she performed the treatment on an unsuspecting client as she auditioned for a job as a beautician. The look has since been sported by the Duchess of Cambridge and supermodel Cara Delevingne.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
French manicure: Essex
'La French' may have originated in 18th-century Paris and was a popular nail art design on the chic oval shaped nail of the 1920s and 1930's fashionista. Contrary however, to its name, this nail design was commercialised and coined in America. Its heyday, circa 2002, with leading exponent Victoria Beckham favouring the style, was fleeting and the paint-job fast became a misnomer in trendy circles. In 2015 however, the nostalgic style made a return on the catwalks and red carpets. They came gilded at Sibling and monochrome at Markus Lupfer and Rihanna's paying homage to the white tip in all her Anti tour imagery – which means it's officially cool again.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Eyelashes: Manchester
When Lauren Murray's false eyelash went for a walk down her cheek on The X Factor, we couldn't help but wonder why she was still wearing glue-on lashes in 2015.
In 1902, German hair specialist Charles Nessler patented "A New or Improved Method of and Means for the Manufacture of Artificial Eyebrows, Eyelashes and the like" in the United Kingdom. By 1903, Nessler was selling artificial eyelashes at his London salon on Great Castle Street.
At the end of 2015, we're still after longer lashes, but there have been advances. Single synthetic polyester thread-like materials (including mink) are applied to eyelashes to create a fuller, longer look. Extensions can be worn during sleep, showering and swimming. They take several hours to apply and last for up to three weeks. Michelle Keagan, Salford's biggest poster-girl is a fan.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Croydon face lift: Croydon (obvs)
Let's put the negative Vicky Pollard connotations to one side (there are a lot) and focus primarily on Kate Moss, our most dear Croydon export and prominent high fashion purveyor of the wind-tunnel ponytail. This year the look has been adopted by Bella Hadid (who's barely seen out of it) and Kendall Jenner (ditto). Why? Hangover, sleep deprivation, lack of a tan... all easily resolved with a scrapped back high pony that you used to rock at school.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Hair extensions: Newcastle
One of Britnery’s hair extensions walked off stage before her set was finished back in March of this year proving that even Brit still relies on a few clip in locks.
If there's one British hair extension heroine, it's the nation's sweetheart Cherly Cole, who not only has both an Elnett and L'Oréal campaign under her mane but goes from a bob to waist length hair in the course of an X Factor episode. Clip in ponies were on every girl at Balmain's SS16 show and the Kardashians are never without theirs.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Lip Fillers: Essex
Before there was Kylie Jenner's enhanced lips, there were Leslie Ash's and before that, circa 1900, surgeons tried injecting paraffin into lips without success. In the 1960s, liquid silicone was used for lip augmentation but was abandoned thirty years later due to general—and later, unfounded—fears about the effects of silicone on general health. In short, we've been trying to find ways of plumping the pout since time immemorial. Most of the cast of TOWIE have admitted to having their smackers done, Kylie Jenner’s lip kit sold out in minutes this month, and her preferred lip liner, MAC's Spice shade, is now their best selling.
Illustrated by Assa Ariyoshi
Rollers: Liverpool
When hair net sales peaked in 2015 after more than fifty years of the product even being a viable purchase for someone who wasn't Ena Sharples, it had to be more than a dinner lady hiring push. Superdrug, reported a resurgence in sales of traditional hair curlers too, with Liverpool its top city for the products, where it's become a trend on a Saturday to shop with your hair rollers in, ahead of a night out on the town.
The city boasts 300 tanning salons – six times more than the national average – and the Liverbirds are 35 per cent more likely to buy tanning products than any other group of people.
Illustrated by Assa AriyoshiLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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