Spending on globally imported beauty and related skincare products totaled US$74 billion in 2022.

That dollar amount results from a 26.6% increase from $48.8 billion in 2018. Year over year, purchases of imported beauty and skincare goods flatlined via a -0.8% slowdown compared to $74.6 billion for 2021.

The 5 top global markets for buying imported personal care cosmetics generate almost half (49%) of total beauty and skincare goods imported worldwide in 2022. The strongest cashflows spent on imported cosmetics came from buyers in: mainland China (24.3% of the world total), United States of America (8.6%), Hong Kong (8.4%), Singapore (4.2%) and Germany (3.5%).

Among these 5 key consumer markets for appearance-improving products, only the United States of America (up 14.3%) recorded a year-over-year upturn in demand.

In contrast, spending cutbacks were recorded by beauty and skincare importers in Hong Kong (down -14.6%), mainland China (down -11.2%), Germany (down -2.8%) and Singapore (down -0.3%).

By comparing changes in consumer demand for imported cosmetics by buyer country showcased in this article, researchers can uncover the most compelling opportunities for selling cosmetics on international markets.

Cosmetics Are Consumer Speciality Products

Beauty and skincare products satisfy the criteria of a consumer good (also called an end product) that allows consumers to buy in its final form. In contrast, products like turbojets are usually purchased by companies or government entities rather than individuals.

Economists classify cosmetics as speciality products, a technical classification for goods that are not as easily accessible as shopping products purchased from local convenience stores or corner discount shops.

Cosmetics also defined as a speciality product because it is relatively durable. Unopened packages of makeup can last up to 3 years provided it is stored in a cool, dry place. Another speciality attribute is that purchasing cosmetics typically requires more time before the consumer makes a buying decision. Plus, as a commodity, beauty and skincare products are generally not bought as often as less expensive items such as food or beverages.

Beauty-related Goods by Product Type

There are 5 categories of imported cosmetics, ranked by dollar value in 2022. These categories exclude medicinal products.

Beauty-related skincare goods (81.2% of the global cosmetics total)
Eye makeup preparations (6.9%)
Lipstick and other lip makeup preparations (6.1%)
Powders for skincare, makeup and baby care (3.7%)
Manicure or pedicure preparations (2%).

The strongest increases in purchases among the listed beauty and cosmetics-related categories belongs to lipstick and other lip makeup preparations (up 4.4% from 2021) and eye makeup preparations (up 2.5%).

The mildest year-over-year upturn was the flatlining 0.1% gain for imports of manicure or pedicure preparations.

China is the world’s number 1 import market for buying beauty-related skincare goods, lip makeup preparations, and powders for skincare, makeup and baby hygiene.

On the other hand, the United States of America spends the most on imported eye makeup preparations and manicure or pedicure preparations.

Listed below are the 5 biggest import markets for:

Beauty-related skincare goods: mainland China (27.8% of global total), Hong Kong (9.9%), United States (7.2%), Singapore (4.5%) and Germany (3.1%).

Eye makeup: United States (18.1% of global total), France (6.7%), Germany (5.7%), mainland China (5%) and the United Kingdom (4.6%).

Lip makeup: mainland China (14.4% of global total), United States (14.1%), Macao (7.7%), Singapore (4.8%) and Germany (4.3%).

Skincare, makeup and baby powders: mainland China (14.5% of global total), United States (11.3%), Macao (6.4%), Japan (4.7%) and the United Kingdom (4.6%).

Manicure or pedicure preparations: United States (10.1% of global total), Germany (9.1%), United Kingdom (6.1%), France (5%) and the Netherlands (4%).

Searchable List: Imported Cosmetics by Country

The list below showcases marketing intelligence for the top 100 buyers of beauty and related skincare imports. Buyers are ranked in descending order starting with the greatest annual sales amount at the 4-digit Harmonized System (HS) code level. For beauty or makeup and skincare preparations including sunscreen, the HS code prefix is 3304.

Also shown is the percentage change in international sales from 2021 to 2022.

China: US$18,014,517,000 (down -11.2% from 2021)
United States: $6,351,334,000 (up 14.3%)
Hong Kong: $6,214,792,000 (down -14.6%)
Singapore: $3,078,752,000 (down -0.3%)
Germany: $2,602,545,000 (down -2.8%)
Macao: $2,399,655,000 (down -25.5%)
United Kingdom: $2,378,888,000 (up 17.7%)
France: $2,012,749,000 (up 5.4%)
Canada: $1,808,929,000 (up 14.8%)
Netherlands: $1,798,867,000 (up 35.1%)
Japan: $1,497,890,000 (up 1.6%)
Spain: $1,358,295,000 (up 18.2%)
Belgium: $1,330,302,000 (down -4.7%)
United Arab Emirates: $1,306,947,000 (up 35.3%)
Italy: $1,245,218,000 (up 5%)
Poland: $1,220,058,000 (up 4.1%)
Australia: $974,978,000 (up 10.4%)
Czech Republic: $941,667,000 (up 3.4%)
South Korea: $922,679,000 (up 1.3%)
Taiwan: $856,907,000 (down -1.2%)
Russia: $815,905,000 (down -36.8%)
Saudi Arabia: $814,941,000 (up 30.5%)
Mexico: $712,276,000 (up 14.5%)
Switzerland: $621,047,000 (up 1.2%)
Thailand: $596,996,000 (up 13.4%)
Malaysia: $523,895,000 (up 36.2%)
Sweden: $520,056,000 (down -1.1%)
Ireland: $516,700,000 (up 14.6%)
Austria: $487,947,000 (up 0.9%)
India: $463,379,000 (up 76.4%)
Türkiye: $396,024,000 (up 35.4%)
Denmark: $392,243,000 (down -4.2%)
Norway: $369,743,000 (down -6%)
Indonesia: $329,498,000 (up 6.5%)
Kuwait: $319,242,000 (up 5.3%)
Portugal: $309,840,000 (up 18.3%)
Romania: $288,863,000 (up 7.3%)
Chile: $287,649,000 (down -6.5%)
Hungary: $279,242,000 (up 11.9%)
Vietnam: $271,315,000 (up 14.8%)
New Zealand: $245,633,000 (up 6.2%)
Greece: $243,038,000 (up 5.5%)
Slovakia: $230,696,000 (down -0.8%)
South Africa: $219,037,000 (up 13%)
Lithuania: $211,134,000 (down -7.7%)
Colombia: $206,786,000 (up 31.9%)
Brazil: $196,986,000 (up 14.2%)
Croatia: $195,661,000 (up 10.4%)
Kazakhstan: $192,719,000 (up 29.2%)
Philippines: $187,273,000 (up 34.5%)
Iraq: $185,569,000 (up 24.9%)
Finland: $177,299,000 (up 17.2%)
Israel: $175,078,000 (up 6.7%)
Qatar: $164,923,000 (up 18.5%)
Peru: $158,671,000 (up 20.2%)
Ukraine: $153,726,000 (down -41.7%)
Panama: $140,587,000 (up 39.1%)
Ecuador: $123,267,000 (up 39.2%)
Argentina: $121,398,000 (up 7.4%)
Morocco: $119,092,000 (up 9.6%)
Bulgaria: $112,624,000 (up 9.1%)
Slovenia: $104,092,000 (down -4.8%)
Oman: $97,711,000 (up 5.2%)
Luxembourg: $79,413,000 (down -3.1%)
Latvia: $78,191,000 (up 10%)
Serbia: $77,975,000 (up 4.1%)
Estonia: $77,485,000 (up 9.5%)
Guatemala: $76,317,000 (up 17.5%)
Dominican Republic: $74,557,000 (up 58.5%)
Ghana: $67,588,000 (down -3.8%)
Costa Rica: $67,025,000 (up 14.6%)
Cyprus: $65,254,000 (up 2.3%)
Jordan: $57,371,000 (up 1.9%)
Bahrain: $55,962,000 (up 25.5%)
Bosnia/Herzegovina: $53,268,000 (up 6.1%)
Iran: $52,149,000 (up 28.6%)
Georgia: $50,283,000 (up 24.9%)
El Salvador: $48,952,000 (up 10.2%)
Bangladesh: $43,329,000 (down -2.9%)
Andorra: $42,654,000 (up 17.4%)
Nepal: $41,429,000 (down -4.4%)
Libya: $41,012,000 (down -1.8%)
Azerbaijan: $40,452,000 (up 12.3%)
Egypt: $38,650,000 (down -19.9%)
Bolivia: $36,659,000 (up 33.1%)
Belarus: $36,121,000 (down -59.1%)
Moldova: $36,105,000 (up 27.4%)
Namibia: $35,031,000 (up 4.2%)
Kyrgyzstan: $32,187,000 (up 68.4%)
Lebanon: $31,972,000 (up 4.5%)
Laos: $31,953,000 (up 537.8%)
Mongolia: $31,264,000 (up 25.8%)
Botswana: $30,931,000 (down 0%)
Iceland: $30,624,000 (up 3%)
Paraguay: $30,506,000 (up 46.2%)
Honduras: $29,896,000 (up 25.5%)
Tunisia: $29,271,000 (up 4.3%)
Malta: $27,327,000 (up 5.4%)
Guinea: $26,026,000 (down -0.9%)
Venezuela: $24,137,000 (up 55.4%)

The 100 top importers accounted for 99.1% of overall purchases for beauty, makeup and skincare goods in 2022.

The top 20 importers generated 78% of worldwide spending on this product category, while the 30 biggest importers were responsible for 87% of the overall total.

Among the above 100 major markets, 75 countries increased their spending on imported beauty, makeup and skincare products from 2021 to 2022.

The strongest percentage gains were posted by buyers in Laos (up 537.8% from 2021), India (up 76.4%), Kyrgyzstan (up 68.4%), Dominican Republic (up 58.5%) and Venezuela (up 55.4%).

Double-digit reductions in spending on imported beauty and skincare cosmetics were posted by buyers in Belarus (down -59.1% from 2021), Ukraine (down -41.7%), Russia (down -36.8%), Macao (down -25.5%), Egypt (down -19.9%), Hong Kong (down -14.6%) and mainland China (down -11.2%).

Richest Global Markets for Imported Cosmetics

The data below summarizes market demand for beauty and skincare-related goods imported during 2022 by 30 of world’s richest countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person, according to RichestCountryReports.com.

Countries are listed in descending order starting with the wealthiest economy in terms of GDP per capita.

Luxembourg: US$79.4 million (down -3.1% from 2021)
Ireland: $516.7 million (up 14.6%)
Singapore: $3.1 billion (down -0.3%)
Qatar: $164.9 million (up 18.5%)
Macao: $2.4 billion (down -25.5%)
Switzerland: $621 million (up 1.2%)
United Arab Emirates: $1.3 billion (up 35.3%)
Norway: $369.7 million (down -6%)
United States: $6.4 billion (up 14.3%)
Denmark: $392.2 million (down -4.2%)
Netherlands: $1.8 billion (up 35.1%)
Hong Kong: $6.2 billion (down -14.6%)
Brunei Darussalam: $14.5 million (up 11.9%)
Taiwan: $856.9 million (down -1.2%)
Iceland: $30.6 million (up 3%)
Austria: $487.9 million (up 0.9%)
Saudi Arabia: $814.9 million (up 30.5%)
Andorra: $42.7 million (up 17.4%)
Sweden: $520.1 million (down -1.1%)
Germany: $2.6 billion (down -2.8%)
Belgium: $1.3 billion (down -4.7%)
Australia: $975 million (up 10.4%)
Malta: $27.3 million (up 5.4%)
Guyana: $2.9 million (down -9.3%)
Bahrain: $56 million (up 25.5%)
Finland: $177.3 million (up 17.2%)
Canada: $1.8 billion (up 14.8%)
France: $2 billion (up 5.4%)
United Kingdom: $2.4 billion (up 17.7%)
South Korea: $922.7 million (up 1.3%)

Nineteen of the above 30 richest economies spent more on imported cosmetics in 2022 compared to 2021. Top gainers were the United Arab Emirates (up 35.3%), Netherlands (up 35.1%), Saudi Arabia (up 30.5%), Bahrain (up 35.5%), Qatar (up 18.5%) and the United Kingdom (up 17.7%). Registering the severest decreases were Macao (down -25.5% from 2021), Hong Kong (down -14.6%), Guyana (down -9.3%) and Norway (down -6%).

China’s Top 10 Suppliers for Imported Cosmetics

In 2022, the People’s Republic of China served as the world’s strongest market for imported cosmetics as measured by total sales. Mainland China’s top 3 suppliers (France, Japan and South Korea) generated almost two-thirds (64.6%) of Chinese imports of the appearance-improving products.

The following countries benefited the most from selling imported beauty, makeup and skincare products to mainland China in 2022.

France: US$4.6 billion (25.3% of US total)
Japan: $4.5 billion (25%)
South Korea: $2.6 billion (14.3%)
United States: $2 billion (11.3%)
United Kingdom: $1.6 billion (8.9%)
Belgium: $486.2 million (2.7%)
Italy: $444.7 million (2.5%)
Switzerland: $280.4 million (1.6%)
Poland: $262.7 million (1.5%)
Canada: $254 million (1.4%)

Among the above major suppliers of cosmetics and related products, the fastest gain in sales to China from 2021 to 2022 belongs to suppliers in Poland via a 69.8% upswing.

Leading the year-over-year decliners were providers in South Korea (down -34.1% from 2021), United Kingdom (down -14.5%) then Japan (down -9.8%).

America’s Top 10 Suppliers for Imported Cosmetics

In 2022, the United States of America’s top 3 suppliers (France, Canada, South Korea) furnished 43.7% of American imports of cosmetics and related goods by value.

The following countries benefited the most from selling imported beauty, makeup and skincare products to the US in 2022.

France: US$1.1 billion (17% of US total)
Canada: $913 million (14.4%)
South Korea: $865.9 million (13.6%)
Italy: $733.8 million (11.6%)
China: $633.7 million (10%)
United Kingdom: $254.4 million (4%)
Japan: $238.5 million (3.8%)
Sweden: $235.8 million (3.7%)
Mexico: $224.7 million (3.5%)
Germany: $211.6 million (3.3%)

Among the above major suppliers of cosmetics, best improvements in sales to America from 2021 to 2022 were generated by sellers in Italy (up 33.1%), Mexico (up 30.8%), Japan (up 25.9%), France (up 21.7%), South Korea (up 16.9%), Canada (up 14.1%) and Germany (up 13.6%).

World’s Biggest Cosmetics Companies

The following metrics reveal the largest players in the cosmetics industry.

Rankings were based on the overall revenues including domestic and international sales. Some of these conglomerates produce a myriad of other goods besides cosmetics.

L’Oréal (Clichy, France)
Unilever (London, United Kingdom)
P&G (Cincinnati, USA)
Estée Lauder (New York City, USA)
Shiseido (Tokyo, Japan)
Beiersdorf (Hamburg, Germany)
LVMH (Paris, France)
Kao (Tokyo, Japan)
Coty (New York City, USA)
Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, USA)

Shown within brackets is the city which serves as the global headquarters for each cosmetics provider.

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational portals.

BoyceWire, Consumer Goods Definition.

Cosmetics Technology, Top ten cosmetics companies in the world

Forbes, The Forbes Global 2000 List.

Healthline, When Does Makeup Expire?

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Investopedia, Consumer Goods, Consumer Staples Definition, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Richest Country Reports, Top 50 Richest Countries by GDP per Capita.

United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade State Data.

USITC DataWeb, US Merchandise Trade: Imports for Consumption.

Wikipedia, Cosmetics.

World’s Top Exports, Beauty Cosmetics and Skincare Exports by Country.