Charlotte Tilbury & Huda Beauty lead UK beauty brands

Kolsquare has released its 2024 rankings of UK beauty brands on TikTok and Instagram, revealing Charlotte Tilbury and Huda Beauty as the top performers on these platforms.

The rankings were determined through an analysis of hundreds of beauty brands across thousands of influencer profiles, using Earned Media Value (EMV) as the primary metric. This method estimates the cost of a traditional media campaign that would have a similar impact on social media.

Charlotte Tilbury emerged as the leading beauty brand on Instagram, leveraging 5,066 influencers to generate a total of 33,997 posts. In contrast, Huda Beauty climbed from its previous 26th position to claim the top spot on TikTok, utilising 879 influencers and creating 3,631 pieces of content.

Kolsquare's CEO and Founder Quentin Bordage commented on the significance of digital engagement within the beauty industry. "Digital engagement continues to redefine success in the beauty industry," he stated. "Our latest rankings highlight the power of established giants but also show the emergence of dynamic challenger brands. With our transparent, data-driven approach, brands can benchmark their performance and refine their digital strategies as they aim for higher returns in the shifting influencer landscape."

Digital success remains central to the strategies of both Charlotte Tilbury and Huda Beauty, which were founded during the social media make-up tutorial boom. Huda Kattan, founder of Huda Beauty, built a loyal Instagram following of 10.5 million, while Charlotte Tilbury opted for collaborations with celebrities and fashion brands.

On TikTok, Dove achieved the highest engagement rate at 30%, surpassing Huda Beauty's 8.5% and Charlotte Tilbury's 6%. Key influencers for Huda Beauty on TikTok included Presley Staten (known as psmakeup21), Khadeejah Khan, and Makeup By Rukshar.

Charlotte Tilbury's dominance on Instagram was supported by influencers such as her niece Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury, make-up artist Tamzin Mua, and London-based makeup artist Andrada-mua. Many of her top influencers come from the ranks of makeup artists and models.

In terms of financial impact, the UK top 10 beauty brands on TikTok by EMV included Huda Beauty with GBP £23,657,511, L'Oréal Paris with GBP £23,052,912, and Plouise Makeup Academy with GBP £22,935,373 among others. Similarly, on Instagram, Charlotte Tilbury led with GBP £44,608,142, followed by L'Oréal Paris with GBP £38,667,271 and Huda Beauty with GBP £32,181,155.

These rankings indicate a continuing trend of significant investment by UK brands in influencer marketing, underpinned by increasing digital spending. As the landscape evolves, brands continue to adapt their strategies to maximise returns within the influencer economy.