Why Kylie Jenner, Instagram and a hunger for little luxuries mean lipstick has never been hotter

Research released this week revealed that in the UK alone, lipstick sales are set to increase by an estimated whopping 12 percent during 2016, hitting the £306 million mark (about US$402 million). The study, by market research giant Mintel, also reveals that as many as 40 percent of women in the UK have purchased a lipstick in the year leading up to May 2016. In the US, lip color is just as on point. A separate Mintel study from February this year revealed that from 2013-2015, sales of lip cosmetics increased 3.6 percent.

The figures make perfect sense in the context of the booming beauty landscape, where lips have been a hot topic for some time. Kylie Jenner, bolstered by an army of selfie-loving Instagram beauty fans, has become the poster girl for the trend for fuller, bolder looking lips, literally putting her money where her mouth is and leading the charge with the launch of her wildly successful matte liquid lip colors and glosses.

The rise of online beauty tutorials may also have something to do with the statistics, as highlighted by Charlotte Libby, Senior Beauty Analyst at Mintel. She says: "As beauty blogger tutorials continue to focus on recreating the full lip look, sales of lip products are expected to increase."

This growth is in part driven by innovation and the growth of the color cosmetics sector, reflected by the host of new formulas, finishes and packaging options that have flooded the market over the past few years. According to Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD), so far this year, one in four color cosmetic products launched in the UK has been a lip color product, compared to 11% which have been liquid foundations and 10% which have been eye shadows.

Luxury is an additional contributing factor to the trend. The curiously resilient nature of lipstick to resist economic downturn is well documented, leading to the coining of the term ‘lipstick index' in the economic crisis of 2001. And, as figures by Euromonitor recently revealed, the rule still applies -- premium beauty sales have been on the up overall since 2014, while the luxury goods industry hasn't necessarily enjoyed the same success.

Hence a noticeable strategy by luxury brands to upstick their lipstick game. Shoe designer Christian Louboutin and fashion house Burberry are just two big names to have recently jumped on the bandwagon, in the hope that if consumers can't stretch to expensive fashion pieces then they might treat themselves to a high-end lippy. It looks like the gamble is paying off -- Mintel notes that in the UK, prestige sales of color cosmetics grew at almost twice the pace of mass market products in 2015, rising by 12 percent to reach £618 million.