Women of different ethnicity tend to choose products in specific product categories, which differ from race to race, according to an NPD Report on ethnicity in the beauty industry. The Ethnic Consumer Report: The Changing Face of Beauty surveyed 13,000 Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American and Asian women ages 18-64 and determined that only 5,657 of the women surveyed had used makeup, skin care or fragrance products in the past 12 months--slightly less than 50%.
Makeup and skin care products are not used by all women. According to the study, African-American women, for example, were found less likely than Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian women to use makeup or skin care products--the study reported that one in three African-American women claimed not to use makeup, and one in four reported they do not use skin care. African-American women also were shown to have a lesser need for shaving products than other ethnicities; however, they were found to use fragrance and bath products more than any other ethnicity in the study.
Hispanic women were shown to be more likely to use makeup and skin care than other ethnicities, while Asian women were the largest users of skin care. Nine out of ten Asian women reportedly used skin care products but they were found less likely to use fragrance or scented body care products.
In terms of fragrance, the study uncovered that Asian women were drawn to light, clean and fresh products, whereas other ethnicities reported femininity an important factor in chosing a fragrance.
