Sol de Janeiro, Rhode Among Top 10 Skin Care Brands on Instagram in January

While user-generated content has indeed become increasingly important for brand growth in the digital age, the value of a well-executed owned media strategy shouldn’t be overlooked.

Data from Mintoiro measuring beauty brands’ Instagram engagement, follower growth and reach in January indicates those which invest in high-quality creative content and demonstrate consistency not just in their post frequency, but their aesthetic, are seeing strong gains.

“If you look at a Summer Fridays or a Rhode, their creative is very high-quality; they have a clean kind of style which plays a big part in performing well,” said Jennifer Carlsson, founder of Mintoiro, adding that a strong suit of Rhode’s, too, is its skill for curating the kind of raw-seeming content consumers increasingly resonate with. “The products may be placed in a strewn-about kind of way that has a real vibe to it, or they’re showing the contents of a messy handbag — that works well right now on Instagram.”

Most top performers upload between 20 to 30 feed posts per month, which Carlsson said is the sweet spot. (“I don’t see a huge return among brands that are posting more than 30 times a month.”)

In alignment with the category’s overall growth, body care brands have become increasingly prevalent in the ranking. Sol de Janeiro, for example, dethroned Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills for the top spot (the latter held the number-one position for both 2021 and 2022, but dropped out of the top 10 in part due to a decrease in post frequency).

An inclination toward bold colors and sensorial marketing has played a role in propelling social successes for body care brands like Sol de Janeiro, Tree Hut and Touchland; Le Labo’s success is an outlier in that regard.

“Le Labo is a unique case; they have a very distinct aesthetic and tend to post less than most other brands which are high on the list, but they have a strong, specific audience that plays into that [growth],” Carlsson said of the brand, which offers a body care range in addition to its cult-favorite fragrances.

Testament to the importance of having a clear aesthetic, Carlsson said, Isamaya Beauty is one brand seeing standout growth despite not being among the top 10. On the other hand, Kylie Jenner’s beauty portfolio — including Kylie Cosmetics, Skin and Baby — has seen losses across the board, which Carlsson attributes in part to a shift in the branding. “They used to be very pastel, fun and bright and started having a grittier, kind of dark, desaturated style of photography that’s not quite working with the audience the brand has.”

The top skin care brands on Instagram in January, based on engagement, follower growth and reach.