As one of the most established cosmetics markets in Latin America, particularly when it comes to prestige, Chile has a lot going for it. “Economic stability, lower unemployment rates and a higher inclusion of women in the labor market have left Chileans with a high disposable income, and they are consequently willing to pay a bit more to pamper themselves,” Euromonitor said in a recent report.

The beauty market as a whole grew an estimated 7.5% in 2013, according to Euromonitor. However, industry sources said that the prestige segment is seeing faster increases, with around a 12% rise in volume last year. “We see that sell-in data has been growing really fast for the past two to three years,” said Daniel Morimoto, Retail Manager for prestige beauty tracking firm Segmenta Latam. “Fragrance is well developed, but we’re still hoping that [prestige] makeup and skincare will reach a mature point.” Skincare is the second largest category in the market when prestige and mass products are combined.

Makeup is growing much faster than the market, mainly due to more women entering the workforce. Prestige skincare is also seeing pockets of growth. “Sub-categories like serums are growing very nicely in Chile,” said Daniel Rachmanis, Senior Vice President for Latin America, Estée Lauder Companies, pointing to the success of the company’s Bobbi Brown brand in the country.

The launch of smaller brands is also livening up the makeup and skincare categories. Benefit and Kiehl’s are recent entrants, and Bourjois is said to be targeting Chile in the near future. Coty Prestige will launch its CK One Color line this year in partnership with department-store operator Ripley.

To read BW Confidential’s full report on the Chile beauty market go to: www.bwconfidential.com