Huda Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury Among Top 10 Brands on Social in U.K.

The power of Kehlani, ube and beauty combined at a viral, purple-themed Huda Beauty soiree in Dubai in January, helping to propel the brand to the number-one spot by social media buzz for the month in the U.K., per Traackr.

Held in celebration of the brand’s 12th anniversary and its newest Ube collection — inspired by the recently buzzy yam’s purple shade — the event saw influencers from around the globe come together for an opulent, bow-adorned celebration.

“It was a return to the more traditional, big launch events where you had this whole purple room, interesting experiences for influencers to engage with throughout; it was an event made for content, so it’s no surprise the brand saw a big bump in performance as a result,” said Holly Jackson, vice president of influencer marketing innovation and insights at Traackr.

The brand has seen a sizable increase in social media impact — as measured by Traackr’s VIT metric — following founder Huda Kattan’s return as chief executive officer at the start of last year, with its VIT growing 35 percent in 2024 versus the year prior.

“Huda Beauty often has more creators talking about them, and also has the highest creator retention rate among the top 10 brands [in the U.K.],” said Jackson. “In addition to having this big event, they’re prioritizing building a community of advocates who talk about them often.”

L’Oréal Paris, which took the number-two spot by social media buzz in the U.K. in January, benefited from content surrounding its Revitalift Laser Renew Anti-Aging Super Serum.

“The U.K., U.S. and France have in common that influencers of all size tiers are driving VIT for brands, and most of that VIT is coming from TikTok and Instagram, with some from YouTube as well,” said Jackson, adding that a key difference is that in the U.S., VIP influencers — or those with more than 5 million followers — are relied on more heavily.

“In the U.S., 22 percent of beauty brands’ VIT comes from that VIP influencer tier, whereas in the U.K. that number drops to 8 percent,” she said.

The top 10 brands by VIT in the U.K. for the month of January, per Traackr.

1. Huda Beauty

2. L’Oréal Paris

3. NYX Professional Makeup

4. Maybelline New York

5. MAC Cosmetics

6. Charlotte Tilbury

7. YSL Beauty

8. Dior

9. Fenty Beauty

10. Armani Beauty