Despite cost-of-living queries, the expenditure on health and cosmetic products increases.

Health and beauty news Spending on health and beauty items is increasing against rising costs of living, as UK consumers increasingly consider make-up and perfume as essentials, according to data.While increasing living costs have driven consumers to cut back, with retail sales up 0.1% year on year in August, spending on health and beauty was up 7.3% – much more than non-essential spending overall, which up 0.7%, according to Barclays.

A quarter of customers (23%) said they have reduced their purchases of clothing and other goods, with Barclays transaction data revealing that garment sales fell 1.7% last month.

 However, nearly half of consumers (46%) regard health and beauty expenditures as “essential” – a category that generally includes priority spending like food and daycare.

 Pharmaceuticals (68%), hair care (66%), body care (62%), and perfumes (54%), are the most resilient goods during the last three years, with customers reporting either increased or no change in expense.

Over the last year, people aged 18 to 27 have increased their spending on health and beauty by 17.5%, more than double the rate of growth for those aged 44 to 59 (6.5%), and tripling the pace of growth for those aged 60 to 78 However, over a third of consumers (32%) say they are using to “dupes” – low-cost replicas of expensive stuff.

Fragrances are the most popular health and beauty substitutes, with 28% of those who buy cheaper versions admitting to spending money on replicas .Since January, the number of shoppers watching “de-influencing” motion pictures to decide which things aren’t worth buying has increased from 11% to 17%.Karen Johnson, Barclays’ head of retail, said “Despite rising living expenses and muted growth in the rest of the retail sector, the UK’s beauty expenditure demonstrates a growing emphasis on self-care.”

“It’s great to see that total beauty expenditure has increased year after year, with August displaying the fastest rate of growth in the last 18 months.

“Our data shows that social media has proven to play a key role in influencing online purchases, a further demonstration of the rising commercial importance of these platforms.

“Opium interviewed 2,000 UK adults from July 9 to 12, and again from August 6 to 9.