How I Source Data
I’m often asked about the best ways to gather and analyse beauty industry data. Below is a list of my go-to platforms and tools I refer to in my content in addition to web scraping my own data and analysing it in python. Some of these links are affiliate links, and I may receive a commission if you transact through them.
Trends - Glimpse
Glimpse is a trend-spotting platform that surfaces early-stage trends before they go mainstream. It uses search and social media data to highlight growing consumer interest across industries, including beauty.
Competitor Data - Particl
Particl is a competitive intelligence platform designed to help e-commerce brands make smarter decisions. Particl provides insights into competitor sales, top-selling products, pricing strategies and market trends.
Web Analytics - SimilarWeb
Similarweb is a web analytics platform that provides a 360° view of digital activity across websites and apps. It’s my primary source when researching individual brands because of the precision and depth of its consumer data.
TikTok Shop Tracking - Kalodata
Kalodata tracks brand and product performance on TikTok Shop. It provides insights into search volume, engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments), and sales data for TikTok-driven purchases.
No Code Web Scraping - Apify
Apify is home to “actors” created by independent developers that you can use with zero coding experience. I use Apify primarily for TikTok and Instagram creator/engagement data collection. Their ‘TikTok Data Extractor’ actor is particularly useful for gathering data on influencer profiles, follower counts, engagement rates, and trending content.
How I Analyse Data
Interactive Graphs - Flourish
I started Barefaced believing beauty professionals wanted access to industry data, but I quickly realised they wanted to see it. While building datasets is the hard part, raw spreadsheets alone aren’t enough—most people don’t have the time or interest to sift through them.
Another challenge has been tailoring analyses to every role in the industry, an impossible task. The solution? Flourish. By using interactive graphs, I can link paying subscribers to dynamic visualisations, allowing them to find the exact insights they need, without ever downloading a spreadsheet.
If you have any questions about working with data or analysing raw datasets, feel free to reach out. Data analysis has been made scary by the tech bros but I promise it’s not as difficult or intimidating as it seems.