David Farnor | On 21, Sep 2019

BBC Three has commissioned a new three-part series investigating the $500 billion beauty and cosmetics industry.

Beauty Laid Bare charts the journeys of four young Brits as they spend two weeks exploring America’s powerful beauty and cosmetics industry, finding out how influencer culture is transforming the landscape, and considering the morals and ethics of the business.

Over 1 million people are employed in the UK beauty industry, and in 2017 UK consumers spent £25.1bn on beauty, with this figure set to rise to £26.9bn by 2022. The four new contributors head to the US where global brands, popular with UK consumers, are based.

Each has different associations with the beauty industry, including a make-up artist and aspiring influencer; a woman with severe facial scarring who sees cosmetic products as a lifeline; a male beauty enthusiast who wears make-up every day; and a woman who is deeply sceptical of the industry.

They visit the head offices of global cosmetics brands and sprawling manufacturing factories, to understand the ingredients and supply chains for their favourite beauty products.

The programme considers the environmental harm and potentially damaging health impacts of some popular cosmetics, and their opinions are challenged as they meet industry insiders, celebrity influencers, critics and victims of the beauty business.

With exclusive access through scenes shot in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and central Mexico, Beauty Laid Bare confronts the preconceptions of four young consumers as they infiltrate this lucrative world.

BBC Three Commissioning Editor Gian Quaglieni says: “We’re really excited to be bringing Beauty Laid Bare to BBC Three as it’s a booming industry, but consumers are becoming more health and environmentally conscious so it will be interesting to show what’s really going on behind the scenes.

“In this series we are exploring complex industries through the eyes and voices of the very young people they target, which we hope will really resonate with BBC Three audiences. We’re looking forward to the new series airing later this year.”

Beauty Laid Bare is an independent production by The Connected Set for BBC Three. The series is expected to air later this year.

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