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Mars went from 9.13% to 14.97% of all makeup orders on Nykaa in a single year — a 5.84 pp gain inside Nykaa's second-largest category. It is now the platform's largest makeup brand by order share.
The Mars story has a specific shape. Its median item price on Nykaa is INR 239, the second lowest among the top 15 brands on the platform. The gain is volume-led, not premium-led. Insight, which held 10.85% of makeup orders in Q1 2025, dropped to 7.07%, a loss of 3.78 pp. Insight's median price sits at INR 143, lower than Mars, so price alone doesn't explain the shift. Insight also fell in nail care, its only other major subcategory, from 10.85% to 8.76%. A brand losing ground in both of its core categories in the same quarter is a sharper signal than a single-category dip.
Makeup's category share rose 1.95 pp to 34.89% of all Nykaa personal care orders. Skincare, still the largest category at 39.71%, compressed by 1.52 pp. Within skincare, Minimalist is now the top brand at 8.59%, up from 6.08%. CeraVe gained 0.99 pp to 5.22%. Dot Key fell from 8.99% to 7.17% and The Derma Co from 5.07% to 3.18%. The brands gaining skincare share are internationally positioned or clinically endorsed. The brands losing it are domestic mid-range.
MAC moved from 1.19% to 3.46% of makeup orders. Estee Lauder went from 0.22% to 1.59% in skincare. Neither is a large absolute share, but the direction is consistent across both categories: international prestige brands are building presence while mid-range incumbents contract.
Cross-category reach is narrow for most brands on the platform. Dove leads both hair care and bath and body. Foxtale appears in the top five of skincare and bath and body. Plum leads fragrances and holds a top-three position in skincare. L'Oreal holds 16.01% of hair care orders with no meaningful presence in any other category.
The brand landscape on Nykaa in Q1 2026 is compressing at the mid-range. Kay Beauty at INR 699 median and L'Oreal at INR 649 are holding at the top end. Mars at INR 239 and Swiss Beauty at INR 218 are winning on volume at the bottom. The brands between INR 350 and INR 600 — Minimalist, Foxtale, Dot Key — are growing in some categories and losing in others. That band is where the brand competition is most active right now.