** RBC upgrades L'Oréal OREP.PA to "outperform" from "sector perform", expecting it to ride the wave of improving beauty market outlook boosted by upcoming product launches

** It sees long-term growth in skincare, as the enthusiasm of Gen Z for new products such as injectibles, ingestibles and devices could expand the market by 25%

** Anti-agers are another key play as global populations grow older, it says

** While RBC is somewhat wary of L'Oréal's Q1 performance, it expects growth to pick up more than the market expects from there

** "L'Oréal's broad product coverage, marketing firepower and impending ramp-up in innovation/product launches position the company well to strengthen its market leadership" - RBC

** Rivals are playing catch-up, as Estée Lauder EL.N suffers from "anaemic innovation", Coty's COTY.N skincare ambitions will take time to ramp up, and Beiersdorf's BEIG.DE exposure to the premium category is pretty limited, it adds

(Reporting by Jakob Van Calster)

((Jakob.vancalster@thomsonreuters.com))