CEW UK hosted its fourth annual Future Beauty Summit on Wednesday 22 April in London, in partnership with Google, Amazon Beauty, Tash Partners, CreatorIQ, Flixmedia, Kaorium, Leaf, Outform, SoPost, Somerce, Superco and Triffin.

The full-day event brought together experts across beauty, retail and tech to explore the trends and strategies defining the industry's next chapter, with speakers including brand founders, tech executives from Google and Amazon, and industry leaders from Space NK, NARS, Medik8 and TikTok.

The Future of Beauty 2026 Key Takeaways:

Search is Moving from Information to Intelligence.

Google’s Natasha Kizzie highlighted the shift toward an “agentic world” where AI assistants like Gemini act as expert guides, helping consumers compare products and find exactly what is right for them. This “agentic commerce” collapses the gap between discovery and decision, moving away from static pages toward intelligent systems that anticipate customer needs.

TikTok Shop Is a Discovery Engine. Treat It Like One.

TikTok Shop is no longer just a revenue channel; it is a hero discovery platform that drives significant incremental growth across other channels, including Amazon and physical retail. Success on these platforms requires moving away from polished, professional ads in favour of low-fi, organic, and "human" reactions that resonate with the algorithm and build genuine community.

Metabolic Beauty Is Here

Consumer demand is shifting toward "metabolic beauty," treating skin and hair as biological biomarkers. Olivier Zimmer of Spate noted that while "longevity" isn't a common consumer search term yet, related concepts like skin barrier health, cellular senescence, and microbiome resilience are seeing triple-digit growth as shoppers prioritise cellular energy and scientific proof over surface-level fixes.

Your Content Machine Still Needs a Human at the Wheel

With content demands exploding, brands are adopting production systems at scale. Experts like Sebastian Kraft and Gilbert Corrales emphasised that while AI tools can automate repetitive tasks like cut-downs and variations, a "human-in-the-loop" is essential to maintain brand authenticity and ensure the creative vision is not lost to the machine.

The Physical Store as a “Confidence Engine.”

Outform’s Clare Cryer argued that the store’s primary purpose has evolved into a “confidence engine”. While shoppers arrive highly informed by social media, they visit physical locations for touch, trial, and sensory discovery - experiences that digital cannot replicate. Modern stores are now media channels where brands like REFY and Wonderskin use physical presence to deepen community trust.

Authenticity Beats Aesthetics in the Creator Economy.

The creator landscape has shifted from a focus on "aesthetic" content to community-led education. Joy Osinloye (CreatorIQ), Jane Harper (NARS), and Jini Sanassy (Space NK) noted that consumers now seek "expert" voices - such as dermatologists and professional artists - who provide credibility and education rather than just a pretty picture.

Pinterest Is Predicting Trends 12 Months Out. Are Brands Listening?

Ayesha Mace of Pinterest revealed that our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text, making visual search platforms vital for beauty. Because users start planning life events 6 to 12 months in advance, Pinterest provides brands with a unique signal to predict and adopt emerging trends before they hit the mainstream.

72% of Shoppers Abandon Because They Can't Try It

Jonny Grubin of SoPost emphasised that 72% of consumers cite a lack of physical trial as the primary reason for cart abandonment. Integrating targeted sampling moments into the digital journey helps "unsquiggle" the complex path to purchase, building the confidence and trust needed to turn fleeting attention into long-term revenue.