Beauty media platform Cosmetics Business has revealed the top 5 make-up trends of 2025. 

What are the insights for make-up trends of 2025:

• McKinsey data finds that globally, 46% of consumers now ‘mix and match’ across price tiers.
• And the latest data from Circana for the first half of 2025 shows a slowdown in prestige make-up across Europe and the USA, in contrast to its previous strong growth.
• In Europe, prestige make-up grew by 2% for the first half of 2025, compared to 12% growth for the same period of 2024.
• In the USA these figures were respectively 1% in 2025, versus 5% in 2024.
• Make-up product trends have been shifting, with demand moving from “transformation” to “enhancement”, says Beauty Industry Consultant and Strategist Sam Murton.

What are the top make-up trends of 2025:

Trend 1: The blurring boom

• Gone is the hyper-glam, high-coverage matte look of the 2010s, replaced with soft-focus finishes and flexible balm-to-powder formulas that promise real-skin texture, shine control and all-day wear.
• After years of obsession with glossy, dewy, “glass skin” finishes, consumers are now pivoting toward a more airbrushed yet believable aesthetic.

Trend 2: Doughnut applicator lip balms

• Balms and glazes have taken over lip make-up in 2025 with glossy, hydrating formulas and ever-expanding ranges of playful shades and flavours.
• But possibly the most unexpected trend to surface amid the lip balm craze is a certain style of applicator: the ‘doughnut’ tip. The applicator is made of silicone and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and shaped like a little ring, or doughnut.

Trend 3: Next-gen gripping primers

• Make-up primers - developed to provide a smooth, even base that improves the appearance and longevity of make-up - have diversified by need, with versions claiming hydrating, blurring and mattifying capabilities all gracing the market.
• According to social listening firm Spate, since last year, ‘gripping’ primers have seen a 470% growth in views on TikTok.

Trend 4: Look out blush, bronzers are back

• From boho fashion and butterfly clips, to low slung jeans and Lindsay Lohan, the Y2K renaissance continues apace.
• The latest bronzers are getting an upgrade, as brands offer multi-benefit formulas and formats that bring them a long way from the shimmers of the early 2000s.
• Blendable, high performance products with soft, creamy and even jelly textures, that deliver comfort, nourishment and a diffused appearance on the skin are now in demand.

Trend 5: Tubing mascara

• With searches for tubing mascara jumping by 100.3% last year, according to Spate, a wave of make-up brands have been focusing on the format for their latest mascara launches.

For the full report, visit cosmeticsbusiness.com.