Members of the beauty industry body, CEW UK, received an exclusive global beauty trend briefing from the global intelligence company NielsenIQ (NIQ). The insights were unveiled following the release of the NielsenIQ 2025 Global Beauty Trends and Growth Report, which pooled data from a variety of NIQ sources as well as World Data Lab and Rakuten Intelligence.

Top Global Beauty Insights for 2025

Cautious Optimism: While there's a slight increase in consumer optimism globally, particularly in the APAC region, European and British consumers remain cautious due to the compounding effects of inflation and concerns about rising prices and global uncertainties.

Beauty Industry Performance: The beauty industry is performing well, but growth is largely inflation-driven. The challenge lies in driving organic volume growth through optimised pricing and targeted strategies

Category Growth: Fragrance continues to lead the way in category growth at +17%, while cosmetics are slowing down, especially in the USA, with Gen Z consumers driving a significant portion of the decline. The Skincare category is performing at +6% and Hair Care at +8%

Sustainability and Wellness: Sustainability remains a crucial and sustained trend, while wellness and inclusivity are emerging as significant opportunities for brands

Retail Re-evolution: Online beauty is over-performing vs offline, with Amazon gaining share in Western European markets and recruiting new beauty consumers. TikTok Shop is a huge new business model, but other Chinese giants such as TEMU, Shein, and AliExpress are also expanding their online presence. Collectively, Chinese e-commerce platforms add up to 15% of the online retailer market share.

The TikTok Shop takeover: consumers around the world are embracing social commerce and TikTok Shop continues to expand into new markets. On average the TikTok Shop consumer is making 3.5 more orders than the average ecommerce beauty buyer in the past year.

In-Store Experience Challenges: While in-store experiences are evolving with technology, challenges such as out-of-stock products, messy testers, and product lock-ups persist, potentially deterring consumers, which explains the over-index in online growth.

Generational Focus: While Gen Z and Gen Alpha receive much attention, Gen X remains a significant market segment, and brands should tailor their strategies to address each generation's specific needs and perceptions. In 2034, it is predicted that Gen X will make up 24% of global beauty spending power.