Reddit has released its first Beauty Report, The People's Beauty Index, which explores how peer-to-peer conversation is reshaping beauty culture. The report finds that nearly seven in ten beauty shoppers feel more confident buying a product after reading about it on Reddit.

The platform identifies a shift in its beauty communities, where beauty culture is defined by participation over prescription. Taste is built through conversation, experimentation and shared experience rather than passed down by a single ideal.

Key findings on personal taste:

• In r/MakeupAddiction, views to eyeshadow palette posts increased 56%, and tutorial discussions rose 38%, signalling growing interest in bold colour and technical skill. Views to mentions of the "no makeup makeup look" declined 81% year-on-year across beauty communities.
• Views to conversations around "pre-shower makeup", experimental looks and "playing" with makeup increased nearly 400% over the past year in r/MakeupAddiction and r/Makeup.
• City-based communities act as local taste filters. In r/NYCBitchesWithTaste, eight of the top ten searched terms focused on beauty treatments including Botox, microneedling and lymphatic drainage.

Key findings on co-creation:

• In r/MakeupAddiction and r/Makeup, mentions of "aesthetic", "core" and "inspired" topped 30 million views over the last two years. Views to recreation-focused looks rose 116% as users shared their own takes on cultural references.
• r/PerfumesThatFeelLike grew twelve times year-on-year, with members translating abstract feelings into actionable scent recommendations.
• r/RandomActsofMakeup grew 102% year-on-year to 5.5 million views, serving as a creative hub for experimentation.
• In r/AsianBeauty, "sunscreen" generated nearly one million views and 225 searches over the last year. Members champion advanced chemical filters and brands including Beauty of Joseon, Skin1004 and Round Lab, each pulling 700,000 to one million views.