New year, fresh start. 2025 is shaping up to be a dynamic year for beauty and wellness trends.
Longevity is this year’s buzzword as people seek solutions to live longer, ushering in product and tech innovations targeting healthspan, the length of time a person is healthy for within their lifetime. Beauty giant L’Oréal has already embraced this with its skin age calculator, while Netflix documentary Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever lifts the lid on the cultural craze of resisting ageing.
Meanwhile, the weight loss economy (fuelled by Ozempic and other GLP-1s in 2024) is shedding negative connotations, focusing on supporting healthier lifestyles and evolving natural alternatives like supplements and patches. The ‘undetectable’ aesthetic will move from celebrity circles to the mainstream, driving demand for subtle procedures like microtox (a lighter botox alternative), injectable moisturisers and volume-focused botox-adjacent skincare products, such as Skinceuticals’s P-Tiox wrinkle modulating serum or Orveda’s Youth Glove Protocol, designed to refill skin’s lost volume on the hands.
But that’s just the beginning. Beauty, health and wellness are becoming interchangeable as consumers take their quest for looking and feeling their best to new heights. Beauty’s aesthetic will continue to be defined by a tale of two converging narratives: individualism or freedom — reflected through the incoming ‘sea witchery’ trend (using moody, oceanic hues to create a siren-mermaid hybrid look) — and an effortless, refined appearance that will fuel demand for multi-tasking products. Experts predict there will also be a surge in product purification as consumers demand to know what makes up formulations.
Here’s our rundown of the beauty consumer behaviours and trends to watch out for in 2025.
Wellness is the new status symbol
According to management consultancy firm McKinsey, wellness is a $1.8 trillion global market, with the US alone growing 10 per cent annually to $480 billion, per the company’s Future of Wellness report. Wellness is now a status symbol, spanning nutrition, mental health and beauty. “We’ll see brands cater to this holistic ecosystem,” says Chris Salgardo, founder of Atwater Skincare.
One area poised for growth is next-gen supplements. Consumers, tired of pills, are embracing nascent formats like patches, which seamlessly integrate into routines. Front Row, an e-commerce and marketing agency, reported that Amazon searches for “patches” in health and personal care grew 59 per cent year-on-year in 2024. “[Supplement pill] bottle-based formats have their limitations today. For one, they’re not easily portable. Two, supplements now go far beyond nutrition; they’re used for everything from mental and emotional health to digestive health, to skin and hair health. As wellness habits evolve, people are looking for supplements that fit more seamlessly into their daily routines, and patches suit the lifestyle,” says Emily Safian-Demers, director of insights at Front Row.
Brands like Barrìerre and Kind Patches lead the charge with Vitamin B12 and GLP-1 weight management patches, while new players like What Supp Co target zillennials with portable, joyful solutions. “There’s an unmet market opportunity for vitamin and well-being supplements that don’t require a regime or a super-worthy mindset. So we chose a format that lends itself to portability and visibility and speaks to the zillennial (the generation born between the early 1990s and early 2000s) who are intent on optimising their health with more joy,” says What Supp Co founder Kelly Gilbert. However, Safian-Demers cautions brands to ensure efficacy and data-backed claims remain a priority.
Consumers are also infusing wellness into every aspect of their lifestyles, which spans everything from fitness memberships to cultural experiences, creating opportunities for brand partnerships. “It’s not hard to imagine a world where skincare brands “sponsor” a skin wellness menu at one of these clubs or reposition or reformulate their products to pair with these treatments,” says Safian-Demers.
Last year, fitness company Equinox introduced a “longevity programme” with a $40,000 annual membership fee. The programme pairs fitness with wellness and data-backed assessments including biomarker testing, sleep coaching and nutrition planning. Meanwhile, London-based Vidavii offers tech-driven longevity circuits alongside skincare and aesthetic treatments. Cultural collaborations like the Louvre’s partnership with L’Oréal further highlight wellness’s integration into broader cultural moments. “Consumers are seeking wellness experiences that leave a cultural footprint and are educational and inspiring,” says Chelsea Mtada, senior strategist at PR consultancy firm Seen group. “As beauty begins to merge more with cultural moments, brands will need to leverage the cultural cache of adjacent categories and community-celebrated creators to create excitement around their launches. Beauty is no longer just transactional — it’s personal, cultural and deeply ritualistic.”
Sexual, intimate and women’s health are also becoming pivotal categories. Brands like Luna Daily and Seed are addressing topics such as menopause, polycystic ovary syndrome and vaginal microbiomes, areas expected to gain traction as brands spot opportunities in once taboo areas.
Bed-rotting: Wellness in rest
Far from an anti-wellness fad, bed-rotting is evolving into a cultural shift redefining rest as a cornerstone of selfcare. Coined by trend forecasting agency WGSN as “therapeutic laziness”, TikTok’s #BedRotting has garnered 459 million views and counting, as consumers lean into rest as a productive act of wellness.
“Beds are becoming selfcare sanctuaries,” says Clare Varga, WGSN’s beauty director. “This trend isn’t just a response to burnout, but a cultural reset focused on intentional rest.” Beds are evolving into 360-degree wellness zones, with innovations like skin-nourishing sheets, beauty-enhancing sleep products and treat-while-you-laze skincare expected to thrive.
Leading indicators of the trend include rising interest in sleep tech and regulating mattresses like Eight Sleep, alongside 40 per cent growth in Google searches for “sleep health” over the last five years. Brands have an opportunity to meet consumers where they rest, with Varga imagining “sensorial bedding infused with skin-nourishing ingredients” and products designed to enhance skin and hair health during downtime.
The trend is also influencing travel and experiences. Sleep tourism is set to soar as hotels and retreats cater to this deeper rest movement with artificial intelligence-enhanced sleep environments, personalised rest programmes and wellness-driven luxuries like scent therapies and sleep-optimised suites. “The bed is no longer just a piece of furniture — it’s a wellness hub, offering brands a gateway into one of 2025’s most universal and emotionally resonant trends,” Varga adds.
Aesthetic trends surge
Clean girl is out. Pinterest’s top consumer aesthetic trends— “aura beauty”, “sea witchery”, “goddess complex” and “dolled-up” — reflect maximalism and self-expression as core themes. “The year will be defined by creative freedom and playful, layered looks,” says Sydney Stanback, Pinterest’s global trends and insights head.
According to Pinterest, searches for “dark siren makeup” (+695 per cent year-on-year), “wavy wet hair look” (+80 per cent) and “sea-inspired nails” (+65 per cent) indicate a surge in moody, oceanic aesthetics, while the trend for doll-inspired makeup channels the evolution of Barbiecore into a hyper-kitschy, playful aesthetic akin to Polly Pocket nostalgia. Stanback notes: “Beauty brands can capitalise with cutesy makeup collections or immersive pop-ups styled as real-life dollhouses.”
Adding to the palette is the cherry trend, where bold red tones infuse makeup and skincare products. Brands like Glossier, Fenty Beauty, Summer Fridays and Natasha Denona have already embraced this playful-yet-tart aesthetic with new launches this year.
Clean girl, meanwhile, will evolve into refined minimalism, fuelled by the demand for streamlined routines. Time-saving products — such as tubing mascaras (42.3 per cent predicted growth for 2025), heatless hair curlers (36.9 per cent predicted growth) and peel-off lip stains (38.2 per cent predicted growth) famed by TikTok brands Wonderskin and Sacheu Beauty — will cater to consumers seeking low-maintenance solutions without sacrificing results, per consumer trends agency Spate’s 2025 trends report. “Consumers want more from less — hybrid formulas that simplify routines and deliver efficacy are the future,” Sasha Plavsic, founder of Ilia Beauty, says of the trend.
Lucy Gorman, CEO of beauty group THG, agrees and believes the pressure will be on for brands to develop multi-hyphenated, time-saving products that simplify beauty routines without sacrificing efficacy.
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The age of awareness
Across all beauty categories, consumers are emphasising product safety when considering their skin health. As a result, their shopping habits and searches are becoming increasingly influenced by brands and products that are safe and kind to the skin and skin conditions.
According to Spate, searches for “acne safe”, “fragrance-free” and “hypoallergenic” are increasing in average monthly search volumes by 1,500, 3,700 and 965, respectively. For haircare, the search focus is ammonia-free hair dye, SLS-free shampoo and purifying treatments. The makeup category is experiencing a surge in search volume for terms including “non-comedogenic” (+1,300 month-on-month) reflecting a consumer’s awareness for acne-safe products in their makeup bags, while fragrance-related searches for “non-toxic scents” (+433) are rising.
Spate predicts the biggest shift will be in bodycare. While the category’s recent ‘skinification’ and actives-backed innovation has sparked a surge in launches from Rare Beauty’s Find Comfort range to Naturium’s exfoliation range, the company reports a growing product preference for irritation-free formulations tailored to sensitive skin. Search terms like “unscented”, “anti-inflammatory [creams]” and “[anti] fungal” are up 9,000, 1,600 and 730 month-on-month, respectively, versus the 12 months prior. For brands, it’ll mean carving out an offering that balances nourishment with sensitivity.
Elsewhere, the health-conscious consumer is scanning labels to rule out any toxins within formulations that will hinder their skin health. “From endocrine disruptors (chemicals that interfere with hormones) to microplastics, consumer consciousness around toxins will reach a critical mass,” says Jianne Jamil, founder and CEO of wellness brand Diome. She says the awakening is driven by the effects of environmental pollutants on health and well-being and as a result, consumers are scrutinising everything.
In response, Jamil predicts a rise in purifying solutions beyond the popular air and water filter systems. “Digital tools like Yuka and Think Dirty, which analyse product ingredients for harmful chemicals, are set to become indispensable companions on a customer journey,” she says. AI-driven tools will also likely support the movement, helping customers break down ingredients in products and transform decision-making. For Jamil, “This confluence of technology and health awareness signals a paradigm shift in consumer expectations and brands will be ushered even further towards transparency, safety and empowerment.”
In preparation for the next 12 months — and as these trends gain traction — they’ll heavily define how consumers interact and invest with brands, services and technologies. “Brands that align with these trends and consumer behaviours — offering transparency, personalisation and innovation — will not only resonate with consumers but thrive in this evolving landscape,” Jamil concludes.
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