In the post-pandemic era, prestige beauty enjoyed a significant boom in U.S. sales. That era is now over. According to Q1 2025 Circana data, U.S. mass market beauty experienced a 3% increase in sales, compared to flat revenue for prestige beauty.
The news comes amid widespread concerns about a U.S. recession, pessimistic consumers and warnings about rising prices at even the most affordable retailers.
(A recession, generally defined as "two consecutive quarters of economic contraction," has not yet occurred in the U.S. market.)
With Q1 mass market units down 1%, sector gains were instead driven by price increases.
Meanwhile, prestige sales actually improved month-over-month in February and March, supported by a rise in in-store sales, but were still hampered by strong "consumer pullback" in January 2025, per Circana.
Notably, all prestige beauty categories experienced growth in March, offering some silver lining for the sector.
Fragrance Tops Growth, Driven by Value
It's no surprise that fragrance dominated dollar sales growth across mass (up 8%) and prestige (up 4%); prestige results were powered by minis and travel size sets, which allowed the gift set sector to rise 45% in the period.
Clearly, value is front-of mind, reflecting behavior in earlier periods, in which affordable body sprays and sets drove notable gains.
Similar to earlier quarters, eau de parfums, parfums and other high-concentration fragrances had the "greatest impact on growth."
Makeup: Stick Formats Eclipse Conventional Formats; the Lip Boom Stalls
Prestige makeup remained the top prestige beauty category based on sales volume, but still dropped 1% in dollar sales.
Face and eye categories struggled. Conversely, stick formats performed well, particularly eye shadows and foundations (both up in the double digits), which actually outshone traditional formats in those categories.
Lip products, long a boom sector for makeup, was flat. That said, lip oils, balms and liners did achieve growth.
Mass Skin Care's Comeback
Prestige skin care declined 3% in dollar sales, though units actually increased 1% in Q1 2025. Facial skin care, including serums, exfoliators and lip treatments were hit hardest.
Meanwhile, mass skin care grew in dollars and units, a reversal of recent years.
Skin care's top drivers included:
- body care, including sprays, serums, deodorants and hand soaps, all of which grew by double-digits (a continuation of growth in the category)
- sun care, powered by sunscreen and self-tanners
Hair Wellness Dominates
Hair care was a top grower in the prestige space, increasing sales by 4% in Q1 2025. Prestige stylers spiked 12% in the period, while scalp care, hair thinning and loss solutions, and heat protection offerings performed well.
Mass hair care sales grew in the single digits.
Beauty Success in 2025: Focus on Value (Not Just Price)
“The beauty industry will continue to stabilize following its tremendous growth streak in prestige, even as some categories such as fragrance will continue to surge,” said Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry adviser at Circana. “The macro landscape of 2025 presents a complex mix of factors that will shape industry dynamics. When navigating through what we can’t control, we as an industry must prepare where we can–through strategies that include creating brand value beyond price and focusing on compelling value propositions and high-margin innovations to appeal to consumers.”
