Search Global Cosmetic Industry

Brands are turning sun protection into a broader beauty, wellness and performance platform.

When SPF Becomes a Lifestyle

Tomorrow's winning brands will develop products that are easy for AI to understand, compelling for creators to explain and simple for consumers to trust.

Ingredients Are the New SEO: How AI and TikTok Are Rewriting the Rules of Skin Care

Prestige hair care is growing on both dollars and units, while mass shoppers are tightening their budgets, making value, format and performance the new battlegrounds.

Hair Care Splits in Two: Value Wins at Mass, Treatments Take Off in Prestige

From value-packed basics to $120 longevity serums, hair care is rewriting the rules.

In Ha Mood, the first-ever fragrance from Ice Spice, was launched nationwide at Ulta Beauty.

Ulta’s Next Growth Wave: Fragrance, Hair Care and Global Expansion

Ulta is signaling confidence, raising its full-year comparable-sales growth forecast to 3.2%-3.7%.

“Our community has always shaped what comes next for Sol de Janeiro, and their number one request was clear: they wanted the fragrances they love to last longer,” said Jordan Saxemard, chief executive officer.

Sol de Janeiro’s Intense Perfume Mist Bridges the Gap Between Mists and Fine Fragrance

The 90-ml Intense Perfume Mists will retail for $34, versus $26 for the same size of the standard mists.

As obesity treatment broadens from weight loss to whole-person outcomes, a consumer-facing layer could emerge around the physical, emotional and aesthetic dimensions of transformation. This would create demand across skin, scalp, hair, body care, nutrition, aesthetics, movement, fragrance, cosmetics and self-expression.

From Weight Loss to Whole-Person Beauty

As the definition of successful obesity treatment expands, a transformation-care market may emerge across pharma, beauty and consumer health.

Jupiter's Ulta assortment spans anti-dandruff shampoos and serums, conditioners, scalp moisturizer and tools, alongside the new Day 2 Dry Shampoo.

Jupiter’s Ulta Move Signals Scalp Care’s Mainstream Moment

Jupiter’s move into Ulta also gives the category greater visibility among mainstream beauty shoppers.

Prestige makeup sales rose just 3%, while unit demand softened slightly. The category is therefore generating modest dollar growth without expanding its unit base. Yet pockets of the category are thriving: bronzer and blush posted double-digit gains. Pictured is Charli XCX with YSL Beauty's powder-based Make Me Blush.

Beauty’s 2026 Growth Story Is Strong, but Increasingly Selective

The data suggests that beauty consumers are becoming more selective about where they spend.

Developed for prestige skin care and dermocosmetic brands, NeoDropper Autoload automatically reloads the applicator with a consistent dose after each use through a twist-and-push mechanism, helping improve dosage accuracy while reducing contamination risk and product waste.

Aptar Reinvents the Skin Care Dropper as Dermalogica Debuts Auto-Loading Precision Packaging

The launch highlights an emerging opportunity to differentiate through packaging performance as much as formulation.

The positioning is familiar e.l.f. logic—high perceived value, aggressively accessible pricing, and a strong cultural halo built from its cosmetics and skin care businesses.

e.l.f. Dives Into Hair with Mass Entry, Prestige Play and a $6–$10 Disruption Bet in a Split Hair Market

Early hair test-and-learn drops reportedly saw 96% positive sentiment and high new-to-brand conversion

From hybrid beauty concepts and sensory innovation to novel textures with emotional impact, industry innovators are exploring new ways to bring energy back to the makeup aisle. The question is: what will it take to turn isolated bright spots into sustained category growth?

Color Cosmetics at a Crossroads: the Categories and Strategies Set to Restart Growth

Industry innovators are exploring new ways to bring energy back to the makeup aisle.

“Mass and prestige beauty are growing at nearly the same rate for the first time in five years,” said Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry advisor at Circana.

Prestige and Mass Beauty Converge as Premiumization, Selective Spending and Digital Commerce Reshape Growth

In mass hair care, shampoo and conditioner combo pack sales gains signaled value-seeking by consumers.

A sampling of 5,000 Reddit posts and nearly 700K comments found that consumers are prioritizing unique scents/distinctive olfactory experiences. Often, this gives an advantage to indie brands, which are often freer to push the envelope with novel notes and combinations.

Beyond the Boom: Strategic Growth in the Era of Fragrance Normalization

From longevity to functional fragrances, consumers want brands to push the envelope in scent innovation.

Urban Decay spent four years developing its Tube Job Tubing Mascara, which features an 89% serum-infused formula.

The Performance Pivot: Stains, Serums and the Science of Life-Proof Beauty

The makeup sector's 2026 outlook centers on advanced lip technologies, mature skin solutions, high-performance tubing mascaras and all-things hybrid.

Prestige beauty outperformed the market, despite average price increases, buoyed by emotionally driven, want-based shoppers.

Beauty Holds the Line as Resilient US Consumers Keep Spending

“There is a growing divide between industries where consumers feel value aligns with pricing and those where elevated costs are dampening demand.”

DUA, a skin care line created by Dua Lipa and Augustinus Bader Science, targets consumers on the upward arm of the K, particularly those who continue to invest in high-performance, science-led skin care as a form of long-term self-maintenance rather than discretionary luxury.

The K-shaped Skin Care Market Playbook

As inflation fatigue, selective splurging and value-conscious upgrading converge, American beauty shoppers are no longer trading strictly up or down.

A wave of clinically validated ingredients point to a market shifting decisively toward performance, treatment and scalp-led solutions.

As the Hair Care Market Booms, New Ingredients Drive Fresh Innovation

All signs point to a market shifting toward performance, treatment and scalp-led solutions.

Fragrance is the smallest mass market segment, but it grew at the fastest rate, with both dollar sales and units up about 15%.

Beauty’s Resilience Comes With New Rules: 2025 Sales & Lessons for 2026 from Circana's Latest Data

Prestige unit sales increased at a flat rate, while average selling price was up by 1%.