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We talk a lot about trends in the beauty industry. I’m part of it; I relish writing a hair or nails trend report at this time of year. But while we often look ahead and think about beauty resolutions, on the other side of the coin are the things we should probably leave behind.
Because the thing is, while there are so many interesting innovations and brands doing genuinely brilliant things in the beauty space, there are other trends in this industry that are, to put it mildly, really grating on experts. Recently I was thinking, wouldn’t it be great to get all of these beauty bugbears in one place for consumers to take note of? An industry out list, if you will.
Which is how we got to this very article. I tapped into the expertise of skincare professionals, make-up artists and, of course, my fellow beauty journalists to find out the beauty trends they’d love for us all to leave in 2025. Here’s what they had to say…
11 beauty trends to leave in 2025, according to experts
‘Medical grade’ skincare
(Image credit: Katie Onyejekwe)
”‘Medical grade’ skincare—It’s not a regulated term, skincare is either classified as a drug/medicine or a cosmetic, there is no ‘medical grade’ category. The term itself is largely used for marketing and brand positioning. Any brand can choose to do clinical testing and use high-quality ingredients if they invest the time and money.” — Katie Onyejekwe, aesthetician and skincare educator
Blind reliance on generic AI
(Image credit: Dija Ayodele)
“If there’s one beauty habit I think we should leave behind in 2025, it’s blindly trusting [skincare advice from] generic AI apps like ChatGPT that have zero expert oversight. AI is absolutely the future because it’s accessible, affordable and it democratises skincare in ways we’ve never seen before. But right now, most AI tools are advising without understanding your own unique skin context—and frankly, your skin deserves better than one-size-fits-all algorithms. In 2026, use AI that’s actually built with baked-in skincare expertise from professionals.” — Dija Ayodele, skin expert and tech founder
Filming beauty shoppers
(Image credit: Courtesy of Lucy Partington)
“If I have to see one more video of a paying customer being accosted in the streets or in the skincare aisles, I will scream. Can we please let 2026 be the year of allowing people to shop in peace? I know it’s always interesting to see what people buy, but surely there’s a better way to do so than shoving a mini mic in their face and calling it content?” — Lucy Partington, freelance beauty journalist
Dupe culture
(Image credit: Alicia Lartey)
“If it were up to me I would ban the world ‘dupe’. 2025 was a financially cautious year for the beauty industry and in times like this we often see brands favouring well-sampled recipes—AKA the dupe. I got into this industry because I was in awe of the innovation, but I feel like that has slowly dwindled and this is hurting everyone. Dupes not only create a lack of innovation, they also cheapen the product development process to almost mimic the lowest forms of fast fashion. I need brands to bring back the innovators, diversity and science! What’s more, consumers will only get smarter; it’s either brands find a way to connect with them and speak to them today or they will struggle to be relevant tomorrow.” — Alicia Lartey, aesthetician and prodct developer
Only marketing towards younger consumers
(Image credit: Laura Capon)
“The obsession with every brand, launch and product appealing to a younger, gen alpha or gen z demographic. I think I might scream if I see one more peptide infused campaign shot with a fish eye lens with a model covered in hair clips. Brands are forgetting their core customers, chasing an audience who either aren’t interested or are incredibly fickle. I turn 40 this year and I already feel alienated by some brands (despite being a Labubu addict), whether it’s the age of the influencers used to promote their products or brand marketing copy that reads like someone who has never actually used Snapchat before. Other customers exist and we have money—just look at brands like MERIT who are doing really well by appealing to a millennial audience.” — Laura Capon, freelance beauty editor
Over-analysing pores
(Image credit: Courtesy of Dr. Anjali Mahto)
“People are tracking their pores with the same intensity athletes track VO2 max. This level of self-surveillance is not wellness, it is anxiety, and it encourages us to treat normal skin variation as a flaw to fix. But healthy skin does not need constant monitoring, it needs consistent, evidence-based care over time.” — Dr Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist and founder of Self London
Anti-ageing messaging
(Image credit: Future)
“The term ‘anti-ageing’ is starting to sound antiquated. Ageing isn’t something to be fought or defied, nor is time something that needs rewinding or pausing. Instead, we’re starting to reframe our relationship with ageing — shifting the focus towards living well for longer. This change in mindset is increasingly reflected in beauty marketing, too. Let’s make 2026 the year of beauty longevity.” – Lottie Winter, Beauty Director of Fashion’s Digest UK
Mocha mousse
(Image credit: Mica Ricketts)
“The minute that Mocha Mousse was declared Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2025, I knew that I’d be spending a huge amount of time in January writing about everything from espresso brown hair colours to cappuccino-coloured lipsticks. However, I could not have predicted just how enduring this colour trend would remain for the entire year. And as flattering and versatile as brown is, I’m very much looking forward to leaving it behind. For 2026, we’ve already seen a shift towards more colourful beauty looks on the catwalks—from ‘80s-inspired draped blush and pastel eyeshadows to cherry pop lip glosses and shimmery eyeshadows—and I couldn’t be more excited. The fact that Pantone has just announced that next year’s colour is Cloud Dancer (AKA white), I’ll choose to overlook for now…” — Mica Ricketts, freelance beauty editor and copywriter
Perfection pressure and the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic
(Image credit: Courtesy of Lisa Caldognetto)
“I think we’re ready to leave behind this aesthetic idea that we all wake up airbrushed, flushed-cheeked, bushy-browed, and I think in 2026 we will embrace more real skin texture. But also… bring back make-up. We want to be able to see a bit of make-up; we want a bit of eyeshadow, we want a bit of eyeliner, we want your lips to look like they have make-up on them, not like you’ve got the most nude lip liner on, so it’s more of a statement. I think we’re going to leap into the make-up era being back—a really good reference for that is the new MAC x Chappell Roan campaign, which is the opposite of ‘clean girl’. We’re seeing a lot more playful, expressive make-up rather than this army of ‘clean girls’ that look expensive and rich. I think there’ll be a bit more creativity and fun.” — Lisa Caldognetto, makeup artist and educator
Sunscreen distrust
(Image credit: Lucy Abbersteen)
“There are a few different beauty matters I’d like to leave in 2025 (there is a fair bit of crossover with my peers’ thoughts above!). However, the one that presses on my mind most often is the distrust of sunscreen. Aesthetic benefits aside, there is an overwhelming body of evidence proving that it keeps our skin safe from UV rays, damage from which can lead to skin cancer. For non-scientists—myself included!—it’s easy to misinterpret scientific literature and come to the wrong conclusions about things like product safety. And I totally understand why some people panic when they read about weak ‘studies’ or hear worrying-sounding claims about sunscreen not being safe (which, to be clear, is misinformation). At the end of the day, people just want to be as safe as possible.
“But that’s why it’s so important to trust actual qualified experts. There is a reason that journalists speak to so many dermatologists, chemists and product safety experts when reporting on products like sunscreen—because those people work in those fields day-to-day and know all of the nuances around what is safe for our skin. Sunscreen is exactly that: safe. I would love to see the UK have an approach to sun safety that is close to Australia’s, where the dangers of sun exposure are taken seriously and sun protection is a knee-jerk behaviour.” — Lucy Abbersteen, freelance beauty editor
‘Safety’ apps
(Image credit: Tori Crowther)
“The trend I’d like to see us leave in 2025 is relying on inaccurate scanner apps to check the ‘safety’ of beauty products. Sadly, most of these apps don’t account for factors like dosage. A toxicology context is necessary when deeming a product wholly ‘bad’. Otherwise, it’s misinformation and oversimplifies the science. Plus, there’s a significant risk that the founders and partners of these apps have a commercial interest elsewhere, in the products they deem ‘good’ and encourage purchasing.
“Unsuitability for your skin is very different from a product being classed as ‘unsafe’ altogether. Leave the scanning apps in 2025 and use skincare the experts—dermatologists, cosmetic chemists and toxicologists—deem safe, which is actually everything on the shelf because it goes through rigorous testing.” — Tori Crowther, freelance beauty & health journalist
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