Working in the beauty industry means I benefit from direct access to trends predictions. So is 2025 the year of AI takeover? Well not quite. If anything, AI takes a back seat to serve a return to simplicity and provide the information and tools to showcase your individuality. Rather than brand new trends, these 2025 movements are evolutions from the past few years, which I also share over at My Soho Times.

1. Knowledge is Power: Empowering Beauty Choices

Key message: showcase your individuality

More than ever, we have access to vast amounts of information thanks to social media and AI. Although convenient, this has also resulted in algorithm-driven trends that promote uniformity. In 2025, beauty is no longer just about following these bland digital trends. It is time to celebrate your identity through self-expression and champion individuality and artistry.

What this means for beauty:

• More products reflecting diversity and inclusivity, with a broad spectrum of skin tones, gender identities and cultural backgrounds. Fenty Beauty boasts some of the broadest selection of shades, and Sculpted by Aimee offers 30 shades on each foundation
• More experimentation and creativity, with new beauty routines. As our understanding of the connection between a healthy gut and a healthy mind and skin increases, beauty and nutrition merge as one ritual. Wellness brand Feel offers beauty supplements such as vegan collagen gel, bringing ingestibles into your beauty routine
• More personalisation thanks to skin analysis devices and real-time product recommendations. Elemis offer a free in-depth skin analysis with their Expert Skinlab in participating stores. This shows you pigmentation areas and dry patches, and coupled with a consultant’s expertise, guides you towards product recommendations

2. Turning the Tide: Sustainable Beauty Practices

Key message: sustainable, responsible beauty goes mainstream

This one has been building up for a while now: more than ever, in 2025 we demand ethical and sustainable products that make us feel good for purchasing and using them. Of course we’re not willing to compromise on product efficacy, this really has to be win-win for all parties. Transparency is crucial here, meaning that beauty brands (and any consumer brand really) must prove what they claim and avoid greenwashing at all costs.

What this means for beauty:

• Expect to see more ingredient sourcing information. Sustainability marketing technology firm Provenance partners with the likes of Cult Beauty, Caudalie and The Ordinary to prove how ingredients have been ethically sourced, what certifications they hold and their charitable donations
• More green chemistry, regenerative farming practices and biotech innovations. L’Oreal has partnered with Debut, a biotech beauty company, to develop bio-identical ingredients with the aim to ease pressure on demand for scarce beauty ingredients whilst retaining product performance
• Products with lower environmental impact thanks to vertical farming, local sourcing and minimal packaging. My personal wish is for 2025 to be the year of naked packaging, AKA solid beauty exemplified by SBTRCT (launching the first ever Vitamin C Serum bar), EarthKind (solid shampoo) and Balade en Provence (solid moisturiser) 

3. Think Slow, Move Fast: Mindful Beauty and Wellness

Key message: a return to simplicity

I remember attending a yoga class where the teacher prefaced every action with ‘mindfully’: ‘mindfully close your eyes’, ‘mindfully lie down’, ‘mindfully breathe in’. Isn’t the beauty of breathing in the fact that you don’t need to think about it? Mindfulness isn’t going anywhere, and in 2025 it works its way into the world of beauty, enticing us to slow down and approach beauty with intention.

What this means for beauty:

• Less steps in your beauty routine. Let’s all hail the return of simpler beauty routines with less steps, less products, and more time – and budget – for other pursuits. I’m using this as an opportunity to embrace multi-purpose products such as Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm which can literally do your whole evening skincare routine from cleansing to masking – yes, just one product
• Quality over quantity, with a playful touch: look out for simple, effective and long-lasting products with soothing textures and nostalgic scents, taking you to a place of comfort. Those sensory experiences are embodied by LUSH’s fun collaborations – Wicked being the latest one – to their playful spa treatments, including a hot chocolate massage *yum*
• Biohacking: longevity-focused beauty solutions are gaining ground, delivering long-lasting benefits rather than quick fixes. Wellness guru Liz Earle extensively sings the praises of biohacking – drawing from biology and neuroscience to enhance skin health and vitality – in her book A Better Second Half

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