Premium and mass beauty are ‘converging’ as consumers seek value

US beauty sales across mass and prestige hit $50.6 billion in the first half of 2025, and the two segments are “converging” as consumers opt for premiumized mass products and lower-priced prestige ones, according to Circana.

Prestige sales rose 2% to $16 billion, while mass jumped 4% to $34.6 billion in the first six months of the year. Both channels were buoyed by the continued success of fragrance and hair products.

Zoom in: The mass market’s biggest H1 success was fragrance, with sales soaring 17%. Prestige scents saw a 6% increase, with sales picking up in Q2, and new product launches accounting for a third of total dollar gains. Value-seeking prestige shoppers opted for mini and travel sizes, with units up 15%.

Prestige hair got a 6% bump, with unit sales also rising. Mass hair product sales rose 4%, though unit sales were flat. Prestige saw growth for all segments, including shampoos and conditioners and styling products.

Makeup sales in prestige inched up 1%, though units sold were flat. Mass makeup sales also slightly dipped as dollar and unit sales dropped. Lip products were a strong sales driver among both channels, serving as the only makeup segment with sales growth in mass. Prestige lip liner and mascara both experienced sales bumps.

Mass skin care sales (+4%) outperformed prestige (-1%). Masstige skin care products secured double-digit growth. A drop in facial skin care sales at brick-and-mortar stores drove prestige skin care’s struggles, though prestige body care was a bright spot.

Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry advisor at Circana, said the H1 results show consumers are “focused on efficacy and elevated value,” and that “adaptability and strategic agility are essential for success in 2025.”

What beauty CPGs are saying: L’Oréal reported in July that it, too, saw the strongest growth from fragrance and hair care in H1, with its prestige and mass segments notching growth. This week, Estée Lauder said it gained share within prestige beauty in fiscal 2025 in the US, thanks to The Ordinary, Clinique, and its eponymous brand, though it reported a “modest loss” in Q4. Fragrance was its only category that didn’t see net sales declines. And E.l.f. this month reported two straight quarters of slowing sales. Ulta Beauty is set to announce its second-quarter earnings next week.