The first half of 2025 saw the US beauty market push to new heights, amassing an impressive $50.6 billion in retail sales. According to Circana, mass beauty sales increased 4% to $34.6 billion, outpacing the prestige channel, which posted a more modest 2% gain to $16 billion. Recent McKinsey analysis affirms the US’s leading position, with total beauty revenue projected at $105 billion for the full year.
Fragrance Leads With Double-Digit Gains
Fragrance was the undisputed star, setting the pace with mass-market sales up 17% and prestige up 6%. New launches accounted for nearly a third of all prestige fragrance growth, while affordable mini and travel-size formats saw a 15% jump in units sold—four times the growth of other sizes.
Hair’s Bright Spot: Prestige Outpaces Mass
Prestige hair care grew 6% to $2.3 billion, with unit sales rising across all core segments. Styling and treatments delivered double-digit gains on the back of a robust innovation pipeline—new launches outpaced overall sales, and scalp care rose 19%. Mass hair care saw softer performance, up 4% in sales but flat in units.
Makeup Innovation: Lip and Eye Drive Growth
The makeup category posted $5.2 billion in prestige sales (+1%), with growth almost exclusively in lip products—up 3% and buoyed by demand for hybrid lip-skincare formats and the enduring lip contouring trend. Lip was also the only area with gains in the mass channel, as both dollar and unit sales fell elsewhere. Eye makeup, especially mascara, rebounded in prestige, while face category sales held steady.
Skincare Resilience: Mass Beats Prestige, Body Demand Grows
In skincare, the mass channel outshone prestige, climbing 4% in sales and showing positive unit growth. Prestige skincare dollars fell 1% to $4.6 billion, though units inched upward. The drop in prestige was primarily in brick-and-mortar facial skincare; meanwhile, masstige and body-centric brands gained, as masstige skincare posted double-digit growth and prestige body care (creams, cleansers, hand soaps) performed strongly.
Value, Access, and the Premium-Mass Convergence
Circana’s Larissa Jensen explained, “Only 14% of U.S. beauty buyers believe that higher prices indicate a better-quality product. The mass and prestige markets are converging, with premium-priced brands in mass retail and value-priced prestige brands outperforming their counterparts”. This sentiment is echoed in ongoing McKinsey and NielsenIQ research, showing that digital retail and accessible luxury are blurring traditional boundaries.
Retailers like Walmart and Target have expanded premium beauty offerings, and masstige (mass+prestige) brands are gaining traction in both segments. Importantly, consumers are seeking real efficacy and value over traditional notions of luxury—adapting quickly to economic headwinds and shifting tariffs.
