As the end of the year approaches, I like to take some time to reflect. I look back on my favourite moments, things I've achieved and even the areas I might want to work on in 2026. However, as a beauty editor, I also like to think about the ever-changing industry. December is a time for me to take stock of which new beauty launches have truly stood the test of time this year, which brands consumers have been shopping more than ever and the trends that have dominated the beauty landscape over the past 12 months.
Luckily for me, thanks to my job, I have access to a wealth of data, and I've spent the last few weeks chatting to some of the biggest beauty retailers all about the most popular beauty products of 2025. We've really delved deep into the numbers across skincare, makeup, haircare and fragrance, and honestly? Some of the stats have really shocked me.
It seems that we are more invested in our beauty routines than ever. Not only are we spending more money on our favourite products (more on that later), but with the growth of social media and AI, we are all so much more knowledgeable about what we should really be using. Consumer demand is growing, and retailers are working hard to keep up. In 2025, we saw Boots launch its first-of-its-kind fragrance-only boutique, whilst Space NK opened its impressive flagship store in the heart of central London on Oxford Street. According to John Lewis, by the end of 2025, the retailer will have over 540 beauty counters nationwide (+7% compared to last year), as well as over 400 beauty services and nearly 160 beauty brands available.
But what are we shopping for? Below, I've created an in-depth guide to the year's most popular products. Keep on scrolling to see if they already reside in your bathroom cupboard or on your dressing table, or if now is the time to get in on the action.
The Most Popular Beauty Products of 2025
1. Science-Backed Serums
If there's one skincare product that has dominated 2025, it's the humble face serum. These aren't just any old serums, but seriously effective, innovative serums that actually make a difference to the skin. According to John Lewis, serum sales are up 26% year over year, with Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Serum one of the retailer's most popular offerings.
Cult Beauty counts Medik8's Liquid Peptides Advanced MP Serum as one of its top-20 best-sellers of 2025, whilst Lookfantastic reports that Medik8 C-Tetra Vitamin C Serum (£42) and the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Vitamin C Serum were amongst its best-selling skincare products of the year. It's no secret that these skincare products aren't cheap, but the innovation behind them is nothing short of spectacular.
In Lookfantastic's new-season trend report, released in August, the brand states that the demand for professional, dermatological and science-backed skincare continues to rise, with derm-related searches up 8.8% year over year. It's no wonder, then, that beauty shoppers aren't afraid to invest in these well-backed brands.
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2. Blush Blindness
2025 was the year we all introduced more blush into our makeup routines. I've worked in the beauty industry for a while now, and I don't think I've ever written as much about blush trends as I have over the past 12 months. Blusher is Lookfantastic's second-largest growing product type within the makeup category, with a 21% year-over-year increase in revenue. The retailer notes that it has seen a significant increase in new product development across all blush formats, including liquid, cream and powder, driving this trend in 2025. With this considered, it's hardly surprising that Cult Beauty's best-selling product of the year is Patrick Ta's Major Headlines Double-Take Cream and Powder Blush Duo, with Merit's Flush Balm as runner-up.
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3. Fancy Fragrances
Luxury fragrances are really having a moment, aren't they? I'm not sure when we all suddenly started spending more on smelling good, but it seems that everyone around me is buying into premium designer scents. John Lewis, in particular, has seen an increased demand for premium fragrances in 2025, with the average selling price rising from £70 to £100 over the past two years, representing a 42.9% increase. The retailer's most popular scents of the year include Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge 540, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (£109), Chanel No5 (£149) and Creed Aventus (£220), to name a few.
Whilst these might be considered more classic premium scents, Harrods' best-seller list is full of luxury niche fragrances. The brand reports that Nishane's Oudous Lux Solis Extrait de Parfum was its best-performing new fragrance of 2025, retailing at a cool £310 per bottle, alongside the likes of Maison Crivelli Oud Cadenza and Fragrance du Bois Rude Oud (£210).
Back to Lookfantastic's new-season trend report, and the global perfume market is expected to reach $50 billion (approx. £37.6bn) by 2030. Yes, it seems that our spending on premium scents won't be slowing down anytime soon.
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4. Live, Laugh, LED
You can rarely have a TikTok or Instagram scrolling session these days without spotting someone wearing an LED mask as part of their skincare routine. These high-tech tools have dominated the skincare devices space, with Lookfantastic reporting a whopping 96.7% increase in LED mask revenue in 2025. The brand buying team tells me the retailer is excited to see this category evolve, with wellness, longevity and routine continuing to trend into 2026.
Whilst Shark's innovative LED mask was one of the best-selling skincare devices of the year, it was the Dr. Dennis Gross Drx Spectralite Faceware Pro LED mask that sits on Cult Beauty's best-seller list for 2025. Retailers and brands such as Boots and Beauty Pie also launched their own affordable iterations of the popular beauty tool this year, which is why I suspect that sales will continue to soar in January and beyond.
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5. Easy on the Eyes
When it comes to makeup, we've also seen a greater demand for easy eye looks. Consumers are shopping for those products that they can swipe on and go, because let's face it: who has the time to spend more than a few minutes on their eye makeup these days? Whilst the ultra-creamy, easy-to-apply Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner was our top-selling beauty product on site for the entire year, Lookfantastic counts Armani's Eye Tint (an easy-to-blend liquid eyeshadow) amongst its top-trending makeup SKUs of the year. Merit's Solo Shadow was also a best-seller for us, with the cream-to-powder formula proving incredibly popular with our readers.
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6. K Beauty Craze
It probably comes as no surprise that K Beauty is booming right now. Whilst this "trend" is nothing new, there's been an increased demand for access to K Beauty products in the Western world, and I have the stats to prove it. Believe it or not, in 2025, Boots sold one K Beauty product every 15 seconds, according to data from 1 January to 10 October, but that's not all. Lookfantastic reports a search volume of over 4.5k for K Beauty in the year-to-date, which is triple the searches of the year before, and a 174% increase in revenue on K Beauty skincare alone. Brands such as Beauty of Joseon, Laneige and Anua are leading the charge. Still, with ever more Korean beauty names becoming available in the UK, I'm excited to see where this category goes in 2026.
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7. Hair Health Is Wealth
Last but by no means least, we have to talk about hair health. Specifically, serums. Lookfantastic reports a 42% year-on-year increase in hair serum revenue, with Kérastase Genesis Hair Serum proving to be its most popular hair product of 2025, alongside Kérastase Nutritive 8H Magic Night Serum (£47). Harrods is seeing a similar trend, with Champo Pitta Growth Serum coming in as one of its best-selling hair products of 2025.
Meanwhile, nourishing masks, oils and leave-in treatments are also proving popular. According to Gisou, one of the brand's Honey Infused Hair Oils was sold every 20 seconds this year, whilst Cult Beauty informs me that the K18 Biomimetic Hairscience Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask (£30) was its fifth biggest-selling product overall of 2025. We've seen a significant shift towards the "skinification" of haircare over the past few years, both from brands and consumers. With so many resources now available to learn more about hair health, I suspect that this trend (much like our hair) will only continue to grow.
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