Discover our thermometer for the biggest beauty trends for 2025 and beyond.
From the return of in-person shopping experiences to how innovation and nostalgia are set to combine, these are the 2025 beauty trends to look out for as we enter a new year.
Mocha Mousse
The Pantone colour of the year – Mocha Mousse – is almost certainly going to make a coffee-coloured splash in the beauty world for 2025. Searches for ‘mocha mousse makeup’ had already surged by a staggering 74 per cent in December 2024 (when the colour was announced), with trends like ‘chocolate nails’ up by 160 per cent and ‘brown lips’ soaring by 280 per cent, according to Google search data. In 2025, the shade is particularly likely to help elevate our ‘no makeup’ makeup looks, especially “as mocha mousse has a rich, warm tone that complements all skin tones ranging from fair to deep,” says the team at Cult Beauty. The easiest way to embrace the trend is to replace your traditional black mascara and/or eyeliner with a brown shade, or take inspiration from cosy cashmere (as fashion has already done) and focus on adding warmth to your complexion by using deep chocolate and soft taupe tones rather than cool pink or peach colours.
“When adding Mocha Mousse to your makeup look, keeping it simple is key,” says the senior buyer at Beauty Bay, Grace Ferns. “Let the shade stand out by focusing on one area – for example, experiment with a blurred brown nude lip, a light pop of mocha-tinted blush, or a monochromatic nude eye. It’s an easy way to work the trend into your routine and keep things effortlessly polished.” You can expect the colour to filter into our hairstyles too, with warmer brunette shades being a go-to look. “Bespoke colour services are the best ways to achieve the colour, with tailored balayage or root melts for natural depth and multi-dimensional warmth,” says the award-winning stylist at Hare & Bone hair salon, Sam Burnett. “Team this with the perfect cut – think collarbone-grazing lobs, soft fringes, or modern layers. Styles that elevate and enhance mocha tones.”
Nostalgia On The Nose
The start of a new year often involves a lot of future looking, but this time around, the beauty world, and perfumers especially, are looking backward for inspiration too. That teamed with an eagerness to explore the latest perfume note innovations – including new combinations or note profiles – is breathing fresh life into traditional aromas, making them feel accessible and desirable all over again. “Nostalgia is playing a big part in scent creation for 2025,” reveals the perfume expert and founder of Memoize London, Holly Hutchinson. “Retro-inspired scents are making a comeback with modern updates. Vintage profiles such as classic florals and musky chypres are being reinvented with innovative notes, like citruses, spices, and green undertones, to create something both familiar and new.”
“In 2025, the fragrance industry will blend tradition with innovation, embracing trends that push boundaries while respecting heritage,” agrees Jonnie Swarbrick, the creative director of luxury fragrance house Fragrance Du Bois. “Musk and oud will dominate… Neo-gourmands will continue to rise… [and] florals will make a strong comeback. This mix of the familiar and the avant-garde will define the year ahead.” So, if you currently think that rose scents are too reminiscent of your grandmother, or you’ve never been a particular fan of citrus or oud, 2025 might just be your opportunity to try (and actually like) something old… that’s also new.
The Future of Scar Treatment
From the popularity of injectables to the latest lasers, the tweakments industry has boomed throughout the 2020s so far – and it doesn’t look set to slow down anytime soon. To see the latest 2025 treatment innovations firsthand, CF’s beauty editor travelled to Thailand for the Alma Academy aesthetics conference in late 2024: “Two things really stood out to me. Firstly, the truly vast array of options nowadays for treating all of your skin goals, including wrinkles and uneven pigment, both quickly and effectively. Then, secondly – and perhaps most interestingly of all – the increasingly impressive treatment of scarring, which has long been considered the most stubborn and difficult skin concern to treat. It’s reported that over 8,000 people search, ‘how to get rid of acne scars?’ every month,” Becki reveals.
Even older scars and deeply pitted acne spots, for example, can now be treated with the Harmony XL Pro. It combines laser-based resurfacing on the surface of your skin with deeper-based stimulation of your collagen and elastin (which gives healthy skin its plump, smooth appearance). In even better news, the treatment time (after numbing) can be as quick as 10 minutes, with results after only a few treatments depending on the size of your scars.
The Return of In-Person Shopping
On the face of it, online shopping makes things easier, doesn’t it? You can literally buy things at the click of a button while hardly moving a muscle out of bed. But when it comes to beauty, your digital sprees may not be helping you get the very best out of your routine. After all, we probably all have a memory or two of foundation shades we picked up online that don’t quite match our skin tones, or fragrances that lie untouched because we chose them based solely on a list of notes on a website. Brands and retailers are taking note, and a renewed focus on in-person shopping is helping us all make smarter beauty decisions in 2025.
You only have to look at the rapid expansion of Sephora to Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle, alongside Lookfantastic’s first-ever brick-and-mortar concept store in Greater Manchester to see the shift in approach in 2024 (even from what were traditionally website-only retailers). There’s been a host of new flagship launches too, from Lush to Trinny London. Charlotte Tilbury has also announced the pending launch of a new flagship in Covent Garden that will be triple the size of the original, further turning central London into a physical beauty hub. Plus, it’s not all about picking up a new product: treatments are set to be available at the Tilbury store when it opens in January, and Diptyque’s new Bond Street site blends shopping its best-selling fragrances and candles with cultural and artistic experiences.
Big Hair, Do Care
If you didn’t get a blowdry brush (or Dyson Airwrap) already for Christmas, we wouldn’t be surprised if you quickly added one to your January wishlist, as ‘big hair’ looks set to be everywhere in 2025, whatever hair texture you have. With searches for ‘big volume curls’ rising by 50 per cent and ‘hair volume’ up by 30 per cent in the last three months, “volume is bigger than ever and will continue to dominate through 2025,” predicts the leading hairstylist Sam McKnight. “From bombshell blowouts and supermodel volume to 90’s flicks and waves, there’s nothing more confidence-boosting than a big, bold and voluminous do.”
If ‘big hair’ brings back memories of too much backcombing, breakage and a severe amount of hairspray – fear not. This time around voluminous hair is much more soft, moveable and ‘expensive-looking’, brought about by those aforementioned hair tools plus volumising shampoos and shine-boosting gentle texture sprays. There’s a focus on avoiding heat damage too – so stock up on your favourite heat protection sprays before you dive in. “Voluminous hair in 2025 also exudes hair health: it feels good, and it can make us feel powerful and full of confidence,” affirms McKnight. “With 60’s movie sirens playing a role in volume hair inspirations, we will see the return of the Velcro rollers to maximise styling efficiently too.”
Simple but Better Skincare
You’re not alone if you feel like skincare is totally overwhelming right now. There are so many products available that it can be hard to know what you actually need to use. Luckily, simplicity is a key buzzword for 2025 (and you really don’t need that 17-step routine you saw online, we promise). But, we also know that while you want your routine to be easy, no one wants to compromise on efficiency. That’s where the ‘advanced simplicity’ trend comes in: “Skincare routines are getting even simpler but with a high-tech twist,” explains the team behind SQULPT. “Think multitasking formulas packed with science-backed ingredients that deliver powerful results with fewer steps.” In particular, brands are now recognising how most of us don’t just have one core concern – our skin may be dry and have some annoying patches of uneven pigment. Breakout-prone complexions may need hydration as well as clarifying benefits. Instead of offering lots of individual products for each concern (which comes at a cost in terms of money and time), all-in-one formulas are becoming more and more popular.
Then, there’s the AI boom, which is supercharging more tailored skincare formulation and product recommendations too. “AI-driven tools are helping consumers find their perfect match in skincare regimens, ensuring a more tailored approach to beauty,” says the SQULPT team. The Ordinary is even launching its Custom Lab in 2025 to help you formulate your own personalised skincare, while doctor-backed prescription services (that team professional knowledge with AI algorithms), including Get Harley, Skin & Me and Renude are only growing in favourability.
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