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Full Glam, CoQ10, & More Of 2025’s Biggest Beauty Trends
At a recent Sephora holiday soirée, Bustle got the scoop on what’s to come, straight from the buzzy beauty brand founders making it happen.
Spend 15 minutes on beauty TikTok, and you’ll have a front-row seat to the latest beauty trends… all 874 of them that sound more like items on a brunch menu than, say, a beauty look you’d wear to a holiday party. Trends have always been cyclical, but the speed with which they spread and fizzle is faster than ever before, thanks to the power of The Algorithm™. And while Instagram and TikTok have widened the pool of beauty inspiration to an exponential degree, you’re not alone if you feel like you’re chasing beauty trends that’ll be old news by the time you get the chance to try it.
For a more realistic idea of the 2025 beauty trends, movements, and rumblings with staying power, it’s best to go straight to the source: the beauty founders behind the brands and products driving larger beauty industry shifts to begin with. At a recent holiday soirée Sephora hosted in New York, Bustle chatted with the founders of some of this year’s buzziest brands to get the scoop on their biggest 2025 beauty trend predictions. And let’s just say… hopefully you’re ready for a 2014 comeback.
Trend #1: A Full-Glam Renaissance
Just when we all thought we’d be slicked-back, monochromatic, lightly flushed little glazed donuts forever, nearly all the founders agreed that the beauty pendulum is finally swinging back toward maximalism. “Full-on glamour is going to be back,” says Chriselle Lim, founder of PHLUR. “I'm in fashion, so what I'm seeing is a desire to dress up… people are craving glam and opulence.”
Helen Dagdag, Sephora Beauty Director, echoes this, predicting a lean toward all things rich — rich colors and textures like Natasha Denona’s Roxa Eyeshadow Palette and rich scents like PHLUR’s Soft Spot. “I feel like velvet lips are going to come back a lot more,” she says. “I feel like that texture, people are wanting it again.”
Trend #2: Minimum Effort, Maximum Payoff
That said, don’t expect full-glam to come at the cost of “quick-and-easy” solutions. “[People] are just getting busier,” says Laney Crowell, founder of Saie Beauty. Think: an increase in high-impact, low-effort products, like Saie’s high-shine Glossybounce Lip Oil Gloss, KJH.Brand’s Soft Smudge Lip & Cheek, or the Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow & Eyeliner Multi-Stick.
Trend #3: iBeauty Rises
2025 is also looking like a lot more LED mask selfies. “[We’ll see more] devices,” says Charlotte Palermino, founder of Dieux. “We're seeing more red lights, more light modalities as well. Microcurrents are seeing a resurgence, but I'm waiting to see what that next device is going to be.” Expect more brands to build on the technologies of popular red light masks, like that of HigherDOSE or CurrentBody; microcurrent technology like that of NuFACE’s Trinity+; or even at-home laser solutions like those from NIRA.
Trend #4: Spot Savers
Every year, certain skin care ingredients shift into the spotlight, and Palermino points to the beauty community’s recent obsession with beef tallow as a sign of a move toward “more rich and emollient products” — like Dieux’s Instant Angel Moisturizer or Glow Recipe’s Avocado Ceramide Cleanser — as well as more targeted solutions for skin concerns. “I think you're also going to be seeing a lot of acne solutions, because acne has not been really targeted,” she says. “I think we're going to see a resurgence of mandelic acid in particular.”
Trend #5: Overachieving Formulas
According to Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, co-founders of Glow Recipe, 2025’s most popular formulations will be multi-purpose workhorses. “[We’re going to see] a different level of hybrids — a complete blurred line between categories,” says Lee. This harkens back to the continued push for efficiency within our routines and product arsenals Crowell mentioned. You’ve likely already noticed whispers of this trend in products like Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops or Drunk Elephant’s O-Bloo Rosi Drops, which toe the line between skin care and makeup with formulas that deliver the same look of a blush or bronzer, with good-for-your-skin ingredients to boot.
Trend #6: Blurred Lines
In 2025, the line between beauty and wellness will become even more blurred, with more beauty brands touting ingredients commonly used in supplements, and more wellness and health brands marketing themselves to the beauty-savvy customer. On the ingredient front, Chang predicts coenzyme Q10, a trending supplement boasting a slew of physical health benefits, making its way into the beauty realm. “[CoQ10 is] this lipid-soluble antioxidant,” she says. “So it’s great for the [skin] barrier … [and] good for you inside and out.” While CoQ10 exists as a supplement you can ingest for full-body benefits, more and more skin-care products are featuring the antioxidant in their ingredient list, a la Glow Recipe’s Cloudberry Bright Moisture Cream or The INKEY List’s Q10 Serum.
Trend #7: (Air) Dry January
Let that reparative approach extend to your hair while you’re at it. Dianna Cohen, founder of Crown Affair, says it’s high-time to hit pause on the dozens of hot tools and the urge to slick down every strand. Instead, tack “Air-Dry January” to your Dry January challenge. “No heat for one month, and your hair is going to be literally the healthiest it's ever been,” she says. If the thought of raw-dogging your usual hair routine gives you a stress rash (guilty as charged), rest assured “no heat” doesn’t mean “no product.” A styling product like Crown Affair’s The Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse or a leave-in conditioner can give your hair comparable volume, definition, shine and defense against frizziness that your hot tools do.